This June, Disobedient Art School travelled to the Ljubljana Pride Festival 2026, held this year under the theme “Democracy in Our Hands – Hope is Our Resistance.” Over a week of political discourse, cultural programming, and community celebration, Frida Paes Leão and David Limaverde brought FFCNL’s practice of creative disobedience to two panel conversations at Café Pritličje, connecting queer liberation to the climate and democratic struggles it’s entangled with.
Connecting Queer and Climate Justice
Climate change doesn’t “only” melt ice caps; it deepens pre-existing inequalities across societies. This panel brought together artists, ecologists and activists to explore how the climate crisis disproportionately affects marginalised communities, and how alliances between queer, feminist and ecological movements can build sustainable, equitable futures through activism, art and science.
Frida Paes Leão (Fossil Free Culture NL) joined the panel alongside MaryV Kyoseva (Rainbow Eco Activists, Bulgaria), Antonina van Lier (Artcom Platform, Kazakhstan) and Kiara Titze (Austrian Commission for UNESCO), moderated by Julia Scharinger (Ljubljana Pride / trans:verse).
LGBTIQ+ Communities Cooking Up Democracy
LGBTIQ+ communities are at the heart of building democratic and inclusive societies. This panel gathered real-world examples of resistance and community-building from across Europe, Asia and Africa, asking what queer communities can teach us about defending democracy from the ground up.
David Limaverde (Fossil Free Culture NL) spoke alongside Bonke Sonjani (queer archivist and human rights activist, South Africa) and Aleksa Savić (Executive Director, COME OUT, Serbia).
Both conversations reaffirmed something Disobedient Art School keeps relearning in different rooms and different languages: that the fight for a livable climate, for democracy, and for queer life are not separate struggles; they share the same roots, and the same tools of creative resistance.
Pride Parade — 13 June 2026, Metelkova to Kongresni trg, Ljubljana
We closed the week on the street. Frida and David joined the Ljubljana Pride Parade, marching from Metelkova to Kongresni trg with thousands of others under this year’s motto, “Democracy in Our Hands – Hope Is Our Resistance.” At the closing-stage programme, Frida took the mic to speak on civil disobedience, democracy, and queer love as a political act.
