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Supporting Human Rights Education in Switzerland: The Vital Role of Speak Truth To Power

In an increasingly interconnected world, understanding and respecting human rights is more critical than ever. Human rights education lays the foundation for a society that values dignity, justice, and equality for all. This is the mission behind Speak Truth To Power, the human rights education initiative of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights in Switzerland. As existing donors and future supporters, your contributions are essential in empowering the next generation with the knowledge and skills to uphold these universal values.

Why Human Rights Education Matters

Human rights education is not just an academic subject; it is a transformative process that nurtures empathy, critical thinking, and active citizenship. In schools, it equips students with an understanding of their rights and the rights of others, fostering a culture of respect and tolerance. By integrating human rights education, we can:

1. Promote Social Cohesion: Educating young people about human rights helps to build inclusive societies. It teaches them to appreciate diversity and to stand against discrimination, creating a more cohesive and harmonious community.

2. Empower Youth: Knowledge is power. When students understand their rights, they are better equipped to advocate for themselves and others. This empowerment leads to a generation of informed and active citizens who can drive positive change.

3. Prevent Human Rights Violations: Education is a powerful tool in preventing human rights abuses. By raising awareness and understanding, we can reduce instances of discrimination, violence, and injustice.

The Impact of Speak Truth To Power

Speak Truth To Power is dedicated to embedding these principles into the Swiss education landscape. Through innovative programs, teacher trainings, and engaging educational materials such as a photo exhibit, books and even a theatre play, we have brought human rights to life in classrooms across Switzerland since 2015. Our initiative includes:

• Interactive Curriculum: We offer a dynamic curriculum that includes real-life stories of human rights defenders, fostering a deeper understanding and connection to the principles of human rights.

• Teacher Training: We equip educators with the tools and knowledge to effectively teach human rights, ensuring that the message is delivered with passion and accuracy.

• Student Engagement: Through workshops, seminars, and projects, students actively engage with human rights issues, developing critical thinking and advocacy skills.

Your Role in This Mission

As a supporter, your contributions are vital to the success and expansion of Speak Truth To Power. Your donations help us reach more schools, train more teachers, and inspire more students. Here’s how your support makes a difference:

• Expand Our Reach: With your help, we can introduce our programs to more schools across Switzerland, ensuring that every student has access to human rights education.

• Enhance Our Resources: Your donations enable us to develop and distribute high-quality educational materials that make human rights concepts accessible and engaging.

• Support Innovation: Contributions fund the creation of new and innovative teaching methods that keep students interested and involved in human rights issues.

A Call to Action

Human rights education is the cornerstone of a just and equitable society. By supporting Speak Truth To Power, you are investing in a brighter future for Switzerland and the world. We urge you to continue your support and to inspire others to join this crucial mission. Together, we can empower the next generation to speak truth to power and uphold the values of human rights for all.

Thank you for your dedication to this cause. Your generosity and commitment make all the difference.

Donate Today. Empower Tomorrow.

For more information on how to support Speak Truth To Power and to make a donation, please visit our website or contact us directly. Every contribution, no matter the size, brings us one step closer to a world where human rights are universally understood and respected.

Thank you very much, 

Dr. Christoph A. Karlo 
President
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Switzerland 

THE TIME FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IS NOW

by Dr. Christoph A. Karlo

Dear Supporters and Friends of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Foundation Switzerland,

As we gather with loved ones to celebrate this special season of hope and compassion, I find myself reflecting upon the world's current state and the pressing need for our shared commitment to human rights. In these challenging times, I am reminded of the enduring legacy of Robert F. Kennedy and the importance of our collective efforts to uphold the principles of tolerance, justice, and dignity for all.

Across the globe, our world faces an array of crises, conflicts, and wars that threaten the very essence of human rights. We witness suffering and injustice on a scale that calls for unwavering resolve and compassion. Yet, amid these challenges, we also find countless individuals and communities who demonstrate resilience, courage, and a relentless pursuit of a more just and peaceful world.

