Youth Empowerment
Rights and Humanity has piloted in the UK innovative methods for youth education and empowerment. The results of these projects are being integrated into our community empowerment projects in South Africa and Jordan.
School Children
In 2005, Rights and Humanity joined forces with Lyndons Art Trust to empower disadvantaged young people around several themes taken from the Rights and Humanity Principles of Responsibility. Chosen themes included:
- appreciation for the richness of diversity and the dignity of difference
- the responsibility to respect nature, protect our shared environment and avoid the waste of scarce resources.
The young people considered these themes and developed their own creativity through the construction of artistic collages of pictures representing the chosen theme. The project helped develop the young people’s self confidence as well as educating about these important themes.
The collages were exhibited at a number of events, gaining recognition of the young people’s talents and increasing public awareness of the Rights and Humanity Principles of Responsibility.
Youth Empowerment through Forum Theatre and Creative Art
Rights and Humanity undertook two further pilot projects in conjunction with the Central School of Speech and Drama (CSSD) in London. These used forum theatre and creative art in workshops for young people, to explore various aspects of human rights and responsibilities.
In an eight-week pilot project in 2005, a postgraduate intern from CSSD incorporated the Rights and Humanity Principles of Responsibility into various drama techniques to explore the concepts of integrity and respect for people of difference.