The International Socio-Political Poster Biennale „Creative for Human Rights” was initiated by the International Youth Meeting Centre in Oświęcim and the artist Paweł Warchoł. The idea behind the project was to organize a forum for an artistic exchange of views in Oświęcim on the most common problems of the contemporary world. The initiators of the project assumed that the „voice from Oświęcim” is better heard and more effectively gets into the public consciousness in today’s information noise, and that many of the burning problems can be solved through a civic response to threats.

Posters are submitted to the competition from all over the world, and each time we register several hundred of them. The competition jury selects 80 posters to be included in the post-competition exhibition and also awards prizes and distinctions.

The project has been carried out continuously since 2006, and each edition of the project meets with interest and lively reaction of many outstanding artists, representing different corners of the world. Artistic statements concern a whole range of issues: tolerance, ecology, equality, influence of politics on citizens’ lives, problems of racism, violence, violation of the rights of children, women and minorities. Currently, our Biennale is one of the most important and prestigious projects of the IYMC, and Oświęcim has become one of the most recognizable hubs of Polish poster art during almost the 20 years of the project.

Post-competition exhibitions are presented at the International Youth Meeting Centre in Oświęcim and in many galleries in Poland and abroad. Currently, there are almost 3 thousand posters in the IYMC collection.