Life Outside the Classroom: Journalists for Human Rights
November 24th, 2010 by justine abigailJournalists for Human Rights is a Toronto-based organization that works to spread and raise awareness of human rights violations, and to make people in marginalized communities aware of their rights. They work in post-conflict African countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, mobilizing the local media and training local journalists in these countries to more effectively report on human rights issues. It also aims to educate people who may not know what their rights are, how to protect their rights and the rights of others.
The U of T chapter of jhr remains one of the smaller campus groups, but despite this, the organization works hard to raise human rights awareness in the U of T community. Last year, jhr’s U of T Chapter held a documentary festival (known as the Human Rights DocFest) to showcase local talent while educating community members about rights violations that occur both domestically and internationally.
This year, they will continue to spread human rights awareness be creating and distributing monthly newsletters and podcasts within U of T while working with other Toronto-based school chapters to create a documentary. Anybody is welcome to contribute to any of those projects, and in fact, the student group is looking for submissions of photography, writing, or any form of media.
This Thursday, November the 25th, from 5 to 7pm in the North Dining Room at Hart House, the U of T jhr Chapter will be hosting a movie night. War/Dance will be featured, a film which tells the story of three Ugandan refugee children as they compete in a music competition and talk about the atrocities they witnessed. The screening is free and is a great way to educate yourself about human rights violations while learning more about the organization!
To learn how you can get involved, please visit www.jhr.ca or check out their Facebook fanpage.
