March 21st in South Africa was Human Rights Day, where we remember the events of the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960. Sixty-nine people died and 180 were wounded when police fired on a peaceful crowd that had gathered in protest against the Pass laws; an Apartheid Law that forced black South Africans to carry pass books/identity books at all times. We since have celebrated the Bill of Rights enshrined in the constitution of our democracy that embeds the human rights of all people, affirming the values of human dignity, equality and freedom.
In honour of this day, URI Southern Africa hosted an Interfaith Youth Leadership Workshop, bringing together the young people in the Cooperation Circles in the Gauteng/Johannesburg Region, to explore the meaning of Human Rights Day in connection with the possibilities of youth leadership. It was also a chance to introduce them to the work of URI and the concept of interfaith dialogue.
Read a brief report (with photos) from the workshop here, which we hope will be the beginning of further training with our young people.
A big thank you to Matt and Karen for their guidance with the programme, and to Nazly Mayet from the USPP Cooperation Circle for hosting the event and being so supportive of developing leadership capabilities with our young people.
