The theme for this year's Human Rights Day, celebrated on 10 December 2010, is human rights defenders who act to end discrimination. Human rights defenders acting against discrimination, often at great personal risk to both themselves and their families, are being recognized and acclaimed on this day.
In observance of Human Rights Day (PDF), the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) Vienna in cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Vienna invited human rights defenders to the Vienna International Centre on Friday, 10 December, to present their work to the public.
UNIS Director Maher Nasser, Christoph Pinter from UNHCR Office Vienna and representatives of the Austrian permanent mission to the UN will attend the event.
Special guest will be Ute Bock, initiator of a Refugee Support Project in Vienna. She will take part in a discussion on "Human Rights and Migration" and present her film "Die verrückte Welt der Ute Bock", a semi-documentary on refugees in Austria. Sebastian Kraner, a 20-year-old Austrian student, was invited to present his short movie "Nine Months" in which he portrays life at an assisted living community for minor refugees in Vienna. For his short film he has been awarded the UN Plural + Youth Audience Award.
On the occasion the UN Visitors Service introduces new special tours on Human Rights for school classes where students will have the opportunity to visit a "real" UNHCR family tent (PDF) used in refugee camps with all household / sleeping items. The NGO Kama will run workshops with asylum seekers and refugees for the participants of the event.The new human rights tour: Equal in Diversity
Visitors Service will be offering a new guided tour on human rights called: Equal in Diversity from 10 December 2010. The tours will explain the basic concepts of human rights to young people. Through games, role-play and examples they will discover the importance of human rights. In one hour they will find out about the history of human rights and a few selected topics:
a) War and peace - history of human rights;
b) Diversity - freedom from discrimination.
c) Your rights - where to go and what to do.
The activities will be conducted in the international environment of the United Nations in Vienna, with experienced guides working as facilitators of discussions. There will be examples of human right protection and violations from all over the world. The aim is to teach youth to respect diversity and deal with the inherent differences that surround us. They will be better informed about human rights issues in today's world.
The human rights tour is primarily suitable for children and students aged 10 -18 years.
Reservation and Information
Vienna International Centre
Visitors Service
P.O. Box 500, A-1400 Vienna
Tel: (+43-1) 26060-3328
Fax: (+43-1) 26060-5991
E-mail:
Tours@unvienna.org
Invitation to the Observance of the Human Rights Day 2010 on 10 December (PDF)
