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Our Year, Our Voice!!! and a visit to the UN

2010-08-14T15:34:00.000-07:00

We left UCONN really early in the morning in two buses that took us to New York to live what would be a great experience. Once at the UN the almost 100 participants, facilitators and staff in the group were received by UN employees who kindly showed us the free spots we had in almost the front lines at the General Assembly Hall. For most of us it was the first time in our lives to have the chance to actually step into that room...it was so exciting!!

As the organizers set everything up for the coming event, many of the group had the chance to jump on the very real podium of the Hall and take pictures. So many world leaders had the chance to speak in there now it was our chance!

At 10 am, the ceremony of the Global Launch of the International Year of Youth commenced, with the presence of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon.

Chris Bashinelli, the very young executive director of Bridge the Gap, was the master of ceremony, inviting in and out of the stage to all the multiple and very interesting speakers that had a space in the agenda of the event.

The ceremony started with a musical performance of the pop band "The Bonde", who ended up making everyone in the Hall dance and clap, Ban Ki-Moon included. The Secretary General followed, announcing the main topic of this year for youth, which is "Dialogue and Mutual Understanding". In his speech he encouraged all the young people in the room to "engage with the world and be a global citizen".

"Please help us spread the word, promote new ways to engage people"...

"I want to make sure that the torch we pass to new generations is a torch of peace"...

Many other inspiring speeches followed, spoke by young and not-that-young people such us Maya Saoud, Samir Laabidi, Modeste Kéréku, Jean-Francis Régis Zinsou, Sha Zukang, Thoraya Obaid, Jane Stewart, Monique Coleman, which were interspersed with the videos "Voices from Emergencies" from Youth Zones, "Making Room" and "Diversity makes the world colorful":

Hereby some other images and quotes of a wonderful morning...

"For every issue there´s at least one young person with one project or one idea"...

"It´s not only about having potential but live out our potential, starting by small acts that can turn into huge things"...

"Any country only has its future through the opportunities it opens to its youth"... (Minister Kéréku)

Mairam Williamson was quoted by Monique Coleman:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

We love NYC!

2010-08-12T23:10:00.000-07:00

After the exciting morning in the UN building, we split in smaller groups to tour around the city. Some of us went to touristy places, and some others stayed taking a tour in the UN and then visiting the NGO "Global Justice".

We had great fun at the Big Apple!

Pinta tu aldea y pintarás el mundo (Paint your own town and you´ll paint the world)

2010-08-10T19:30:00.000-07:00

With the exception of the morning at Holiday Hill Camp, we have been spending our time listening to lectures and each other at group meetings in the facilities of Uconn. This day, we had the chance to go outdoors and have some fun and also enjoy ourselves by doing some community service.

With a lunch box for each of us we got on the buses that took us to Hartford´s Camp Courant.Their mission is to provide a summer sanctuary for Hartford 5-12 years-old, which enables them to develop positive relationships, learn and have fun. Although the children were not there when we arrived, we were received by the staff who immediately handed us out brushes, paint and other painting materials. We split in smaller groups, and started painting and restoring some of the facilities. We enjoyed the sunny day and service activity along with very interesting conversations that took place as we were painting.

After the Camp we headed to Mansfield Hollow Dam to have an early dinner under the trees. Later on, some of us played football, some others volleyball, and others just sit on the grass to keep chatting, getting to each other´s stories and experiences. Check out some pictures!

The guys resting from a multicultural, multi-talented, multilingual football match.

Food Security in a Broken System (by Sara Hahn)

2010-08-10T10:57:00.000-07:00

On a theoretical level, I understand the agony of hunger; but I have been fortunate that so far in my life, food security has never been an issue for me. As a middle-class American citizen, I have been lucky to always know where my next meal is coming from and how I can access nutritional options.

Sarah Sontara of FoodShare

Regardless, this is not the case for 50 million Americans or a billion people around the world, who do not eat three nutritious meals a day. This was illustrated powerfully in today's workshop on hunger in the United States.