It is in this context that I am humbled and inspired by the steadfast support of our followers and donors like you. Your dedication to the cause of human rights fuels our mission and allows us to make a tangible difference. Together, we stand as a beacon of hope, advocating for those whose voices are often drowned out by the noise of conflict and oppression.

As we come together to celebrate this season of goodwill and unity, let us remember that the essence of the holiday spirit is not confined to borders or boundaries. It transcends political divides and speaks to our shared humanity. It is a reminder that the principles of tolerance, justice, empathy, and respect should guide our actions every day, not just during the holiday season.

In the spirit of giving and compassion, I invite you to join us in making a difference. Your support has been instrumental in our efforts thus far, and I ask for your continued generosity as we work tirelessly to address the urgent needs of those affected by crises and conflicts around the world.

This holiday season, consider making a year-end donation to the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Foundation Switzerland. Your contribution will help us empower advocates, protect the vulnerable, and promote lasting change in the pursuit of human rights. Together, we can make a brighter and more peaceful world a reality for all.

In closing, let us remember the timeless words of Robert F. Kennedy: "Each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope." Together, we can create a tidal wave of hope and progress.

Wishing you and your loved ones a peaceful and joyous holiday season, and thank you for continuously supporting our shared mission.

With gratitude and warmest regards,

Dr. Christoph A. Karlo
President of the Board of Trustees

Please make your year-end donation using the button below.

Thank you.

Photo creator: manhhai | Credit: AP

STTP Photo exhibition at the Gymnase de Burier

The «Speak Truth to Power» photo exhibition is currently in the canton Vaud, displayed at Gymnase de Burier until end of December.

The Gymnase de Burier is one of fourteen gymnasiums in the canton Vaud. It includes a Maturité school, a School of General Culture and a Business School. During the 2023|2024 school year, around 220 teachers will supervise 2000 students in 89 classes.

While the exhibition is on display at the school, different classes are working with it and the «Speak Truth to Power» material. RFK team member Mary Mayenfisch-Tobin and lead educator Yann Lenggenhager have already visited the school in September to give their input and expertise to the project.

October Art Challenge

Last year Robert F. Kennedy Switzerland held its first online art challenge. Now, you can download the challenge yourself or adapt it for using it in your classroom.

RFK Human Rights Switzerland has been working on its arts & human rights education material for the past two years. As part of this program, RFK launched an October Art Challenge last year. The rules are very simple: each day one article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is published, along with a drawing by young artist Laura Lembo. The challenge is to:

1. Read your right

2. Think about what it means to you

3. Draw

4. Share your drawing online by tagging: @rfkhumanrights_switzerland #arts4rights

Since this a very adaptable concept to use among yourself, your friends or in your classroom, RFK Human Rights has made the material available for everyone.

Speak Truth to Power as part of pre-service training

After several years of thinking about the best way to bring Speak Truth to Power into pre-service training, the Pädagogische Hochschule Luzern and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Switzerland started their pilot project last week. Together with the Zürich International School, they were able to offer the students a very special program.

The Specialization Program in Human Rights Education (SPMB) at the PH Luzern consists of four modules for all levels of education. The SPMB aims to let students of the PH Luzern experience learning about, through and for human rights. During this course, the students learn about human rights and children rights and even take a study trip - last year it was to Berlin. There they studied what happened during World War II and the holocaust. They learned about personal stories as to understand why human rights are so important.

For the students that were finishing up their SPMB program this year, a special new project was developed by Thomas Kirchschläger of the PH Luzern and Stephanie Eger of RFK Human Rights, with the help of Alysha Heller and Kristie Lear of Zürich International School (ZIS). During a whole week, the students would learn about human rights education theory and pedagogy in the morning and work on their own human rights education lessons in the afternoon. However, these would not only be theoretical lesson plans, but will actually be used by ZIS.

During the kick off on Monday, both ZIS and RFK Human Rights gave a short presentation on what it is they do and their expectations from the students for the final assignment.

