WELCOME TO BANKSIA GARDENS COMMUNITY CENTRE!
STAND UP AND BE COUNTED! - HUMAN RIGHTS INNOVATION PROJECT
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."
- Article 1 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
Some of the young people who will be involved in the project
- 1. About the project
- 2. Hume’N Writes Stories Competition
- 3. Human Rights Workshops
- 4. Human Rights Advocates
- 5. Human Rights links
1. About the project
Motivation
Unfortunately, unlike most other industrialized counties, and despite the fact that Australia is a signatory of the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights, Australia does not have a charter or Bill or Rights. Because of this, it can be argued that Australia's protection of Human Rights is inconsistent. As a result the community has fractured understanding and approach to rights.
Project description
The Stand Up and Be Counted Project is a partnership between all the Hume Neighbourhood Houses and involves the following activities:
- - Itinerant Human Rights Workshops that will be carried out in Neighbourhood Houses in Hume.
- - A Human rights Competition aimed at collecting relevant personal stories from community members.
- - The elaboration of a publication (Hume’N Writes Stories) documenting, displaying and celebrating the local stories collected.
- - A Hume'N Writes Stories Launch community event with a key note speaker.
This project is the first of its kind to explicitly incorporate Human Rights Awareness Programs into the regular operations of Neighbourhood Houses in the City of Hume and will raise awareness of human rights in our local area.
Breakdancer at Banksia Gardens CC
Our goals
Some of the project's goals include:
- - To promote the growth of a human rights constituency in Australia.
- - To increase the diversity of Amnesty International supporters.
- - To have a demonstrable human rights impact.
- - To raise community awareness of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Hume Social Justice Charter and Citizens' Bill of Rights and of the relevance of these documents to people's daily lives.
- - To set a precedent for the establishment of a joint annual event to celebrate Human Rights.
How to collaborate with the project
The project is well under way with our Human Rights Workshops and the SUBC Hume’N Writes Stories Competition.
If you are interested in having a workshop run at your workplace, school or community group please contact us. We can tailor our workshops according to the audience whether young people, refugees, CALD/ESL or women's groups.
If you would like to volunteer for the project in any capacity please contact Joanna or Jaime for further information. For example you may be interested in presenting or arranging an activity for one of our workshops or being involved with the preparations for the Hume’N Writes Stories publication and launch in August 2009.
Or if you simply have any ideas and would like to collaborate with us in some way, feel free to drop us a line!
Partners and funding bodies
The 'Stand Up and Be Counted' is a partnership between all the Neighbourhood Houses in the City of Hume and is funded primarily by Amnesty International Australia and Hume City Council.
We would also like to thank and acknowledge the following partners who have contributed a significant amount of funding for the project:
- - Australian Lawyers Alliance
- - Hoyts Cinemas
- - Impact Digital Printing
- - The Smith Family Australia
- - Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission
Your support is crucial and has contributed to the success of the project thus far.
2. Hume’N Writes Stories Competition
Enter this competition to win fantastic prizes while you learn about Human Rights and explore your creativity!
We are collecting stories (world limit 1,500), artworks, photography, short films and poetry that incorporate human rights issues and themes. Entries can include a vision for the future, personal stories or an interpretation of human rights and their relevance for the world today.
To find out more or to enter the competition, please download the following documents:
Competition poster
3. Human Rights Workshops
"I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to death your right to say it”
- François-Marie Arouet (Voltaire)
The Stand Up and Be Counted project has so far made excellent progress. We have conducted a few workshops, secured several more and are still in the process of organising others with Neighbourhood Houses in the Northwest Neighbourhood House Network as well as with local schools and community groups. The workshops have been well received with a lot of interest shown in the topics explored.
The workshops so far have provided a general introduction to human rights and have covered some of the following:
- - What are human rights?
- - Origins of human rights
- - Emergence of modern human rights
- - Universal Declaration of human rights
- - International bill of rights
- - Children have human rights too: Convention on the Rights of the Child
- - Invisible Children and Human Rights in Uganda
- - Internally Displaced Persons and The Lords Resistance Army (LRA)
- - Women’s Rights globally – the reality: Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women
- - Mechanisms to enforce human rights / human rights instruments
- - What about Australia? Human rights treaties incorporated into domestic law
- - Rights in our region – Hume Social Justice Charter and Citizens’ Bill of Rights and The Victorian Human Rights Charter
- - Does Australia need a human rights act?
- - Human rights advocates
- - How to advocate for human rights
There is still a lot of research and workshops to be designed and this will be an ongoing process. Workshops will aim to engage the audience with fun interactive activities.
If you are interested in having a workshop run at your workplace, school or community group please contact us. We can tailor our workshops according to the audience whether young people, refugees, CALD/ESL or women’s groups.
Aung San Suu Kyi
4. Human Rights Advocates
1. Aung San Suu Kyi (BURMA)
- - Pro-democracy activist and leader of the National League for Democracy in Burma.
- - Won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her efforts to bring democracy to Burma.
- - In 1992 she was awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru peace prize by the Government of India for her peaceful and non-violent struggle under a military dictatorship.
- - Currently under detention with the Burmese Junta repeatedly extending her detention.
- - Results of 1990 general election earned her the right to be Prime Minister but her detention by the Junta prevented her from assuming that role.
For further information on Burma and Aung San Suu Kyi:
2. Julian Burnside QC (Australia)
Julian is a prominent Australian barrister, author and advocate on issues relating to human rights and refugees. He is known for his opposition to the mandatory detention of asylum seekers, and has provided legal counsel in a wide array of high-profile cases.
Julian Burnside QC
Mr Burnside is also passionately involved in the arts and has written a range of successful publications, his most recent being Watching Brief: Reflections on Human Rights, Law, Justice (Scribe Publications, 2007) and a children's book Matilda and the Dragon (Allen & Unwin).
For further information on Julian and his campaigns please see:
- Ph:93098531
- Fax: 9302 3604
- admin@banksiagardens.org.au