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This year’s Oslo Freedom Forum will explore the theme “Imagine.” In authoritarian regimes, even the simple act of imagining a better future can be seen as a threat. Dictators fear this because meaningful change begins when people dare to envision something greater for themselves and future generations.

Imagination is wild and free — an unstoppable force in contrast to the cold, confining grip of authoritarianism under which 72% of the world’s population still lives. Dictators can imprison bodies, but they cannot shackle minds or extinguish the human spirit.

This is why the voices of human rights advocates taking the stage at the Oslo Konserthus, the Forum’s premier venue, are so powerful. Having already defied oppression, they will speak not only to expose the suffering caused by dictatorships but also to defend democracy and light the way toward a freer future.

To imagine is to take the first step toward seeing the world as it should be — not as it is.

At the heart of every powerful civil society movement lies a shared belief: that all human beings are born with equal and inalienable rights. This conviction shapes a collective vision rooted in the universality of human rights. Imagining a more peaceful, prosperous, and free world is the first step toward building it together. As Human Rights Foundation Chairman Emeritus Václav Havel once said, we must live “as if” there is no oppression.