29 November 2005
Groundbreaking HREOC report shows young peoples' vision for the future
A groundbreaking new report launched by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission today provides a unique snapshot into young peoples' knowledge about human rights and their views on a wide range of contemporary rights-related issues.
'Rights of Passage:A Dialogue with Young Australians about Human Rights' was launched by Human Rights Commissioner, Dr Ozdowski OAM, and is his final project to be launched before his five-year tenure ends on 7 December 2005.
"It is very appropriate that I am ending my term as Human Rights Commissioner with a project involving young people, having also begun my term with a series of youth consultations to prepare for the UN Special Session on Children held in New York in 2002," said Dr Ozdowski.
As part of the Young People and Human Rights Dialogue conducted throughout the last year, the Commissioner listened to the views of as many young Australians as possible through focus groups and a national survey. Essay and art competitions were also held as part of the project.
The resulting 'Rights of Passage' report provides an insight into what Australian young people know about human rights and what they think about topical issues such as: terrorism, workplace reforms, torture, refugees, Indigenous issues and bullying .
"I was encouraged to find that young people were eager to share their observations on discrimination, equality, tolerance, vilification and many other topics. Overwhelmingly, their views embody some of the best characteristics of the Australian ethos - fairness, tolerance, egalitarianism, respect and celebration of difference. Their vision of the future gave me much cause for optimism," Commissioner Ozdowski said.
"However, the report shows that our young people are not without their fears and concerns, particularly on issues such as: social isolation, mental health problems, bullying, racism and homophobia."
'Rights of Passage' also highlights the importance of human rights education programs and resources to students and teachers and shows the link between knowledge, attitudes and behaviour.
"2005 marks the first year in the UN World Programme for Human Rights Education, the first phase of which (2005-2007) focuses on education in schools. HREOC will continue to develop its curricula-linked online human rights education program for teachers of upper primary and secondary schools students as a direct response to increased demands for human rights education resources in schools and the absence of relevant material," the Commissioner said.
'Rights of Passage' provides a way of incorporating the views of young people into our thinking about future directions, and will be useful to youth workers, educators and policy makers.
See 'Rights of Passage' at: www.humanrights.gov.au/human_rights/rights_of_passage/
Media c ontact: Paul Oliver on 02 9284 9880 or 0408 469 347
Last updated 29 November 2005.
