Youth for Human Rights of Tampa Bay, Florida, held its 2nd Annual Human Rights Walkathon at North Straub Park to promote human rights, with over 350 people from all walks of life in attendance. They were joined by the Red Cross, Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking, Community Tampa Bay, the St. Petersburg Islamic Center and the Nation of Islam.

Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) spokesperson, Tracie Morrow, and YHRI’s Youth President delivered human rights lessons to students at the Youth Action Summit of the California Association of Students Council (CASC). www.casc.net.

They came on the invitation of Dr. June Thompson, Executive Director of CASC, the more than 60-year-old nonprofit organization whose mission is to develop skilled leaders. CASC does this through focusing on peer training of students and advisors to foster self-esteem and build citizenship.

Every four minutes another one of the thirty human rights from the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights aired on major stations in Switzerland, marking the 60th Anniversary of the Declaration. Viewed on large screens in major train stations in Zurich, Bern, Lausanne and Geneva, these public service announcements (PSAs) brought human rights education to viewers 1,500 times in one day.

Human rights education is a vital component of Liberia’s post-conflict reconstruction. Without knowledge of such fundamental freedoms, our youth are exposed to repetition of the exploitations and atrocities of the war years. Thus, Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) has been working with its local chapter leaders since 2006 to build consensus and support to teach the nation’s youth their basic human rights and responsibilities contained in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Article by Chris W. Burst of Persian Mirror

A global artistic and educational effort has been formed to raise the awareness of Iranian youth on their human rights in form of an art competition.

Youth representatives from 27 nations recently joined more than 1,000 human rights advocates, religious leaders, governmental officials and artists at the 5th Annual International Human Rights Summit in New York.

Sponsored by Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) and the Human Rights Department of the Church of Scientology International, the summit was a packed series of events all aimed at getting the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights actually implemented by nations across the world—and the celebration of the 60th Anniversary of its adoption.

The year 2008 marks the fifth World Tour for Mary Shuttleworth, President of Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI). She traveled more than 37,000 miles to the Caribbean and then through Africa and Asia—returning to her starting point in Los Angeles this summer.

This year we connected with national governments like never before, including officials of Haiti, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Venezuela, Morocco, Pakistan and Taiwan, as well as executives of several national TV networks.

Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) is an NGO (nongovernmental organization) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). With 56 participating countries, it is the largest regional security organization in the world. From September 29 to October 10, 2008, these Member States and NGOs met in Warsaw, Poland, for Europe’s largest human rights gathering. YHRI President Mary Shuttleworth, Ed.D., joined other NGO representatives in Warsaw. Her statement there follows.

Where, after all, do Universal Rights begin?

"In small places, close to home—so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere." —Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt