Over the last two months, the South Australia/Northern Territory Branch has been hard at work with partner organisations to put together a Schools Congress that teaches students about racism and cultural safety.
The Branch has been working with Reconciliation South Australia and ActNow Theatre on the Schools Congress titled “Generation of Change”, which was an excellent opportunity for students to learn about, discuss and take action on issues involving racism.
This year’s program included a full day of action focused on addressing, preventing and building resilience against racism. The Congress was for Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal students who were interested in collective action to improve cultural safety.
Amnesty introduced concepts such as human rights, the Declaration of Human Rights, and taking action in a simple way to the children attending the Congress. Our role was to support the children in learning and understanding what these concepts mean, and inspiring them to create change within their communities.
We worked to draw the connection between the concept of human rights and the broader topic of racism, to explain the way that racism can compromise those fundamental freedoms. We also gave an overview of what Amnesty does to protect human rights, and got to hear some amazing stories about the creative ways that school groups engage with our campaigns.
This year’s partnership with Reconciliation SA and ActNow Theatre has been an outstanding success. We’re stoked that we were able to be involved in this program and look forward to continuing our partnership for the next three years.
We’re also pleased and grateful to have the opportunity to connect with future generations. Their action, their voice and their commitment to human rights is something to be incredibly proud of.
