YHRI World Tour 2007 returned home to Los Angeles on June 12th but the work has only just begun. With the new contacts made, new collaborations being formed and new memorandums of understanding being drawn up, our global expansion is at an all-time high!

The purpose of Youth for Human Rights International is to teach youth about human rights, specifically the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and inspire them to become valuable advocates for tolerance and peace.

International Development Director Tim Bowles returned to Accra, Ghana, this week to conclude the current phase of YHRI’s human rights leadership project in conjunction with YHRI-Ghana. Chiefly organized by YHRI’s African program director Sammy Jacobs-Abbey, competing members of four area secondary schools presented their findings on investigation projects in a 29 June forum held at the Coconut Grove Regency Hotel.

Tim Bowles, YHRI’s International Development Director, moved on from Ghana to Liberia this week, joining West African program director Jay Yarsiah, YHRI-Liberia country director Teewon Dolopei, and other dedicated volunteers to produce the first national YHRI-Liberia Human Rights Leadership Forum on 6 July 2007. The event was held in the auditorium of the Ministry of Gender and Development. Leading government officials attending the forum included the Liberian Attorney General Frances Johnson-Morris, Minister of Labor Kofi Samuel Woods and Vice President Joseph Boakai’s Chief of Staff, Mr.

YHRI’s Director of International Development, Tim Bowles, and West African Program Director, Jay Yarsiah, met today with the Liberian Vice President Joseph Boakai. Recognizing the progress made in Liberia, Mr. Boakai endorsed YHRI’s initiatives, encouraging Mr. Bowles and Mr. Yarsiah to take the human rights education campaign nationwide.

YHRI’s Director of International Development, Tim Bowles, and West African program director, Jay Yarsiah, wrapped up four days in Freetown today, collaborating with Foundation for International Dignity (FIND) Sierra Leone program director David Mondesila on YHRI’s first human rights leadership competition for secondary school students in the country.

Young Austrian racecar driver, Niki Lanik, and his Youth 4 Human Rights Racing Team, promoted human rights while Lanik sped around the speeedway at Thruxton, in England. He placed eighth and fourth out of thirty competitors for the final two rounds of the 2007 Clio Cup Championship. The weekend was action packed with live Sky TV coverage and over 25,000 motorsport enthusiasts.

Over fifty events were held around the world to celebrate the United Nations International Human Rights Day on 10 December. Sixty years ago, on 10 December 1948, the United Nations established the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) with the intention of preventing the atrocities that led to World War II from ever happening again.

To celebrate the holiday season, YHRI Florida decided to help children not as privileged as them. They therefore held a toy drive, collecting over 300 toys for children in Haiti. Toys were donated by three toy stores, Limited Too, KB Todays and All Children’s Place along with donations from two schools, Clearwater Academy and Delphi Academy.

Radio listeners in Cape Town, South Africa, heard Youth for Human Rights International’s President Mary Shuttleworth speak on human rights on Cape Town’s The Voice of the Cape radio station on November 23, 2007. Interviewed by Triple T Show Producer and Presenter Mishka Daries, Ms. Shuttleworth discussed YHRI’s educational materials and curricula and their effectiveness in improving the well-being of youth in South Africa and other countries. The Triple T Show is a youth show broadcast biweekly over the worldwide web.

Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) reports that visits to its website, www.youthforhumanrights.org, tripled since the beginning of the year. This is as a result of YHRI’s public service announcements (PSAs) airing on major cable networks such as CNN International.

Mary Shuttleworth, YHRI’s Founder and President said “With the help of major cable networks including CNN International, we have been able to expand dramatically the number of people we can reach with our message.”