United for Human Rights, an Innovative Human Rights Education Initiative, Was a Perfect Fit at the Innovative School Summit in New York

Educators seeking to learn about new insights to reach and teach children found the United for Human Rights materials and curriculum filled their needs

According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, “Each year, millions of K-12 students experience hostile behaviors like bullying, hate speech, hate crimes, or assault.” Many attending the Innovative School Summit at the Marriott Marquis on Times Square in New York February 28 to March 1 are keenly aware of the urgent need for effective programs that empower young victims of abuse. United for Human Rights, an international, not-for-profit organization headquartered in Los Angeles, approaches this issue with education. The group is dedicated to raising awareness of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. And this emphatically includes children’s rights. 

 

Innovative School Summits are part of a growing movement to raise the quality of education and its impact on the lives of youth. While many human rights organizations focus on research and advocacy for abuse victims, United for Human Rights and its initiative for younger children, Youth for Human Rights International, complement these efforts by creating effective educational materials and making them broadly available. 

United for Human Rights believes that education is the foundation and catalyst for changing the state of human rights in the world. Educators need effective materials and tools they can use to incorporate human rights in their curricula and United for Human Rights fills this need: 

• An educator’s guide—a complete manual for implementing a human rights curriculum
• Lesson plans for middle, high school and college classes
• Youth for Human Rights manual and lesson plans for teaching human rights to young children
• The text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and a simplified version for children
• A series of youth-friendly public service announcements that bring each of the 30 articles of the UDHR to life
• A brief and engaging documentary on the history of human rights

Educators visiting the United for Human Rights booth were eager to order sets of these materials for use with their classes. One teacher from Canada has used the program for 10 years and shared how effective she finds it. An executive of a nonprofit charter school management organization who is passionate about human rights ordered both the United for Human Rights and Youth for Human Rights educator kits for teacher training programs. And one educator, whose son is a young activist, told the staff at the booth that the program was perfect for youth like him.

Thanks to the generous support of Scientology Churches and Scientologists and inspired by the words of L. Ron Hubbard that “human rights must be made a fact, not an idealistic dream,” United for Human Rights and Youth for Human Rights make all materials available free of charge to educators. They can be ordered online on the United for Human Rights website.