SIXTY years ago this December, the United Nations General Assembly (UN) adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights representing the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled. The Human Rights Commission here in Bermuda is celebrating this historic occasion with a school-based initiative, poster and writing competition and the first-annual human rights Global Village on December 6 in Par-La-Ville Park. Venous Memari, the Chair of the Human Rights Commission (HRC), Bermuda's human rights watchdog and educational centre, sat down with Mid-Ocean News reporter Lindsay Kelly and photographer Tamell Simons to talk about what her group is planning to honour the 60th anniversary.

Q: Tell me about the original Declaration of Human Rights that was adopted 60 years ago.

A: On December 10, 1948, the Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations. It came on the heels of the end of World War II and protects political freedoms, religious freedoms, freedom of speech, freedom from discrimination based on race, colour, sex and language, among many other inalienable rights.

Each country and society then determines what grounds need to be protected. Every country in the UN has adopted the rights.

Q: What is the HRC doing to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights?

A: The United Nations theme for the anniversary is "dignity and justice for all" and the HRC localised that theme to "one world, one people" to reflect Bermuda's rich culture and cosmopolitan people.

We are celebrating through several events this year, including introducing the concept and ideas of human rights to schools around the island. So far, St. George's Prep and Dellwood Primary School have agreed to be a part of this pilot programme where we visit the schools to talk about human rights based upon the principals of equality and dignity.

Our aim is to drive home the importance of inalienable rights. The basic fundamental human rights that are inherently yours, they aren't given to you. Because of this initiative, we really wanted to involve the children in the 60th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights. As such, we organised a writing and poster campaign for all students starting from the age of four to 24, if they are in college.

Q: How many submissions did you receive?

A: Close to 500 writing and poster submissions. The winners will be announced on the 10th of December, which is the actual day of the 60th anniversary and is known throughout the world as Human Rights Day.

Q: That is a huge amount of submissions! How did you manage to encourage that many children and young adults to enter?

A: We sent a poster along with the rules and regulations to all the schools - public and private. Commissioners of the HRC and I went to as many schools as possible to promote the event. We participated in school assemblies to try and get the children and teachers excited about the project.

Q: You are in the middle of judging the submissions now; is there a particular topic that the writing and posters are focused on?

A: Interestingly, the subject of many of the essays and posters is Barack Obama. I thought that Obama was definitely an agent of change but he seems to have captured the children's attention and imagination. He seems to be an agent of unity. Just by the amount of entrants who chose him as a topic, he must be viewed as a unifying force by our school children in Bermuda.

Q: I heard there is an exciting grand prize for the poster/writing competition.

A: The grand prizewinner gets an all-expenses-paid trip to the United Nations in New York with a chaperone.

Q: What is the Global Village exposition that is happening next week?

A: The Global Village will be held in Par-La-Ville Park and the underlying purpose is to educate the public about human rights issues, however, it is also an opportunity for us to celebrate the infusion of cultures that exist in Bermuda.

We are going to have stalls set up by people of different nationalities and backgrounds as well as human rights-related groups that are free to display whatever materials they wish. We have invited representatives from all the different religious groups, including the Christian, Baha'i, Muslim and Jewish communities that exist in Bermuda to give a joint blessing during the opening ceremony that is all-inclusive and in the spirit of the (Bermuda) Human Rights Act. I'm really happy to say that quite a few people have written back to us and agreed to participate.

We will have live dance, live music, a Kid's Zone, a cultural media centre, an artists' mural and many speakers throughout the day.

The posters and the written submissions will be displayed on the porch of the Bermuda Library. I am particularly excited about the fact that we are going to have a Speaker's Corner and an artist's mural where artists will come to draw and paint with the focus of one world, one people. At the end of the day, we're hoping to sell sections of the mural and the proceeds will go to charities selected by the HRC.

Q. Is the first time Bermuda has hosted something like the Global Village?

A. I believe so. Through the event what we really want to drive home is that your rights are my rights. I know in the last ten to 15 years it has become very fashionable to celebrate our diversity and our differences but we feel diversity and our differences are only outward expressions of our different cultural backgrounds through food and music.

Inherently, though, we are all similar and all belong to the human family. We are hoping to celebrate that oneness. This is the principal upon which the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was founded.

Q. Tell me about the image that you have on the Global Village promotional materials (pictured).

A. The image of the globe with people springing out of Mother Earth, are individuals who have had an impact on human rights worldwide and here in Bermuda. Those pictured include Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and locally we have Dame Lois Browne-Evans, E.F. Gordon, Wilfred Allen, Dr. John Stubbs, Gladys Morrell and Barbara Ball. The concept was that you have world-renowned leaders in human rights but you also have ordinary people who have made a significant contribution to our world.

I think it is really important to honour the people who have made huge personal sacrifices for us to enjoy the rights that we take for granted.

We are hoping that if this event becomes a success, it will become an annual event and a way for Bermuda to celebrate its people once a year. We're hoping the whole community will embrace this concept and it will become a community-driven event rather than a Human Rights Commission-driven event.

The grand opening of the Global Village on December 6 in Par-La-Ville Park, Hamilton, will be at 10 a.m. The event will last throughout the day with closing ceremony at 6 p.m. To help promote the event, the HRC has ordered UN flags that will be displayed along Queen and Par-La-Ville Street. For more information on the event, visit www.hrconeworldonepeople.com.