Sarah M. Sontara of FoodShare (www.foodshare.org) spoke to us about the food insecurity situation in Connecticut, but the takeaway extends far beyond the state or the USA. In a role-play, we were divided so that some of us acted as grocers, social service workers, and SNAP (food stamp) distributors. The rest received cards that explained our identities, incomes, and money available to pay for food.

Lubna enjoying the role-play

I was given the role of a single father raising three children, who has only $7 a day left over after paying for rent, utilities, a car, etc. I was ineligible for SNAP, and the social services office was always either closed or unhelpful. But I was one of the lucky ones: others were undocumented, and thus they could not even attempt to access social services for fear of deportation. Snagged in the bureaucracy, hardly any of us were able to afford food that was sufficiently nutritious and substantive enough to feed our families.

The lesson was powerful on several levels. It helped all of us empathize with the immense difficulty of hunger, and to better understand the tangled web of social services. But it also struck me on a more personal level. In a few weeks, I begin graduate school to be a social worker. But do I really want to enter a field of work where I become the face of a bureaucratic, unhelpful governmental program? Can I really be effective if the system is broken?

Ms Ms. Sontara pointed out, "the social workers are frazzled, too. They handle thousands of cases. They don't have the resources or support they need to handle these situations."

It seems to me that there are more effective and efficient models out there: rights-based approaches, which acknowledge the urgency of food security and allocate the funding and resources necessary for social service workers to do their jobs and for the hungry to access the food they need. It is my hope that this is a system I can help become a reality.

How do we make this happen? Maybe I'll find the answers in my future studies. I am certain that it requires a combination of advocacy, transparency and accountability. I think that other countries have models that the U.S. should examine and emulate with humility. And I think answers are to be found in the rich, dynamic community of the UNESCO International Forum and the perspectives of the many people with knowledge and experience in this field. I'm honored to be learning with everyone here, and eager to see what new solutions we find.

“These are not numbers, these are human beings..."

2010-08-08T19:29:00.000-07:00

In an afternoon full of reflection on theory and practice of human rights, we addressed the role of the UN in guaranteeing the universal respect of human rights and peace-keeping worldwide. Both in lecture and debate, we questioned the conflicting ideal and reality of human rights in our own communities and the world at large.

Keynote Address: Gillian Sorensen

In an engaging and motivating speech, Gillian shared her vast experience as assistant secretary-general for external relations of the UN on appointment by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

After briefly summarizing the history of the Declaration of Human Rights and the structure and work of the UN around the world, Ms. Sorensen shared her reflections on the importance of humanizing the cold figures and statistics used to articulate populations discussed in human rights advocacy. It is critical in our work to remember that everyone around the world has faces and voices and are human beings.

She reminded us of always sharing our stories and listening to others, where questions like “Tell me your story, how did you get here?” can help to open conversations where dialogue and empathy develop and foster our understanding of the world and our shared humanity.

Gillian also reminded us of the fact that human rights abuses occur not only with death but trauma. Survivors of human rights abuse carry the burden of pain and memory throughout their lives, influencing others and the generations to follow.

Because human rights belong to each and everyone us, we need to work together in what it takes to assure their respect around the world. Ms. Sorensen especially insisted in that we need leadership to make it happen. After her experiences in conflict resolution and negotiations around the world, she confidently asserted that it takes courage and strength to demand human rights for all:

- to speak truth to power

- to face the risks involved in this type of work

- to call our own governments to account

- to do our research and effectively apply human rights to every aspect of our work and lives

When finished, Gillian had to answered pointed questions regarding the work of the UN to assure peace-keeping in the world, prevention of war, and human rights abuses.

Hasn’t the United Nations itself proved too bureaucratic to work?

Does the UN act upon the interest of certain member states?

Don´t you think the UN is run by double standards?

Do you have any suggestions or recommendations on how to remove the veto power from P-5?

