D.C. residents do not have full representation in Congress nor, as the recent protest and arrest of D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray demonstrates, the ability to determine what its tax money is spent on. This workshop looks at what we consider the core democratic rights and why: free and fair elections, the right to assembly and protest, representative government, freedom of information, protection of minority rights, and the right to a fair hearing. It gives participants a chance to analyze how these rights are fought for and implemented in nations around the world from the Ivory Coast to Ecuador, from East Timor to Catalonia, Spain.
About the workshops
Summer Human Rights Weekend Workshops for Youth | Hosted by the Human Rights Learning Project of AFSC in D.C.
You are invited to join the AFSC for either of two weekend workshops on the pressing human rights topics described in the application attached below. Each topic was chosen to give you the chance to study, debate, and advocate around a hot topic currently confronting President Obama and the U.S. Congress.
Each workshop will begin with a discussion of the problem through a variety of hands-on activities, news articles, film, and expert lecture. The discussion will be followed by an afternoon visit to a locally-based organization working on these issues, where you will have the opportunity to hear stories from the field first-hand and engage in a community service activity.
The second day will be devoted to an action project that you and the other participants will choose from a list that includes creating a documentary film, gathering petition signatures, conducting a public awareness campaign, and polling the community members on their views.
Sara Ramey at (202) 241-9314
Jean-Louis Peta Ikambana at (202) 544-0324