Human Rights Day 2020

Dec 10

What are human rights

Human rights are basic rights and freedoms that belong to each and every one of us. One of the major reasons we established Dual Frequency was to create resources that teach children and young people about their rights. Far too many of us do not know about our rights and it’s time that changed. Human rights go back hundreds of years, but they accelerated since the Second World War. Watch this handy video by the Equality and Human Rights Commission which gives you a snappy intro to human rights in under 2 minutes:

What is human rights day?

Human rights day is observed on the 10th of December every year - this is the day that the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

UDHR was the first attempt to set out global freedoms and rights that impact all people in the world. It has been translated into over 500 different languages.

Listen to our podcast where we chat with Alex, a secondary school leader about embedding human rights into schools.

Top tips for embedding human rights in a school community

Ensure you and your staff know what human rights are and why they matter.
Educate young people to understand that they have rights and why they are important.
Look for opportunities to incorporate human rights in the curriculum. This can take many shapes! In history lessons you might focus on past instances in which people have had their rights taken away. In art you might explore the work of artists who produce work on the theme of human rights. In english you could utilise literature that reflects the experiences of characters affected by human rights issues. In Geography you could talk about how human rights differ depending on where you live. The opportunities really are endless!
Display and celebrate human rights - you can download a teen friendly version for FREE right here.
Write for rights. Encourage young people to use the power of their voices to appeal for action in support of those who have stood up for their rights in the face of adversity. Follow this link to get involved at Amnesty International.