20 March 2013

Learners advocate with art at SAHA workshop on the right to know

 

Human Rights Day 2013: Art for advocacy workshop from South African History Archive on Vimeo.

On 15 March, SAHA hosted 40 learners and educators from Senaoane Secondary School for a workshop about human rights, the right to know, and how art can be used in advocacy.

The workshop was held in honour of Human Rights Day. It began with a tour of Constitution Hill, where learners heard about human rights abuses committed under apartheid and about South Africa's Constitutional Court.

Learners then participated in a workshop about human rights. They discussed examples from the Bill of Rights, such as the right to housing, the right to food, the right to security of the person, the right to health, and the rights of children. Learners shared insightful and creative ideas about how human rights are often violated and how they can be protected.

The right to know was the central theme of the workshop. Learners quickly understood that without access to information, people are more vulnerable to having their human rights violated. They also came to see the right to information as a powerful tool to help them protect their rights.

Learners were then introduced to struggle posters from SAHA's extensive poster collection in the archives and learnt about the various ways posters have been used to promote human rights and to support both past and contemporary struggles for justice in South Africa.

Learners spent the afternoon creating vivid posters to inform people about human rights and advocate for their protection.