Thomas Kirchschläger presented the students on a daily basis with what it means to teach about and through human rights. During those mornings, the students also had to take part in different interactive activities.

On Thursday, Stephanie Eger took over to talk about teaching for human rights. Fitting, since RFK Human Rights is very active on this front and believes in the power of the life stories of human rights activists to inspire young people to engage in and for human rights.

During the afternoons, both Mr Kirchschläger and Ms Eger were present to assist the students with developing their own lessons.

On Friday morning, it was finally time for the students to present their work. There was a total of six teams: two teams created lessons for kindergarten, two teams worked on lessons at the primary school level and two took on the challenge to create lesson plans for grade 11 (secondary level).

As it turned out, the hard labor the students had put into their work this pas week, payed off. Both Mr Kirchschläger and Ms Eger were well impressed with the concepts they presented. The morning consisted of a wide range of ideas, from making empowerment balloons to an actual human rights village. All lessons entailed aspects of the Speak Truth to Power concept, like story telling and using real life people and human rights defenders as an example.

The students will now have time to refine their lessons with the recommendations that were made, before they will present their work to ZIS.

When the students were asked if they could imagine teaching human rights education in their own future classes after they became certified teachers, each of the answered with an assured: YES!

Introducing Speak Truth to Power to PH Luzern Students

The pedagogical school Luzern offers a special course in human rights education. As part of that course in its first year, NGOs are invited to talk to the students for an afternoon so they can learn about human rights (education) in practice. This Thursday, RFK Human Rights was invited.

During her presentation, Director Human Rights Education Stephanie Eger first introduced the students to the person Robert F. Kennedy before continuing with what it is we at RFK Human Rights do, to continue his legacy. Ms Eger also gave some insights into what it is like, working for RFK Human Rights in practice. The main focus however, was of course on human rights education, since these were students of the pedagogical school.

Ms Eger explained about Speak Truth to Power, the power of storytelling and of course our focus on activists and their impact on pupils when brought into the classroom. All was accompanied with video clips about the organization, so the students could get a better feel about the work and what it looks like in reality.

After the brake, special attention was given to our arts & human rights program. Since that is not a common combination in Switzerland, it was a new way of working on and with human rights that could be introduced to the students. Of course, the students had to then combine arts and human rights themselves in a special assignment.

Zürich in 100 years?

This year, the RFK Human Rights Switzerland Youth Ambassadors have been collaborating on projects with the art platform AIA | Awareness in Art. Together with volunteers and a documentary film maker, they are currently working on a series of short videos focusing on what cities will look like in 100 years from now and how our lives and communities will be affected by the problem of climate change. 

The project will consist of 5-6 videos, around 1-5 minutes in length. The videos will include interviews with people from marginalized groups or groups of people whose voices are not typically heard. Including elderly people, people with disabilities and refugees. There will also be interviews with organizations working with some of the marginalized groups, as well as climate activists. 

 The Youth Ambassadors are working on every stage of the project from brainstorming the interview questions, to traveling around Zürich to interview the subjects. The goal is to have the videos, that can be watched individually or as a short series, completed by December 2023 and shown at RFK events or school visits, as well as shared on our social media. 

We Are AIA | Awareness in Art and RFK Human Rights have been partners since 2021 and created several educational programs on the interface of arts and human rights. AIA is an art platform that produces outstanding and sustainable exhibition projects that raise awareness of complex issues through the prism of art.

If you are or you know someone who would have an interesting perspective and would be open to being interviewed for the videos, please reach out to our Youth Ambassadors at vittoria@rfkhumanrights.ch or on Instagram at rfkyouth.

Human Rights and freedom on the internet

The IG Halle im Kunst(Zeug)Haus in Rapperswil currently hosts the exhibibition «Frei». This september a sepcial event took place with RFK Human Rights Switzerland and Hernani Marques of the Chaos Computer Club Schweiz discussing the freedom on the internet.

The conversation addressed the situation of human rights - not far away but in our society in Switzerland, in Europe. Questions that were discussed were: What is the state of freedom here? And what does freedom mean in the digital space?

