Dear Friends and Colleagues:
I’d like to know your thoughts on an issue that’s been on my mind more than ever lately.
Just after the Brussels terrorist attack, I received an email from a friend who worried that fear-mongering, especially directed at specific groups of people, would worsen already challenging situations. He wondered how to infuse more about peace, connection and compassion into the public conversation, a question that resonated with my own thoughts following a recent conversation I had with a group of youth at the REACH Ashland Youth Center as they read the UDHR.
The UDHR came about in response to the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust, providing an internationally agreed-upon set of rights that members of the world community would uphold to foster peace and respect for human dignity.Yet only a small percentage (7%) of the US population knows the UDHR exists!
In the clip above, I note examples of how youth have applied their knowledge of the UDHR to day-to-day situations. We’d like to know your thoughts —and those of your friends, family, students, and colleagues — about these issues.
- How can knowledge of the UDHR help us move public conversation toward finding solutions that include empathy and respect for all human beings, even while dealing with horrific acts committed by some people?
- How can knowledge of our human rights help us bring about the changes needed to address the gaps in these rights in our immediate communities?
Email us ideas that we can share at info@theworldasitcouldbe.org, or start a conversation on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or other social media.
Thank you for responding so that we can help generate constructive conversation and actions that move us toward The World As It Could Be!
With appreciation and best regards,
Sandy Sohcot, Director