Human Rights at large: Prof. Nasila Rembe

In his lecture on the history and development of human rights, Professor Rembe defined human rights as a product of conflicts and struggles from around the world. They are steps toward a solution of realizing the values and aspirations intrinsic to human life. In the words of Boutros Boutros Ghali, the struggle for human rights is an attempt for citizens of the world to speak to one another in the “common language of humanity.” Professor Rembe reminded us that “human rights is a mirror that at once flatters us and shames us.” Inextricable from democracy, peace, and social justice, human rights cannot be fully realized without the existence of those three counterparts.

A group conversation on the universality of human rights followed, where many of us raised some questions. Some of them were:

Are the concepts of cultural relativism and universal human rights mutually exclusive?

Where is the universality of human rights when the policies of George Bush and Tony Blair are exempt from human rights law, but when developing countries execute similar policies, they are punished by the leaders of the international community?

After having dinner, we ended the day by splitting into smaller groups in facilitated group meetings. We were able to discuss our insights on the lectures shared today and get to know each other more.

Millennium Development Goals – Prof. Shyamala Raman

2010-08-08T14:49:00.000-07:00

Although almost all of us were pretty familiar with the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), kind and smiling Prof. Shyamala -dressed in a beautiful Indian fair-trade produced sari-, led us to reflect about the remaining challenges around the implementation and advancement of the Millennium Development Goals, as well as our role as youth leaders to promote them.

"Don´t look at the MDGs as planning targets, rather as inspirational goal

Progress has been varied, according to follow up reports by the UN, in spite of the global financial and food crises. However, some countries have already declared they will not be able to reach the Goals in time. Discussion focused mostly around ways in which we, as a growing human rights network, could learn and share to promote the achievement of these countries to reach the MDGs.

After sharing lots of useful links and documents on the topic, Shyamala directed her lecture towards the interdependence and interconnection between all MDGs. To quote Stephen Hawking, "the science of the 21st century is complexity," and we need to see MDGs as an interdependent system of guiding indicators with which to navigate.

MDGs are helping governments to implement human rights and hold each other accountable. “Each one of us has to become the agent of change and influence people around us, politicians, scholars, business men, the media," she said.

Shyamala mentioned three qualities we need to have as human rights activists in the contemporary world:

1) GLOBAL AWARENESS: “Know what´s going on outside of your village!”

2) GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE: “Always bare in mind the impact of things, how what happens in one country, affects other places and many times your own country”.

3) GLOBAL CRITIAL LITERACY: “Dig deep into facts and info you hear; think of the underlying aspects of events, reports, news. Learn about country backgrounds. Make critical reflections”.

From a personal perspective, we could ask ourselves a few simple and poignant questions: How am I linked to others? How do my actions influence others? What can I do when I figure this out?

She also suggested three resources for us to consider in order to advance on those qualities: virtual activism, linking local and global, and deepening our social justice perspective, for which she particularly recommended reading Amartya Sen´s “The Idea of Justice”.

As a final exercise, Prof. Raman shared these two questions with the group so each of us could shortly respond among ourselves:

i. “How do you as youth leaders see your role, between now and 2015 in regard of MDGs?”

ii. “How do you envisage building a post-MDGs consciousness?”

Links and documents shared by her can be found here.

As an example of what Prof. Shyamala encouraged us to do, the following is a video made during the 5th Edition of this Forum in 2009, by some participants to informally raise awareness on the MDGs:

Sunday, peaceful Sunday...

2010-08-08T13:09:00.000-07:00

We started today with diverse and interesting lectures, a keynote speaker throughout the morning and afternoon, followed by time to raise questions and hear other people´s opinions and cases.

The topics addressed today were: Peace culture and education, Millennium Development Goals, the role and work of the UN in the world and the Universality of Human Rights.

Culture of Peace: Dr. David Adams

"No enemy, no war" Dr. Adams said.