«Frei» is the conclusion of the exhibition trilogy «weit - wild - frei» which began in 2020. While Marlis Spielmann addresses the freedom of women in society with large-format, extremely delicate silhouettes, Erwin Schatzmann creates a colorful and boundless image of life in his object-picture compositions. Susanne Lyner not only frees color from its carrier, but also goes to the limit of formlessness. The changeability of forms under different perspectives occupies Sandra Capaul in her objects and installations. The medium of photography is represented by Patrik Fuchs, who collects objects and their human stories in several serial works.

FREI August 27th 2023 – November 5th 2023

https://www.ighalle.ch/

Opening hours:

Wednesday, 14 - 20 h

Thursday, 14 - 17 h

Friday - Sunday, 11 - 17 h

Voguing 1-o-1

Musikschule Region Wohlen and RFK Human Rights Switzerland have been working together since September last year. In March, the STTP exhibition was installed at the school and a joint kick-off event was organized. Since then, several teachers and students engaged in human rights projects. One of the pupils was interested to learn more about Ballroom here in Switzerland and engaged the help of RFK Human Rights Switzerland to make this happen.

On June 4th the Musikschule and RFK Human Rights invited all interested parties to partake in a workshop by Sandro on ballroom and voguing 1-o-1. Sandro is the father of the House of Poderosa in Switzerland and knows what he is talking about. The day starts out with an excellent and outsider-friendly overview of ballroom, catwalk and voguing. With witt and sass, Sandro tells us that ballroom actually originated as an African-American and Latino underground LGBTQ+ subculture that originated in the USA. What began as entertainment for white people, started to emancipate and organized themselves in “houses”. These houses as Sandro puts it, are something between a gang, an art collective and a family. The “mothers” and “fathers” take others under their wing and in some cases even literally into their house.

Since most members of the ballroom community are drag queens, gay men, (former) sex workers and/or transgender, the HIV/AIDS epidemic had an enormous impact on the community. During these times too, the community came together and people helped each other with doing educational work, raising awareness and making sure people got tested.

Sandro went into much more detail and showed clips and videos from different documentaries. Whoever is interested can find a lot on Netflix - and no, not just RuPaul’s Drag Race. For example: “Paris is burning” and “The Queen”.

After a short brake, we delved right into the music. Again, Sandro was well prepared, with many different examples of the kinds of music and instrumental specifics who wanted to let us hear. With the music, comes explanation about voguing, catwalk and the many different styles that quickly developed. With lots of charm and enthusiasm, Sandro not only tells, but also shows us.

And than.. it is our turn! We learn to vogue, do the duck walk, and of course: strike a pose!

"Inside Out" Exhibition Sparks Deep Conversations at Kunstmuseum St. Gallen

It was an evening of inspiring discourse and vivid imagery at Kunstmuseum St. Gallen on May 25th, 2023, where we had the opportunity to engage in an enlightening conversation on human rights with an emphasis on people of color and racism. Set against the striking "Inside Out" exhibition by Tschabalala Self, the discussion was led by Dr. Christoph A. Karlo, President of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Switzerland.

Self, an artist originating from Harlem, New York, brought her unique experiences to life through her art. By using fabric, thread, and colors to create figures that served as avatars, she was able to communicate her experiences and explore broader themes of identity, representation, and societal perception.

Amidst this backdrop, Dr. Karlo participated in a conversation focusing on human rights and social justice, particularly concerning people of color. His ability to distill complex societal dynamics into digestible concepts was instrumental in stimulating thought and fostering a deeper understanding among the audience. His insightful commentary on systemic inequality and the importance of uplifting marginalized voices echoed the themes present in Self's art – and in the global initiatives of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights.

As a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the cause of human rights, RFK Human Rights Switzerland applauds the efforts of those like Dr. Karlo and Ms. Self, who shed light on these significant issues. We are equally thankful for Daniela Mittelholzer, who is responsible for the pedagogic work at the museum, and Gianni Jetzer, the museum's director, for providing a platform for such an important dialogue.

