A movement rooted in dignity.
Barikat’s experience reaches back more than 36 years. Stichting Barikat Kunst, the Dutch non-profit foundation established on 7 April 2026, continues this work across culture, education, sport and public life. People with disabilities are active partners in creation and decision-making.
Accessibility is a right.
People with disabilities create, think, lead and shape society. Their place is at the heart of cultural life.
Accessible cinema
Audio description, subtitles and dubbing make the International Barikat Film Festival a shared cultural experience for blind, visually impaired, deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences.
Sport without barriers
From international cycling journeys to futsal matches, athletes with disabilities take their place in the game and in public life. Blind footballers have shared the pitch with well-known and former footballers.
Equal participation
Art, music, literature, dialogue and international cooperation challenge physical and attitudinal barriers. Accessibility is a fundamental right. Our programmes also include theatre and public conversations.
A journey that carried a shared voice.
In 2018, the Silent Scream Bicycle Journey brought participants with visual, hearing and physical disabilities together across ten European countries. They cycled 4,521 kilometres to call for equal citizenship and peace.
Starting outside the Netherlands Consulate in Istanbul, the route took the message to the United Nations in Geneva, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, the European Parliament in Brussels and the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
Silent Scream was a peaceful journey to make disability-rights demands visible and heard, rather than a bicycle race. With the sound of wheels and pedals, participants carried a struggle for rights that must be seen and understood.
Geneva
At the Broken Chair in Place des Nations outside the United Nations Office in Geneva, we voiced the challenges faced by people with disabilities, demands for equal citizenship and our call for peace.
Strasbourg
At the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, we carried the call for equal rights to a major institution for human rights and justice.
Brussels
At the European Parliament in Brussels, we brought the demands of people with disabilities to the heart of European democratic decision-making.
The Hague
At the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the journey concluded with a message of equal citizenship, visibility and peace.
Recognition across borders
Written support and recognition from the United States, Canada, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Instituto Cervantes and the Turkish National Commission for UNESCO document our international work.
A shared cultural and rights platform.
The festival brings cinema, music, literature, sport and dialogue together. We build accessibility into programmes from the beginning and create spaces where people can speak in their own voices. Our vision is a society in which people with disabilities participate equally.
Let’s build a world without barriers.
Artists, cultural organisations, public institutions, volunteers and supporters: join us in making cultural life more accessible.