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Segment 1: Social Justice and Basic Human Rights.

Our guest on this edition of The Doug Noll Show is Judithe Registre, Program Director for the Because I Am a Girl campaign at Plan International USA.  Judithe holds a Master’s degree in Philosophy and Social Policy from American University and a Masters Certificate in Advanced Social Research from Afrikaans University in South Africa, in addition to being a Fellow Alumnus of the Salzburg Seminar, a forum that brings together thinkers and leaders from different global institutions to develop ideas geared towards solving international issues.

Judithe was born in Haiti and discovered a passion for justice and social change at a very young age. At 9 she first realized that young girls have to wash, cook, and clean, while young boys got to play. That idea did not resonate well with her. She wanted to understand how society is structured and how people relate to one another, as well as learn about social justice. Judithe defines social justice as the idea that we are all born with innate human rights: education, quality of life, access to food and water, basic things we need to grow up as dignified human beings.

Segment 2: Invest In Kids Today.

Judithe has been in some of the most difficult places in the world, one of the most challenging being the  Democratic Republic of Congo. Spending time there taught her the true meaning of trauma. In any post-conflict environment, the population experiences trauma and violence at a greater rate than a mainstream population. We need to take into consideration the trauma that the women and girls in those environments have experienced when we attempt to rebuild their society.

The process of healing takes multiple generations. Change happens if we are patient and committed to the long process. The process needs to be centered around the community. If we want to get rid of the problems that occurred 20 years ago, invest in the kids of today. If we educate women and children, change can happen faster than anticipated.

The Because I Am a Girl campaign focuses on girls and invests in educating them before they become women. By 2016 they estimate they will have helped 4 million girls with education, financial skills, basic life training, issues of early marriage, and improved maternity health. The heart of addressing women is to address girls before they hit puberty.

Segment 3: Steady, Persistent and Consistent Efforts.

In developing or post-conflict countries, when young women start to reach puberty they become objects of reproduction and lose opportunity, whereas when young men reach puberty in those same countries, they gain opportunity. The expectations for boys and girls are very different. If we invest in the girl’s education, her contribution to society will be far greater.

Plan International was founded in 1937. They operate in 50 developing countries and have over 600 volunteers all over the world, primarily working with children. They work to ensure education and protection for the rights of kids so they can grow up to become active citizens who hold leadership roles in the community. Their mission is 3-fold: they work at the grassroots level, and at the government level, as well as the international level. Change in any environment is difficult, even when we know change is good for us. Steady, persistent and consistent efforts lead to change.

Segment 4: The Discussion Changes.

The moment someone believes they can do something, the moment we start believing that we have the confidence and the intelligence to make something happen…everything changes. When you have a nation of young women and young girls unable to realize their full potential, it prevents that society from realizing its full potential. It goes far beyond the individual girl. When people start recognizing the overall benefits to investing in girls, and that an educated and intelligent woman makes a better partner, mother, and role model as a whole, the discussion changes. Everything changes.

To listen to the entire interview:

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Segment 1: Youth for Human Rights International.  http://www.youthforhumanrights.org/

Our guest on this edition of The Doug Noll Show is Tim Bowles, Director of International Development for Youth for Human Rights International. Tim practiced constitutional and civil rights law for over 30 years and helped establish valuable protections for free religious practice in American that continue to benefit individuals from all faiths and walks of life. After three decades of litigation work in the American courts, Tim traveled to Ghana, West Africa as a volunteer for Youth for Human Rights International (YFHRI), a U.S. based nonprofit dedicated to human rights education worldwide. In Africa Tim helped teach young people their human rights as embodied in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations. He also met people who shared his vision of bringing increased awareness to the subject of human rights.

Segment 2: Human Rights Education in West Africa.

The YFHRI organization is centered around human rights education and raising the awareness and responsibility levels of youth throughout the world. They conduct international summits around the globe. Tim believes we need to not only teach the existence of human rights, but also make it a reality. His passion is leadership training: planting the seeds that will enable the younger generation. Our young people need to know it is their responsibility to be more confident, more courageous, more creative and more effective than their parents’ generation.

So how do kids in West Africa respond when tasked with spreading human rights principals? Tim has found that kids are wide open to ideas. They’ve seen enough killing --- they have personal experience with murder, rape and other tragedies. The youth that Tim worked with generally had three complaints: a lack of power structure; the NGOs did not go into the side streets and look for opportunities; and they wanted to teach their peers about human rights but did not have the training or support to do so.

Segment 3: Youth Coalition Teams.

After some initial trial and error, YFHRI decided to engage wide groups of young people and mix up the youth in the schools. They organized them into “coalition teams” and everyone had a leadership role and a sub-product or result to work toward. Each team’s task was to create a human rights campaign on a selected issue that created support for human rights education within the student population, civil society, urban leadership, educators and the broader society around them. The teams chose their own issues and were given training and support by YFHRI. They came together at the end of the cycle and shared their phenomenal campaign ideas and results.

Segment 4: The Foundation for All Learning.

Unfortunately, we are not exposed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in primary, middle school or high school. Tim believes it’s fundamental and that we need to bring this subject to the attention of policy makers. This should be a subject in of itself. It’s the foundation for all learning. It gives learning a context and a purpose, and many professions stem from human right education.

To listen to the complete interview:

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Segment 1: Human Rights Education.

Here in the U.S. we generally take many of our basic rights for granted. In many countries, however, tyranny, power, greed and corruption act to deny basic human rights. Even in countries where human rights are respected, the average citizen has little knowledge of what those rights are. Schools do not teach human rights concepts and students who are ignorant of their basic rights do not step up to assert them. Our guest on this edition of The Doug Noll Show is Dr. Mary Shuttleworth, founder and president of Youth for Human Rights International. Dr. Suttleworth will discuss her amazing organization as well as her passion for human rights education around the globe.

Dr. Shuttleworth was born and raised in apartheid South Africa, and even as a young child was intensely aware of the devastating effects of discrimination. As an adult she found that discrimination is not only a South African issue, but a global issue that needs to be addressed at an international level. The mission of Youth for Human Rights International (YFHRI) is to teach youth about human rights and inspire them to become advocates for tolerance and peace. The education is based around the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was signed into being in 1948 after the abuses of WWII.

Segment 2: Human Rights, Tolerance and Peace.

There is a direct relationship between human rights, tolerance and peace. When we teach human rights, we are also teaching responsibility. We need to ask ourselves, “What is MY responsibility?” We all want basic human rights for ourselves, but the trick is to want them for others. Discrimination is not born in the heart of a child. It stems from learned lessons - not always overt - from culture, genetics, and environment.

Segment 3: Radical Reevaluation Needed.

Youth for Human Rights International works with youth of all ages. They can teach the concept of human rights to kids at a very young age (i.e. sharing, working together, etc.). It is essential that we teach human rights in our schools. We have “zero tolerance policies” in schools but we need a radical reevaluation of the use of power and coercion to control our own fears and anxieties about our environment. Parents need to spend more time with their kids to development good communication skills and deep empathic connections.

Segment 4: A Global Concept.

YFHRI does not have a problem keeping their teachings culturally appropriate as they travel from culture to culture. Basic human rights is a global concept. The declaration is a universal document and the material they use to teach human rights applies to all cultures. It’s imperative that the youth understand the concept that these human rights belong to EVERYONE. In order to make this happen, it takes money, support and volunteers. To get involved or find out more about the Dr. Shuttleworth’s organization, go to www.youthforhumanrights.org.

To listen to the compete interview:

Segment 1

Segment 2

Segment 3

Segment 4