Human rights day 10 december 2015

Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December. It commemorates the day on which, in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 

Many years have passed and unfortunately there is still a long way ahead to guarantee the fundamental freedoms and protect the human rights of all. However, it also has to be said that  there are many organisms and individuals who are working hard to collaborate to protect human rights. Today I would like to write about one of these individuals. Her name is  Benedetta Berti.  She  is  a foreign policy and security researcher, analyst, consultant, author and lecturer. Her work focuses on human security and internal conflicts, as well as on post-conflict stabilization/consolidation (specifically integration of armed groups, democracy/governance and crisis management and prevention).

In less than five minutes, Benedetta offers an accurate insight into the limits of the current mechanisms that aim at protecting human rights. She also highlights the need to  update the existing mechanisms if we want to preserve human rights  in the current digital world we live in. 

My second proposal for classroom use  is based on  ""Blowing in the wind" by Bob Dylan. Composed in 1963, its message is very much alive in 2015. The song includes a string  of provoking questions to make us aware of the fact that the largest cause of human rights violations is mental disconnection  from the reality that affects others: "how many times can a man turn his head, and pretend that he just doesn't see?"

 https://youtu.be/3l4nVByCL44

Listen and fill in the gaps:

Blowing in the wind

How many roads must a man 
before you can call  a man?
How many  must a white sail
before she can sleep in the sand?
Yes and how many times must  balls fly
before they're forever ?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind

Yes and how many years can a  exist
before it's to the seas (sea)
Yes and how many years can some people exist
before they're allowed to be  ?
Yes and how many times must a man his head
 that he just don't see?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind

Yeah and how many times must a man 
before he can see the ?

Yes and how many ears  one man have
before he can hear people cry?

Yes and how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind?

Choose the best option according to what the lyrics of the song convey:

 The author of the song criticizes:

1. Politicians

2. Dead people

3. Mankind

He says that man needs to:

1. Turn his head

2. Change

3. Look to the future

 What has stopped man from seeing reality?

1. Ignoring the truth

2. Understanding reality

3. Being free