The promotion and defense of human rights is more important now than at any time in the last sixty years. While political and civil rights have been achieved by many people, they remain for many merely notional and aspirational. So many states proclaim their commitment to human rights while denying them in practice.

Ruben Centre, Nairobi, Kenya

At the Ruben Centre in Nairobi, a centre sponsored by the Christian Brothers in East Africa, the young people have painted graphics representing key human rights principles on the its walls. These young people speak out of their experience of poverty and degradation. Yet their aspirations are clear. They desire to live as human beings and wish the same for others.

Students with teacher, Vincenzo Peregrini cfc, Colegio Mundo Mejor, Chimbote, Peru

In Chimbote, Peru, the teachers at Colegio Mundo Mejor (Fé y Allegria) include human rights modules on their curriculum. As one graduate of the college said, "It was in Mundo Mejor that I learned the meaning of freedom and human dignity".

As we move towards celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, many schools, teachers and students will begin reflecting on how this important document can influence their actions as school communities to effect long-term societal change."