A 60-minute discussion with Chinese exile artist and activist Badiucao and American journalist and reporter with Chinese-Taiwanese roots Melissa Chan followed by an immersive workshop that works with the Narrative 4 methodology focused on building empathy through story sharing and images from current exhibitions.

School groups have a unique opportunity to participate in discussions with selected Czech and foreign writers who will share how their own lives find echo in their work. The conversation with the writer will be followed by an educational workshop inspired by the methodology of the global project Narrative 4 - developing empathy through story exchange. Storytelling, as Narrative 4 and DOX’s educational programmes work with it, allows us to experience the sharing of stories with another person in a way that seems simple at first glance – listen and retell. And there is power in simplicity. Colum McCann, world-renowned Irish writer and founder of Narrative 4, has named this concept “radical empathy”. 

Participants are invited to share their own authentic stories (no more than five minutes long) on the topic of “light and darkness”. And because the story is meant to be shared, each participant can decide whether to choose a sad, happy, serious, or light-hearted story. Participants will prepare their stories in advance.

Badiucao is a Chinese exile artist and activist. He has made a name for himself on the international scene mainly through social media, participatory campaigns, posters, and political cartoons. He opposes any form of ideological or moral control exercised by political powers. He has exhibited widely in the United States, Australia, and Europe, including the acclaimed exhibition MADe IN CHINA at DOX in 2021. He has collaborated with Amnesty International, Freedom House, BBC, CNN, and China Digital Times. In 2021 Garry Kasparov, president of the Human Rights Foundation, presented Badiucao with the Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent. His latest work, co-authored with journalist Melissa Chan, is the dystopian graphic novel You Must Take Part in Revolution (2025), a story set in 2035 about courage and moral dilemmas in politically charged times. The book has already received widespread acclaim and has been compared to the graphic novels MAUS and Persepolis.

Melissa Chan is an American journalist and reporter with Chinese-Taiwanese roots. After studying at Yale and the London School of Economics, she worked as a correspondent for Al Jazeera in Beijing. She was expelled from China in 2012 for her critical reporting. She has worked for publications such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Time, The Guardian, and others. She has received a number of prestigious journalism prizes, including two Human Rights Press Awards from Amnesty International. She co-wrote the dystopian graphic novel You Must Take Part in Revolution (2025) with Chinese exile artist Badiucao. Set in 2035, the book is a powerful story of courage and moral dilemmas as well as a warning of a possible future.