Hey human, do you know your rights?

Have you ever read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?

If yes, how about refreshing your memory?

If not,  how about going for a first time experience? It doesn’t take long. It is composed of

30 short articles and you can read it in 370 different languages.

“The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Dra

fted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all

regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. It sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected.” (UDHR)

If you wish to explore a bit more, check the videos of the commemoration of Human Rights day in 2008 and 2009.

A social enterprise in India delivering possibilities for deaf youth

“Mirakle Courier Company is courier company with a difference in Mumbai. We hire underprivileged deaf boys for pick-ups and drops and the sorting is done by deaf girls. In India people with different abilities have been discouraged for a long time as a result of this discrimination there is a strong sense in the minds that they are useless and not worthy of anything. I am just using the word “they” for reference, we are one team and there are no differences.

we will prove them wrong…” watch Mirakle’s website.

Source: Mirakle Curriers’s website

It is a for-profit organisation aiming to integrate deaf youth into the job market. Allocating the right person in the right place the company has been creating jobs and generating profit which will allow the business to expand and employ more people. A sustainable business that uses deaf’s skills which are often rejected by companies.

Photography as a tool for social change? How?

PhotoVoice is an organisation that encourages “the use of documentary photography by enabling those that have traditionally been the subject of such work to become its creator – to have control over how they are perceived by the rest of the world, while simultaneously learning a new skill which can enhance their lives.” (PhotoVoice’s website)

Take a look at the PhotoVoice film and galleries.

How does PhotoVoice projects bring positive social change ?????

- Promoting SELF-DEVELOPMENT through:

• “Providing a unique means for expression and creativity;
• Enabling vulnerable groups to work through difficulties or trauma that they may have experienced, in a safe and secure workshop environment;
• Encouraging participants to gain confidence in their capabilities and their role in civil society.”

- Promoting ADVOCACY through:

• “Enabling those who are traditionally the subjects of photography to become its creator;
• Giving a voice to those who are too often ignored or silenced;
• Enabling participants to become advocates for change;
• Enabling participants to inform and affect policy on local and international levels.”

- Promoting A BETTER STANDARD OF LIVING for PhotoVoice participants through:

• “Providing training in vocational photography and media skills;
• Supporting particularly talented individuals in pursuing further studies in photography;
• Setting up apprenticeship schemes and work placements in conjunction with other media and training bodies in the project countries;
• Selling and marketing images produced by PhotoVoice participants on their behalf.”

PhotoVoice’s projects have been running “since 1999 [...] working in over 12 different countries with over 1000 beneficiaries, pioneering the use of photography with refugee groups, street children, orphans, the homeless, HIV/ AIDS sufferers and special need groups. Countries that PhotoVoice has worked in include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and the United Kingdom.”

PhotoVoice changing communities:

PhotoVoice: childrem in Toronto capturing their environment:

PhotoVoice in Kenya:

PhotoVoice in the lives of participants with spinal cord injury:

Other videos:

- PhotoVoice process

- PhotoVoice at the Youth Action Institute

Picture in this post: www.freedigitalphotos.net