Human Rights Day is December 10th and is a great day to recognize the rights we should all be grateful for. It doesn’t matter if you’re celebrating alone, sharing the holiday with friends and family, or creating a community to truly make an impact, this holiday can be crucial to our future. There are many ways you can celebrate Human Rights Day, which won’t require you to spend a lot of money. In fact, most forms of celebration will cost you nothing. So, make sure you take a few moments to recognize the holiday that helps everyone maintain certain levels of freedom.
1. Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is one of the most important things that we can practice on a daily basis. So, it is incredibly important to engage in it during Human Rights Day. It is easy to lose sight of what we have in our lives, which is where mindfulness comes in. So, for Human Rights Day, you might take a moment to look around and feel grateful for the safety you have in your life, your good health, or anything else that allows you to live a happier life. There are many places where the freedoms most have are not present, which is something else to be grateful for. However, you should also practice mindfulness in considering things that are unjust. This will allow you to focus your attention where it is needed, while still allowing yourself to understand your position in the world and the human rights that you have.
2. Keep Up with the News
The news can be overwhelming and hard to navigate at times. There is a lot of bias to work through and often the news we do receive is bad. Keeping up with the news is one of the most important things you can do though. You should listen out for threats to human rights as well as new human rights that you should be in the know of. One of the best things you can do is look for a news source that doesn’t offer bias. They do exist, but it may take some digging to find a good match for you. This will allow you to receive the news you need with less of the frustration that modern-day news creates. Of course, you should also follow multiple sources of news to ensure you’re receiving the truth.
3. Start a Fundraiser
If you’ve found a human rights cause that really speaks to you, then there are so many things that you can do to help support the cause. One of the best ways to help out is to start a fundraiser. Chances are, there are many fundraisers that you can help out with if you’ve never worked on your own. However, starting a fundraiser doesn’t have to be complicated. For instance, you can easily begin one online in which people just donate to the cause if it suits them. You can also share this on social media and go door to door to spread the message. Other fundraisers might include events like garage sales, car washes, bake sales, and so on. This will allow you to share the news while also earning money to support your cause.
4. Write to Public Offices
There are a lot of human rights that are currently being questioned or need to be reinstated. If you find that one of the rights is something you’d like to stand by then it is important to stand up for the cause. One of the easiest ways to do this is to write to public offices. These are the people that have the power to make the changes needed but tend to not if they don’t feel the public is calling for it. When you write to public offices, make sure your message is clear and concise. You should always add facts to your letter, and if you have a personal story then this is a great place to share it if you feel safe. You can find addresses and emails to send your message online, so the process can feel even easier. You can also call public officials if you prefer to share your message in this way.
5. Watch Human Rights Speeches
In the past, so many people have delivered world-changing speeches that not only helped to sway public opinion at the time but have left a lasting impression on society. Often, these speeches are honored in schools, but so many of them are overlooked. If you want to truly celebrate the holiday, then you might consider looking up these speeches and listening to what the speaker has to say. You will learn a lot about the development of human rights in our society as well as the growth we still need to make. This can also help you to feel all the more passionate about human rights and will give you valuable information to share with others.
6. Visit Your Library
Visiting your library is one of the best ways to get the most out of the holiday. If you let your librarian know what you’re doing, then they will be able to steer you in the right direction with books, videos, and other resources. In fact, they may even have a selection out on display to help celebrate the holiday. If there aren’t a lot of resources at the library, then your librarian might be able to point you in the direction of some quality websites so you can find the best possible resources.
7. Raise Awareness
Another important thing that you can do during the holiday is to raise awareness. You may be surprised by how easy this is. For starters, after researching a right that you’d like to share with others, you can create flyers or social media posts to help others learn. If you have money to spend, then you can also print out flyers to pass out to people. Speaking to loved ones and acquaintances can also help to bring awareness for a right that you feel should be established or secured. It will also allow you to feel more secure in your knowledge of the right, so you can help others if need be.
8. Attend Protests
Protests tend to occur when people feel that a right is being taken away or threatened. If you feel secure, then attending a protest can help you to feel like you’re telling officials that this is not okay. Gathering with others that feel the same way can help to hammer home a message. When attending a protest, you need to have your safety at the front of your mind though. Make sure you are aware of your surroundings and if a protest gets out of hand then it is time to leave. This will help keep you safe, while also allowing you to feel in control of the situation.
9. Volunteer
Volunteering is a powerful tool to ensure you are able to help others with maintaining their human rights. If you’re just starting out, you might consider volunteering at a homeless shelter or soup kitchen. This will help you provide the basic right of food and shelter which can be a crucial way to make a difference in people’s lives. There are other positions that you can volunteer for as well; however, you may have to have a certain skill set in order to volunteer. You can also volunteer based on your career. For instance, if you’re a lawyer or paralegal, you can give your time to help someone in need. If you’d like to volunteer, then reach out to someone that works for the company or non-profit that you’d like to volunteer for. This will allow you to find the information you need to get started.
10. Know Your Rights
There is no doubt about it, knowing and understanding your human rights is an important way to celebrate the holiday. Knowing your human rights will ensure you are able to protect your rights at all costs. This will also help you to fight for the rights of others. If you want to learn all about your rights, then you can find plenty of great resources online.
Human Rights Day may not be a holiday that a lot of people get on board with. It is, however, a great holiday to help you practice gratitude for the rights that you have and work to ensure more rights are created in the future. With a holiday like this, you can even help spread the word to ensure everyone can enjoy the holiday and its special meaning.