Professor Emeritus and former Director of the UNESCO Unit for the International Year for the Culture of Peace, Dr. David Adams, started the lecture by giving us a bad news as well as good news: the bad news is that global economy and system today are not stable and will crash, bringing enormous suffering and confusion. The good news is that in times when communications are more fluid between people around the world and we enjoy of the greatest global consciousness in History, we can make a new civilization on the planet earth on the basis of culture of Peace, instead of culture of War. We were challenged by Dr. Adams to realize that this good news could be the most dramatic transformation in the history of humanity, and reflect on the role we can play on anticipating and preparing ourselves for such transformation. "What are we going to do when the culture of war crashes? We better be prepared!"

We spent an important part of the session conceptualizing the Culture of War, and in turn the opposite idea, the Culture of Peace, as an alternative. After brainstorming about both terms, we came up with the following concepts. The Culture of War is defined by Oppression, Enemy, Competition, Weapons-Military, Control of Information, Male Dominance and Male Led Conflict, Profits, and Power. The Culture of Peace is defined by Human Rights, Solidarity-Tolerance-Understanding, Cooperation, Disarmament, Free flow of Information, Equality of Men and Women, Sustainable and equitable human development, Democratic participation, and Education for Peace.

David continued his lecture by mentioning problems like the lack of awareness of the Culture of Peace, the marginal support of the UN to achieve it, and the monopoly of violence by states. "You are not allowed to kill anybody, unless you work for the State". Some participants found his statements idealistic and controversial, particularly those related to the monopoly of violence by states, and came up with the following questions:

Is a culture of peace possible in Middle Eastern countries, where powerful officials in control of the state are appointed, not elected, and therefore alienated from the consensus of the populace? Is the police force a manifestation of the culture of war? What can students in universities do? Can the state bring peace?

As part of his presentation, he presented some notable links and resources:

Report on the Decade for a Culture of Peace, directed by attendee to the forum Marcos de Oliveira.

Decade for the Culture of Peace website

Culture of Peace website - created by David Adams, with online access to his books and articles.

He ended his lecture with the motivator that "Peace is in our hands"

More on Day 2: inspiration is in the air...

2010-08-07T14:28:00.000-07:00

Refreshed after the entertaining journey at Holiday Hill Camp and the lunch that followed, all participants were ready for the set of activities that took place during
the afternoon of this second day:

Open Forum for Young Leaders: sharing of Experiences and Perspectives.

Everyone was invited to share experiences and intentions for the conference forum, providing also essential facts or aspects about our human rights work and leadership habits. As they spoke, the air was filled with the overwhelming strength and power of all the extraordinary and influential activists present.

Njonguo (Cameroon) evoked the image of a tall tower built from the name plaques of each participant, each one standing strong on top of the other. If one is pulled from the bottom, the tower crumbles. Like this, in the quest for human rights, as activists we must work as a community… if one fails, all fail, and we succeed as a team. This principle of universality connects the wide range of the careers and experiences of everyone attending the forum, from gender rights and education access to youth empowerment, disability rights, and micro-finance projects.

Zuki, a South African participant, called on these youth to be a generation of mice that roar. Small like mice as individuals, but together they are as strong and royal as lions.

Surrounded by the genius and beauty of Tunisia, Brazil, Greece, Lithuania,Tajikistan, and more, the general feeling was that this diversity of participants came here to learn something, take it back to our homes, furthering the frontiers of human rights.

The sharing session concluded with a brief question and answer session with Professor Amii, giving us all the opportunity to air our own concerns with the human rights process and come away with advice from the director of the UNESCO Chair program.

Movie Screening: Emannuel´s Gift

With the guidance of facilitator Jyoti Vidhani we watched this highly inspirational documentary telling the story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah.

He was a 27-year-old Ghanan who was born with only one leg; the shame led his father to abandon the family, but his mother was determined to see her son grow up with strength and dignity, and with the help of a prosthetic leg, Yeboah was able to walk and care for himself. Determined to show his countrymen that the handicapped were capable of more than most were willing to acknowledge, Yeboah contacted an American organization called the Challenged Athletes Foundation, and with their help, set out on an unusual quest -- learning to ride a racing bike, and then piloting it across the nation of Ghana. Emmanuel's Gift is a documentary which chronicles Yeboah's remarkable life and his courageous journey, as well as the impact it had on his family as well as on handicapped people throughout the African continent.