Ms. Mittelholzer's dedication to creating an educational environment that fosters meaningful engagement and Mr. Jetzer's leadership in emphasizing the intersection of art and social dialogue are commendable. Under their guidance, Kunstmuseum St. Gallen continues to serve as an important hub for thought-provoking art and discourse.

In summary, the "Inside Out" exhibition and Dr. Karlo's engaging talk combined to create an inspiring event that deepened our understanding of human rights in the context of people of color. We are excited for future collaborations that continue to use art as a platform for highlighting and discussing human rights issues. The profound insights gained from this event further our commitment to advocating for a more inclusive and equitable society.

Family 4.0

On May 16th the Kompetenzzentrum Menschenrechte Universität Zürich and RFK Human Rights Switzerland organized an event on challenges of (family) life in the 21th century. With more than 80 registrations, there was just enough room for everyone.

Our first guest was Dr. iur. Sandra Husi-Stämpfli, Head of the staff division Digital Compliance and Governance at the Generalsekretariat EJPD and Data Protection Officer at the EJPD. She spoke about different challenges when it comes to what one might summarise as family 4.0. Many parents seem to forget, or don’t even know, that their children have privacy rights right too and that posting pictures of them as a baby is in violation of those rights. The first court cases of children suing their parents because of the digital footprint the parents created of their children without consent, are a fact. Another telling example of the challenges when using digital technology on children, are tracking devices. At first glance it may seem like a good idea to track your child to make sure it reaches school safely in the morning. But what when these devices are used to listen in on the playground or during class? And having the possibility to talk back to child through this tracker at any given moment?

The second speaker was Patrick Stangl, Police Zürich and specialty teacher for violence & crime prevention. Mr Stangl talked to the audience about the school work he does and how he and his colleagues visit school classes from an early age on to talk about different kinds of (cyber) crime prevention. Depending on age, the include getting safely from home to school and back to digital pornography, all kinds of assault and violence (both digital as well as in the real world) and extortion. How Mr Stangl addresses these issues is by role playing and making the pupils part of the solution. They have to imagine different situations and together think about what the best way would be to do in such a case.

Afterwards their was room for questions from the audience.

The event can be re-watched (in German) on the website of the Kompetenzzentrum Menschenrechte: https://www.menschenrechte.uzh.ch/de/Veranstaltungen/MRZ-Video-Podcast.html

Workshop: Ballroom and Voguing 1-0-1

The Musicschool Region Wohlen and RFK Human Rights are organizing a special event with workshop on the (Swiss) ballroom scene.

On Sunday June 4th, Helio B. Poderosa will visit Hinterkappelen as part of the cooperation between the music school and RFK Human Rights. The initiative came from one of the students, Lia, who wanted to know more about the ballroom-scene here in Switzerland and especially on the role of the music plays in this scene.

We welcome everyone who is interested to join on Sunday, June 4th from 2 - 5 pm for this special event!

Entry is free, but we welcome donations.
Address: Musikschule Region Wohlen, Schulstrasse 4, Hinterkappelen

Activist visit at Oberstufe Hinterkappelen

On April 6, 2023 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights was invited to participate in the closing event of Peacemaker Week at Hinterkappelen School near Bern. It was an extraordinary occasion where a group of students between the ages of 14 and 17 were concluding an inspiring week as Peacemakers. We invited Sonia Afsar Shafie, an Iranian Editor, Director, Screenwriter, and Human Rights activist as guest speaker.

Upon arrival, a large group of curious students was eagerly waiting to meet and hear Sonia's exceptional story. Sonia took the stage and began reminiscing about her childhood, youth, and student life in Iran. She shared the struggles of growing up under the strict Islamic regime in Iran, where the freedoms and excitement of youth were almost non-existent. Her teenage and adolescent years were full of memories of how to challenge the regime's strict laws and find ways to enjoy music and dancing.

