Foto: The Human Rights Academy
Activity:
One, Two, Three: Play!
This is group work that leads to pantomime performances. The activity is fun and instructive at the same time.
Photo: The Human Rights Academy
Quick facts
Human rights • Democracy and citizenship
Youth school • High school • Adult education • Organizations and others
Ca 45 minutes
Materials: Small pieces of paper, each of them with an article from the Universal Declaration written on them. (The following articles are good to use: 4, 5, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 24, 26).
Activity goals
- Familiarise the participants with different human rights.
- Raise their awareness that human rights violations are concrete problems.
- The activity is good for socialising.
Based on an activity from the book "Build bridges, not walls" by Lillian Hjorth and Enver Djuliman, Humanist forlag, 2007. For years, the Human Rights Academy has used the activity as a fun introduction to various articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Instructions
- Divide the participants into small groups of 3-5 persons. Each group is given a piece of paper with an article from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights written on it. The groups have to keep their articles secret from the other groups.
- The task for each group is to prepare a short pantomime showing a situation where the human rights article they have been given is violated (5-10 minutes).
- The first group presents their pantomime to the others who have to guess which human right (which article) the pantomime is about, and which human right is being violated. If the participants think they know the answer, they must not say it out loud, but raise their hands so the group can finish their pantomime without interruption. When the group is finished, the facilitator can let the other participants guess.
- The activity continues until all the groups have shown their pantomimes.
Reflection
- Can we learn something from this exercise? What?
- How did you feel during the activity?
Debriefing
Human rights are present in our everyday lives, and sometimes people’s rights are violated. Human rights are not abstract issues, but concrete laws that aim to create good societies for people to live in. Human rights violations often occur in societies riddled by conflict and war but also occur in modern democratic societies. No society is perfect. We need to know about our human rights if we are to be committed to and promote and protect them.
Tips to the facilitator
This activity is a good and fun follow-up after the participants have learned the basics about human rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