A discussion on the situation of people physically impaired on many of our countries followed, and some of us shared some insights on the movie.

I´m inspired by Emannuel´s thinking. The simple story about his friends consistently not allowing him to play soccer with them. He found a way to make it happen. If we think about all the times that we have been told "no", or that our ideas are too idealistic, this powerful lesson is a new reminder that "no" can just be the beginning of the conversation.

Words of Rumeet Toor, Canada, after seeing the movie.

Turn the world around!

2010-08-07T13:11:00.000-07:00

Leaving our Jet-Lag behind, and expecting to fully immerse in the program of the forum, we got on the bus early in the morning heading to Holiday Hill Camp, a local summer camp and retreat near the University.

Once there, a group of animated facilitators awaited us, and after a few short games of mingling and music, we split into various groups with which we would spend the rest of the morning.

In groups of 15, we shared recreational activities of trust building, obstacle courses, and name games to help us get to know each other better and prepare for our time together.

We were challenged to trust one another, to cooperate as teams to carry out different goals during the activities. Who knew that at a human rights forum we would spend a day balancing 15 people on a teeter totter makeshift boat, working together to stay afloat and steady. It was a morning full of team-building and reflecting, but mostly a LOT OF FUN!!

The Director of Holiday Hill Camp closed the day with a meaningful reflection on the story of the flying goose: as leaders we often try to emulate eagles, independent and flying high. Instead we find that as human beings it’s better to live like geese, flying strong together in a V. When the leader gets tired it flies to the back, letting the next goose take the lead. A real leader knows when to share the work, and when to let another take the lead. Just like Mary Oliver illustrates in her poem, “Wild Geese”…

“Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting-
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things”.

We sang a last song before heading back to UCONN:

Go back to your place and turn the world around!!

Everybody Welcome!

2010-08-06T21:49:00.000-07:00

Today was the first official day of the forum! Participants safely arrived from around the world, and the anticipation and excitement of the 6th annual youth human rights forum came to a head at the welcoming ceremony and dinner. Introductions with colorful accents, from Cambodia to Afghanistan, from Lithuania to Brazil, blended together in a mellow hum to create the first united conversation of the conference.

To commence what promises to be an interesting and packed agenda, we shared our first memories together...

Welcome Dinner and Reception

Wearing fresh nametags as proudly as our dress clothes, we attended the welcome reception and dinner with Professor Amii and the UNESCO team. We were greeted with Amii's jokes and sly smile, his words of encouragement urging us to push our comfort zones, confront our stereotypes, and recognize our place on the shoulders of those who came before us. It's now our turn to take advantage of the valuable days ahead, strengthening the shoulders of this new found and united body.

Short Film and Discussion: The Making of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

90+ strong in our makeshift movie theater, we learned the brief history of the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), a fundamental document in the human rights movement. The film was followed by challenging questions from renowned South African UNESCO Chair, Professor Nasila Rembe:

What would have happened if World War Two had not occurred?

If the delegates in this forum could rewrite the UDHR today, would it be different from the one signed in 1948?

The group posed some interesting questions in response, focusing on the legitimacy of the document itself and its relevance in present human rights conflicts.

Cafe Ami

Sighs of warm relief for a respite from the frigid air conditioning, we gathered to share coffee, desserts, and common interests. In this casual round table activity we replied to questions like "Who are you inspired by?", or "What's the strangest food you've eaten?". Despite being miles away from our native countries, and in light of our differences and similarities, it's funny how easy it is to feel at home.

"I was amazed on how people from different societies will surprise you when you get to know them. Tim, for Burma and NYC, claims to dance salsa, bachata and even cumbia... and probably much better than me!"
Words of Rogelio Cortes, from México

We are exhausted and excited, inspired by easily the two best guidelines spoken to us today... ready to enjoy ourselves because this is our time: ten days to feel free.