Sonia's recollection of owning brand new white sneakers that were not allowed at school due to strict dress codes was particularly intriguing. Since her mother couldn't afford new shoes, Sonia decided to 'paint' her sneakers black to make them acceptable. She also shared a fascinating story about filming a group of young people climbing a mountain close to Tehran in 1996, where they met to talk, dance, and enjoy their youth. These gatherings were not permitted by the regime, but they were often tolerated. The regime was aware of them, and guardians were present to control the events, and sometimes people were asked to leave the mountain.

During the presentation, a 10-minute clip of this film was shown, which created some surprising and amusing moments for the audience. The students were very engaged and asked Sonia many questions, grasping the feeling of living in a country where women have very few human rights, and the freedom of speech and expression is practically non-existent unless you agree with the system. After the event there was an opportunity to discuss further topics related to human rights in countries like Iran with some of the students.

Ausstellung „Inside Out“ von Tschabalala Self

The Kunstmuseum St.Gallen and Le Consortium (Dijon) present the first institutional solo exhibition of Tschabalala Self (*1990 Harlem, New York) in Europe. The work of the American artist has received great international attention in recent years thanks to its unique visual presence. On Thursday 25 May 2023 the exhibition will be accompanied by an input lecture and discussion with Dr. Christoph A. Karlo on the topic of human rights with a focus on people of colour.

Tschabalala Self (*1990 Harlem, New York) works intensively with painting as a medium. In it, she works the picture surface with different colours as well as with fabric and thread. With these materials, she creates figures that do not depict individuals, but rather display avatars. The artist draws on her personal experiences as a Black woman in America. In this context, she stages bodies that are often exaggerated and isolated within imagined environments.

Admission to the event on May 25th is free.

Time: 19.00 - 20.00h

More information: https://kunstmuseumsg.ch

Cyberbullying, CallSpoofing & Eltern als Spione

The Kompetenzzentrum Menschenrechte and RFK Human Rights Switzerland jointly invite you to an event on 16 May.

Although the so-called "Generation Z" also known as "digital natives" use electronic and interactive media as part of their daily lives, they are the ones who are most affected by virtual attacks; both as perpetrators and victims of "cyberbullying", "sexting", "grooming" and much more.

Understandably parents want to ensure the safety of their children: How far are they allowed to invade their children's privacy? And with what consequences? For example, smartwatches with GPS tracking are considered a means of ensuring the safety of children and young people, but they also offer enormous potential for abuse.

This event is intended to show how the personal rights of children are partially undermined in the digitalized everyday life of families, while at the same time parents and children become victims of a false idea of security. In addition, it will be presented what crime and violence prevention by the police looks like in practice and what those affected can do.

Adiba Qasim - new activist profile

Some of you may have already met Ms Adiba Qasim at the Institut Montana or our last Gala in Bad Ragaz. She is a Yazidi woman who had to flee the genocide that took place on her people in 2014. She managed to reach Switzerland, where she is attending the University of Geneva and engaging in activism for human rights - and specifically refugee rights.

Since publishing our school book «Speak Truth to Power» we have been working with other young activists here in Switzerland. In order to prepare the pupils for their visit, we decided to make new activist profiles based on the same principle as the ones in our book. The first activist on which a profile was made, is Adiba Qasim.

Adiba was born in Iraq and spent most of her life in the village of Khanasor in the Sinjar district. After the genocide by IS in 2014, Yazidi men were forced into the military, while women and children were raped, kept as slaves and turned into child soldiers. Adiba, her three siblings, and her parents were among the few people who managed to escape to a refugee camp in Turkey. She arrived in Switzerland in 2017 and now lives in Geneva. With the support of a special program for refugees called “Horizon Academic”, she was able to attend University. Adiba has participated in several events for RFK Human Rights Switzerland.

We also made a special edition of Adiba’s profile for younger pupils, with special drawings made by Laura Lembo (instagram: lolo.portfolio).

The profile was developed with the help of funding provided for by the Brockenhaus Stiftung.

Music and Human Rights

Come and join us for an evening of music and human rights!

