Scientologists Spreading Human Rights Awareness Throughout Italy

Volunteers from the Churches of Scientology of Italy have reached 33,000 students with human rights education.

It was no ordinary theater performance that the 400 guests at Naples’ Palapartenope Theater enjoyed May 4, 2013. The show was part of a movement that is gaining momentum throughout Italy, driven by volunteers from the Church of Scientology.

The evening’s performance began with human rights-themed skits and a screening of Youth for Human Rights public service announcements, followed by The Story of Human Rights documentary, which traces the history of human rights from ancient times to today.

The entire event was designed to bring home the concept that human rights are a vital part of life, one that requires participation and responsibility to see that these rights exist for oneself and others.

Youth for Human Rights volunteers from Rome, working with the Director of Social Programs of the Church of Scientology, have reached more than 23,000 students in and around Rome, Florence and Naples, with human rights education.

One such program was a seminar held for 120 students at the request of city officials in the city of Trivigliano. The topic was bullying—a human rights violation that young people often experience or witness at school. The students watched the Youth for Human Rights hip-hop music video, UNITED, the story of one young boy who gathers the support of other youth to successfully take a stand against local bullies. In the discussion that followed, some of the students admitted to violating others’ rights and many of them took the message to heart and determined to defend the rights of others.

Scientologists on five continents engage in collaborative efforts with government agencies and nongovernmental organizations to bring about broad-scale awareness and implementation of the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the world’s premier human rights document.

The Church of Scientology published Scientology: How We Help—United for Human Rights, Making Human Rights a Global Reality, to meet requests for more information about the human rights education and awareness initiative the Church supports. To learn more, visit www.Scientology.org/humanrights.

Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard wrote, “Human rights must be made a fact, not an idealistic dream,” and the Scientology religion is based on the principles of human rights. The Code of a Scientologist calls on all members of the religion to dedicate themselves “to support true humanitarian endeavors in the fields of human rights.”