Bringing Human Rights to Life at the Albuquerque International Festival

11th annual Albuquerque International Festival celebrates the diversity and culture of the city’s International District.

Albuquerque International Festival is a daylong multicultural event celebrating the diversity of the city’s International District, featuring entertainment, food and crafts. For the kids, there is a petting zoo and video and carnival games and the car/truck/motorcycle/two-wheel show always draws a crowd. The day is rounded out with music, food trucks and booths of businesses and craftspeople from around the city.

International District is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Albuquerque, but it is also one of the most underserved—one of poorest areas in the city, with a substantial homeless population, less green space and a higher crime rate than other neighborhoods.

 

 

Volunteers from the Church of Scientology of Albuquerque and the local chapter of Youth for Human Rights believe that human rights education can inspire change in communities such as these.

“It starts with understanding the 30 rights everyone possesses simply by being alive,” said one of the volunteers. “Once people understand that things like quality education, a place to live and the opportunity to support yourself and your family are rights, they begin to see it’s the responsibility of every member of the community to provide more opportunities and to raise the standards for everyone.”

Most visitors to the booth that the Youth for Human Rights volunteers set up at the festival admitted they could only name a few of the 30 rights of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They were given copies of the award-winning The Story of Human Rights DVD. They also received a booklet called, What Are Human Rights?” that describes these 30 rights.

They were then invited to sign a petition to make it mandatory for all schools to provide human rights education to their students.

Human rights education has inspired social change in countries such as Mexico, Colombia, South Asia and Nigeria. It can certainly do so here at home, the volunteers say.

The Church of Scientology and Scientologists support Youth for Human Rights and make its educational materials available free of charge. For more information visit the Scientology website or Scientology.tv.

Watch 30 Rights Brought to Life on the Scientology Network.