Students Compete to Create the Best Film on Human Rights

Italian middle and high school students channel their creativity into a humanitarian cause.

Students age 11 to 18 across Italy vied for first place in a nationwide human rights film contest based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the education initiative of Youth For Human Rights International.

The competition offered students an opportunity to explore their creativity while at the same time expanding their social consciousness by learning about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the state of human rights in the world today.

Now in its fourth year, the competition is organized by Youth for Human Rights Italy. Schools are invited to participate in the program that begins with students watching the Youth for Human Rights public service announcements illustrating each of the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the short film The Story of Human Rights. They then choose an issue related to human rights for their projects.

This year, 76 films were submitted to the competition.

The program is supported by the Alderman for Educational Growth of the city of Rome and the regional council of Latium.

The young filmmakers took part in an entire day of activities beginning with an acting workshop led by the Golden Theater art directors who then screened the winning films and presented the awards.

Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) is the youth component of United for Human Rights (UHR). It is a global nonprofit organization founded in 2001 with the purpose to inspire youth to become advocates for tolerance and peace by educating them on the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

UHR has now grown into a global movement with over 150 chapters and its educational materials, translated into 27 languages, bring the message of human rights to 195 nations. The Youth for Human Rights public service announcements and The Story of Human Rights educational film air on the Scientology Network in 17 languages and on hundreds of other television stations around the world.

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