Our human rights messages are echoing through the air! We’re on TV, the radio, in the media, the Internet, in classrooms, youth groups, on billboards, in theaters and large auditoriums in countries on every continent. This morning at 5 a.m., in celebration of the 61st Anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), our team in Barbados started our International Walk for Human Rights followed by teams in countries including Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Slovakia, Somalia, UK and the USA. More than sixty walks and/or events were held to raise awareness about the thirty human rights that belong to everyone universally. Art and essays rolled in by mail and e-mail from such countries as Kenya, Philippines, South Korea, the USA and more. Youth as young as 10 years old depicted the concepts of human rights in unique and delightful ways!

The purpose of Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) is to teach youth about human rights, specifically the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and inspire them to become advocates for tolerance and peace.

The release of our latest video, The Story of Human Rights, is taking our campaign to a whole new level. This short video gives an easy-to-understand glimpse into the history of human rights from long, long ago to the present.

The release of our new teacher’s packages includes teacher’s manuals, videos, posters as well as booklets for the students. Thanks to one of our generous sponsors, we are able to offer complimentary packages to teachers for a limited time. We will ship the package anywhere in the world!

Our dedicated teams of volunteers continue to increase in numbers as they reach out into their communities, raising awareness about human rights and responsibilities. Small gatherings in classrooms, large campaigns on sports fields, concerts, conferences, rapping, painting and debating, the campaign rolls out to ever-increasing numbers.

Inspired by the YHRI-promoting and UK-based Car Racing Team who “Race 4 Human Rights,” Canada joined the race also with their own YHRI car promoting human rights at high velocity. Now their campaign has reached not only Europe but South America as well!

Walking in the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi, we are being the change we want to see. Our campaign has been expanding into South Asia on an ever-increasing basis, with our growing chapters in India now expanding to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and more.

Aboriginal communities in Australia are spreading the word. They have created their own YHRI logo and are teaching human rights to young and old alike in the cities, rural and outback.

In collaboration with the Africa Foundation for Human Rights and Tolerance, we are making huge progress in South Africa and other countries in Africa. In Kenya we now have a localized version of our What Are Human Rights? booklet, complete with local images.

Students in Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Togo participated in the YHRI African Human Rights Leadership Project. They did research, wrote papers, made videos and rehearsed and delivered powerful speeches on human rights to their peers, community, media and local leaders.

The mayor of Los Angeles proclaimed our sixth annual Youth for Human Rights Day for the city of Los Angeles. The mayors of Arcadia, Burbank, Clearwater, Santa Clarita and Tampa also proclaimed Youth for Human Rights Day for their cities, to help teach youth in their constituencies about human rights.

Las Vegas was the home to our Global Human Rights Summit, generously sponsored by the American-Iranian Friendship Association. The mayor of Las Vegas and a senior United Nations official welcomed our youth delegates which included those from Bangladesh, France, Germany, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco and Taiwan.

Teams in shopping malls, halls and even city squares gathered signatures requesting leaders to publicize the text of the Declaration and “to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories,” according to the UN General Assembly (December 1948).

Our sixth International Human Rights Summit was held in Geneva, home of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights. Delegates from countries such as Congo, Italy, Nepal, Nigeria, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Switzerland and a local member of the Vietnamese community discussed human rights and the important role of human rights education. UN officials, Country Ambassadors and religious and community leaders along with many others commended, supported and encouraged our teams.

During the World Tour 2009 we circled the globe to Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Colombia, Jordan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, Timor-Leste, Uganda and the USA. We met youth in schools, community centers and orphanages. Meetings to promote human rights education were held with heads of state, diplomats, government officials, religious and community leaders, and we held community events.

Millions more learned about human rights in the comfort of their homes and offices, in restaurants and anywhere the radio, TV or the Internet would reach. The numbers of visitors to our YHRI website has exploded exponentially. They are spending time on the site, watching the videos, learning what their human rights are and joining our teams. And now, for a short time only, educators can order a complimentary teacher’s package, courtesy of our generous sponsors with just a click on our website.

I want to acknowledge the Youth for Human Rights International Board Members as well as our Advisory Board Members including Mayor Almog Burstein, Dr. Pouran Ameli, Professor Ian Hall, Reverend McKinney, Sheriff Leroy Baca, Sheeraz Hasan and Irving Sarnoff. Special acknowledgement goes to the Human Rights Department of the Church of Scientology International for their outstanding support. Thank you for your care and support. Each and every one of our volunteers, donors, sponsors, collaborators and supporters are our heroes for bringing this vital message to the world and spurring our exponential global expansion.

Encourage your family and friends to join in the global movement to teach human rights at www.youthforhumanrights.org or visit www.humanrights.com. As a non-profit organization we rely on your memberships, generous donations and sponsorships, in addition to the work of our dedicated volunteers who have helped across the globe. You can also find out about our various sponsorship levels. The question is not what it costs to teach human rights but what it costs not to.

Without you we could not have achieved these stellar results. Your help is very much needed and appreciated. With your help and these Youth for Human Rights campaigns and materials, it’s so easy to teach human rights!

Wishing you a wonderful and productive 2010!

With kind regards,

Mary Shuttleworth, EdD
President