We are very excited to announce our newest cooperation with the Musikschule Hinterkappelen! We have developed a program on visual arts and human rights (check it out here) for the past years and are very enthousiastic about moving into the field of music.

To kick off our new collaboration, we special evening is planned on March 17th from 6pm. Please join us for music, talks, activist speeches and a special tour through the Speak Truth to Power photo exhibition.

The event will take place in Hinterkappelen (Bern) and start at 6 p.m.

Please RSVP: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeJQPql2VWb16WK6g1A26qKcEQwF4HjDIyrE-SddK3i9YSOPw/viewform

Regional Model UN student event

Today RFK Human Rights Switzerland board member Alex Mundt was one of the experts at the Model United Nations regional summit. Around 100 pupils from different schools in Switzerland and Germany take part in order to debate topics from human trafficking to asylum rights. Alex Mundt - Senior Policy Advisor at the UNHCR - gave the pupils an introduction on this last topic. Afterwards, they engaged in a role play and a real debate slowly but steady took off.

The term Model United Nations refers to the simulation of political negotiations at the level of the United Nations. Since the 1920s, conferences have been held around the world for this purpose, at which participants take on the role of diplomats. The vast majority of conferences are aimed at school pupils or students. In the Basel region, a conference of this kind was held for the first time in October 2007 for the pupils of the region's grammar schools, technical colleges and vocational baccalaureate classes. To date, twelve conferences have been held under the name Model United Nations Conference "Regio Basel". Every year, the conference welcomes between one hundred and fifty and two hundred and fifty students as participants.

The conference is not only a vehicle for transporting understanding about international politics. Rather, it is designed to get students deeply engaged in the ways of presenting points of view and diplomatically standing up for the interests of the country they are representing. Only those who are able to convince other participants of the probity of their argumentation will ultimately be able to incorporate the interests of the represented country into the final resolution.

The teachers therefore give the class time in advance to hone their rhetorical skills, which are then put on display at the conference. This is to ensure that not only is knowledge about international politics accumulated, but that it can also be expressed in a pointed and concise manner in the future. Last but not least, this is a soft skill that is increasingly required by degree programmes, but also by future employers, and should therefore be encouraged.

Depending on the number of participants, the registered classes will be divided into three to six committees in German or English. Each committee deals with its own topic, which is loosely oriented to the chosen overall topic of the respective year. This year's theme is: Human Rights in the Digital Age.

The first day of the conference began with the registration of participants and the opening ceremony. Christine Verones (from the Swiss Department of foreign affairs) gave the key-note speech. Afterwards, the students distributed themselves among the various committees. In short input speeches, experts from business, science and politics give the participants another introduction to certain aspects of the topics under discussion. This served to stimulate the debates and to refresh the participants' knowledge. Amongst them was Alex Mundt on asylum rights.

»Where is Anne Frank?«

RFK Human Rights was once again official education partner of the Human Rights Film Festival in Zürich. During the festival, school classes could sign up to come and see one of two films sponsored by RFK Human Rights: »Where is Anne Frank?« and »Animal«.

On Friday December 2nd the first two school screenings took place. Both times the cinema was filled with secondary school pupils; over 300 in total. The movie was about Kitty, Anne Frank’s imaginary diary, coming to life and looking for Anne in modern day Amsterdam. On her journey, she learns about the tragic ending Anne’s life - but also meets Peter who takes her to a refugee shelter. Kitty learns about modern day discrimination and racism - the theme that is also discussed with the pupils after the showing.

Claudia Solanes of RFK Switzerland hosted the discussion with pupils and two experts on this topic: Giulia Reimann (Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin, Stv. Leiterin der Eidgenössische Kommission gegen Rassismus) and Stephanie Graetz-Pollak (Geschäftsleiterin der Stiftung gegen Rassismus und antisemitismus). The topic of racism was clearly on the minds of the audience and a lively exchange evolved.

Unfortunately due to the fact that Kosmos AG had to file for bankruptcy on Monday morning, both »Animal« screenings were canceled.