Themes: Human Rights
Objectives
- To make participants aware about the human rights of youth
- To initiate a discussion among participants about human rights of young people
- To make participants think about the implications of not being able to reach out the human rights
Duration and Planning
- 45 minutes: Where do I stand?
- 30 minutes: Are rights divisible?
- 15 minutes: Debriefing
Materials
- Statement List
- Yes – No
- Paper Tape for the line
Recommended Method
“Where do I stand?”
Before the starting of the session, the facilitator should place “Yes” and “No” cards are placed on two opposite walls of the seminar room. It is stated that the participants should be in one side after the statement is read and they cannot be in the middle of “Yes” or “No” sides. According to answer, they decide “Yes” or “No”, the participants are asked to stay in the side that they are more agreed.
Afterwards, the opinions of participants are asked regarding to side that they stay and in case they want to change the positions after the opinions are presented, they can change from one side to other. Participants may be allowed to argue according to the views expressed, and it is recommended that the facilitators should intervene in the proceedings when the discussions are in doubt.
After the completion of the section, the participants continue with the second part of the activity to initiate the discussion concerning to the indivisibility of the rights and how they are connected with each other.
“Are rights divisible?”
In this section of the session, the participants are asked to divide themselves to the 5 separate groups as “participation”, “education”, “employment”, “health” and “housing”. They have to define what they understand from the terminology and its relation with the human rights of youth for 10 minutes and their superiority over the other right areas. The aim of the method is that the youth workers are aware about the indivisibility of the human rights areas and there is no superiority over the one other.
During this section of the session, the facilitator tells the participants that they have to come up with a definition what is related of the right area, the five separate points why it is important than the others in 10 minutes. After the discussion is over, the facilitators continue with the debriefing.
Once all presentations are done the participant will be asked the following questions:
- Was there a situation that you were in a dilemma?
- Why did you change places during the discussions?
- Is there an importance that we agree or disagree on the things on the Fundamental Human Rights?
- Do you think it is the “True” or “False” answer to situations?
- Is it possible for you to agree with everyone on the topic of human rights?
- Now do you think which human right is more important than the other?
Statements & Facilitators Note
You can use the statements below, though you can tailor and extend the statements to increase the dimension of the discussion. In that way, the facilitators should be aware about the challenges and the aware about the realities of the participants to adjust these statements.
| Statement List It’s more important to have a roof over your head than to be able to say what you like. People have a duty to work, but not a right. The most basic responsibility of any government is to make sure that all citizens have enough to eat. The right to “rest and leisure” is a luxury that only rich countries can afford. It’s not the government’s job to make sure that people don’t starve – but the people’s! The way we choose to treat our citizens is no business of the international community. Poor countries should concentrate on a basic standard of living for all before worrying about the civil and political rights of citizens. Extreme economic inequality is an infringement of basic rights. Social and economic rights express an ideal for the future, but the world is not ready to guarantee them today. If rights can’t be guaranteed, there is no point in having them. |
Additional Information and Readings
1.EYCB – Compass – Where do you stand?
2.Human Rights of Young People (OHCHR): https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/Youth/YouthrightsbrieferOHCHR.pdf
