Commemorate The 70th Anniversary Of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Source: TED Ed

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on December 10, 1948. This Monday marks the 70th Anniversary of this historic day that is celebrated every year as “Human Rights Day.”

With the unfortunate rise of hate in our society, it would be great if in some small way we could all take a moment to acknowledge the rights of all people with our students. Let's inform our young global citizens about what this day means and encourage them to stand up for human rights.

Source: Stand Up For Human Rights

The official page for the 70th Anniversary of the UDHR provides an array of resources for educators. In addition, students can take the pledge and add their support for human rights. Ask students to participate through social media using the hashtags #StandUp4HumanRights and #RightsOutLoud on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Source: United Nations

Source: United Nations

The United Nations also produced a booklet with beautiful illustrations by Yacine Ait Kaci. Read it online or download the PDF for your classroom library. The sketchnote quality of the images makes for good examples to inspire students to create their own drawings in support of human rights.

Stand Up For Human Rights - Add Your Voice

The United Nations released this video in 2017 to ask individuals to submit videos of themselves reading the preamble or articles from the UDHR to commemorate the 70th anniversary. There is still time to add your voice by having students record and add their own.




What Are The Universal Human Rights?
TED educational videos are our go-to for many topics. This video is perfect for any age. It helps students understand the basics of human rights including who and how they are enforced. The video explores the subtleties of human rights; it makes for an excellent place to start a class discussion, especially with younger children.





The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights
We are big fans of kinetic typography to graphically combine the power of words with images and music. This video will not disappoint. It's straightforward and powerful. Students love it.




Youth For Human Rights
This website is loaded with resources for educators, including a full curriculum, lessons, downloads, and more. It also created short public service announcements on each of the 30 rights in the UDHR. One of our favorite PSAs is Human Right #2 - Don't Discriminate. Watch this with students; it sends a clear message about about discrimination by appearance.