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Greater Manchester’s Poetic Declaration of Human Rights
On Friday 10th December, Human Rights Day, Greater Manchester’s first ever Poetic Declaration of Human Rights was launched. This was the culmination of a project run in partnership between Curious Minds and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights UK. The Declaration featured 30 poems written by pupils in Key Stage 2 and 3 from 13 partner primary, secondary and specialist schools based around Greater Manchester, one poem for each of the 30 Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was established in 1948 as a way of ensuring all people were protected to live with a level of safety and freedom in the wake of the atrocities of World War II and the Holocaust. The 30 Articles of the Declaration continue to exist today and underpin much of human rights law, yet even primary school pupils are fully aware of cases from around the world and close to home of people whose rights have been abused. This project supported schools to explore human rights with their pupils through the lens of poetry, a tool which can help build empathy and condense difficult concepts into a few well-chosen words.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was established in 1948 as a way of ensuring all people were protected to live with a level of safety and freedom in the wake of the atrocities of World War II and the Holocaust. The 30 Articles of the Declaration continue to exist today and underpin much of human rights law, yet even primary school pupils are fully aware of cases from around the world and close to home of people whose rights have been abused. This project supported schools to explore human rights with their pupils through the lens of poetry, a tool which can help build empathy and condense difficult concepts into a few well-chosen words.
We decided to launch the first Poetic Declaration of Human Rights in Greater Manchester in part because of the region’s rich history relevant to the themes of the project. From the Suffragette movement and the tragedy of Peterloo through to the emergence of Canal Street as a haven for the LGBTQ+ community and Marcus Rashford’s campaign against food poverty, there are countless pertinent examples of stories close to home for students to learn about to better understand their rights. The region also, of course, has a rich history of developing amazing poets, from Tony Walsh to Lemn Sissay.
Schools taking part in the project had access to a pack of resources co-created with poet Joelle Taylor, which included a selection of relevant contemporary poems by writers including Jay Bernard, Anthony Anaxagorou and Kat Francois. A series of recorded Masterclasses featured inspirational speakers such as Ruth Ibegbuna and Dr Rowan Williams offered ways of introducing difficult human rights discussions in the classroom. Each school submitted a selection of poems to be considered for inclusion in the final declaration by a team of judges including poets Keisha Thompson and Amina Atiq and human rights expert Dennis Marcus. The final 30 poems were included in a printed and digital booklet and launched as part of an online event featuring performances by the schools and featured poets and a congratulatory message from Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham.
Schools taking part in the project had access to a pack of resources co-created with poet Joelle Taylor, which included a selection of relevant contemporary poems by writers including Jay Bernard, Anthony Anaxagorou and Kat Francois. A series of recorded Masterclasses featured inspirational speakers such as Ruth Ibegbuna and Dr Rowan Williams offered ways of introducing difficult human rights discussions in the classroom. Each school submitted a selection of poems to be considered for inclusion in the final declaration by a team of judges including poets Keisha Thompson and Amina Atiq and human rights expert Dennis Marcus. The final 30 poems were included in a printed and digital booklet and launched as part of an online event featuring performances by the schools and featured poets and a congratulatory message from Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham.
Greater Manchester’s Poetic Declaration can be explored online and videos of the launch event can be found on Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights UK’s YouTube channel. We are hoping to expand the project to more regions in 2022, please get in touch if you’d like to talk to us about this!
