70 years human rights

In 2018, the world celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948 and is a milestone document in the history of human rights. It was the first document setting out the fundamental human rights to be universally protected. The Declaration recognises the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family as the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. Around the world, we see that human rights are increasingly under pressure and space for civil society, journalists and cartoonists is shrinking. It is therefore imperative that we continue to work together to make sure that the next generation is educated about their rights and the Declaration – and what better way to do that than through cartoons.

Together with the United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) and the government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, we launched a project creating cartoons about the importance of the UDHR. Out of over 500 cartoons sent in from all over the world, 30 winning cartoons were selected – one for each article of the UDHR.

The Next Movement uses these cartoons, representing each article of the UDHR, in our youth programmes. The way we approach this, is not to just teach about Human Rights, but we create scenarios in which the participants have a lived experience.

Check out our youth programme hand-out at the DOWNLOAD BUTTON, showing all the UDHR articles transformed into cartoons!