"...PROMISES TO KEEP..."

During the information gathering process, a set of conditions were consistently iterated as being vital to the success of a commemorative year in 1998. These conditions concern programming initiative - that it should be from local communities first; support for the effort - mostly in the form of communications and media liaison - should come from a modest national support structure, or clearing house and that in all efforts, youth should be considered the primary audience.

Community-Level Initiative

A fundamental condition specified by a cross-section of respondents is that the initiative for a 1998 year of activities will have to emerge from the level of the local community. Respondents were adamant that a top-down approach will not work and something "laid-on" from Central Canada will be counter-productive. Whereas national and provincial structures are viewed as essential, their roles would be supporting rather than initiating, facilitating rather than coordinating. At its most organized the national structure would be a clearing house for information and resources.

There is a strong desire to have people tell their own stories - to talk of their own contributions, and those of their "brothers and sisters" across Canada, in fostering the spirit of human rights in their own communities. These stories speak to the common experiences of others, so they can relate and identify with, for example, stories of success in building economic self-sufficiency. This approach was well-expressed in a statement made in Victoria, B.C., "...it is experience that changes people, not information."

The community-level approach also addresses the reality that the commemoration of the Year will likely be done with a limited budget. Discrete local level activities will prove cost-efficient and will obviate the need for an expensive central administrative unit. People felt that monies should not be filtered through some national committee but allocated "...as close to the community as possible."

One suggestion is that planning be done through like-minded constituencies and umbrella

organizations, for example community sectors such as unions, faith groups, teachers federations and the like could organize events for their constituencies. The source of the suggestion felt this to be "...the most natural, or at least, the least artificial way to proceed." It was also suggested that some coordination could be done at the provincial level. For example, representatives of the Office of the Ombudsman in Saskatchewan expressed their willingness to work with other interested parties and recommended the formation of a provincial steering committee to move the agenda along.

A model that was mentioned repeatedly was the coalition one used for planning activities for March 21, the International Day for the Elimination of Racism and Racial Discrimination. It is locally coordinated, draws upon the resources of diverse community groups, uses little money and puts much emphasis on cooperative programming and the media.

Other actual comments or queries made by respondents during the consultation are cited below in order to emphasize certain points.

"Planning should include rural Canada. How do you get to the small towns and rural/farming communities that dot this country ? How do they get exposed to and changed by the message of the Declaration ?"

"National activities and organizations should not monopolize dollar resources at the expense of local activity. Canadians are genuinely suspicious of government initiatives to begin with. If there is a national organization, let it be arms-length and let it act as support for provincial and local activities. Funnel resources down to the "lowest level" as quickly and efficiently as possible."

"Can we borrow from the UN 50th and pursue the ideal of human rights communities in Canada - those communities, however defined, have made a difference to community life because of their advocacy of human rights issues in their own communities? Or celebrate the contribution of individuals who made it happen."

"Unless programming is done that meets the interests and objectives of participating groups, involvement may be piecemeal..."

Supportive Structure to Publicize Issues and Events

Although Canadians clearly want activities for a possible Human Rights Year to emanate from their communities, they also feel that a structure of some type will be required to liaise with national media, to provide information and to possibly have a type of "networking " function. To borrow a respondent's words, the role of this unit would be to "incite and excite", not to coordinate and control. Viewed as more of a clearing house than a national office, it would at the same time be a catalyst and a lever, and provide a focal point for common interest. A predominant function would be the development of a comprehensive communications strategy to "market human rights and the Universal Declaration" to the public. This would be helpful in terms of assisting the public in knowing the relevance of the Declaration, as well as discussion of other human rights issues.

Much concern was expressed about how to ensure appropriate media attention. The national structure envisioned would have one or more media specialists who can identify not only traditional media outlets, but all publications that may be accessed. For example, the range should extend to weekly publications and specialized publications as well as some of the new technologies, such as interactive CDs and the Internet. Back to the backyard - media involvement at the community level will be critical to ensure local angles, local interest. Also, specific messages could be marketed to specific audiences. It is anticipated that the national structure could provide print and electronic information to back up local initiatives.

Many people suggested that activities should be planned throughout the year and not just for 10 December, 1998. Attention should be given to the two UN Decades on Rights of Indigenous Peoples and on Human Rights Education. Numerous opportunities such as International Women's Day (March 8), Disability Awareness Week and World Food Day (November 16) are examples of opportunities to "piggyback" Human Rights activities. It would be the responsibility of a national structure to keep track of these events and dovetail rights activities with them. Respondents also indicated that their institutions had planned programmes which had the scope to include other activities. Another role of a national structure would be to help avoid duplication of similar events in the same area.

Again, to give an idea of "what the people said", some direct quotations are found below on how a national supportive structure is viewed.

"A national organization is something we can opt into rather than buy into."

"Enable people to "tell their own stories" through the media."

"There is no such thing as a mass audience, but specific targets within it."

"A national structure of some kind.. is essential to the success of planning the Year. Its role should be as a clearing house, to provide print resources and to coordinate only those activities that need to be coordinated."

A Special Partner - Youth

A preoccupation with youth as the primary audience was dominant among the hundreds of participants across the country, including young people themselves: how to create programming that addresses their concerns and to communicate the fundamental human rights articulated in the UDHR? Ideas were numerous, creative and exciting, focusing on themes and programs topical to today's young people.

For example, the Office of the Ombudsman in Edmonton suggested that if resources could be found, perhaps student internships could be allocated to Ombudsman offices to promote education and the Declaration. In New Brunswick, the idea was raised of employing students during the summer to promote the Year and to distribute information to schools. From Newfoundland comes an idea about having students across the country organize a cross-Canada tour of a major rock group who could carry the message to high schools and universities. Youth told us that Bryan

Adams, Bruce Cockburn, Alanis Morisette or Susan Aglukark would be high on their list as the musicians to be approached for this task.

It is critical that youth be reached "where they are at". Popular music, school curricula and interactive computer games are important media for accessing young people. In fact, MuchMusic has already expressed a strong interest in developing programing that would incorporate human rights themes during 1998.

We were reminded that while it may be relatively easy to reach high achievers in this section of the population, effort must be put on trying to engage and hold the interest of difficult to access, marginalized youth. A number of youth stakeholders were identified that could be involved, such as Students Associations, school clubs of all kinds, Teacher Federations, Youth Committees and Service Organizations.

There is no question that youth themselves want to participate in a year of human rights activities, and if their plea to have information made available to them is heeded, it could be a very busy year in schools, libraries, shopping malls, clubs - and all the computer terminals across Canada! There was also an expression of "wishing to take matters into our own hands" in developing youth projects, and below is only a small selection of the many ideas that were enthusiastically tumbled

out by youth participants.

• Build Awareness through Mini-Forums in Schools
• Teachers could post assignments on Human Rights on the Internet
• Schools could make up their own Declaration of Rights
• Develop a Multi-Media Awareness Project
• Organize pen-pals (e.g. with rights activists, political refugees), correspondence could be both international and domestic
• Organize mock UN Debates
• Have Human Rights be part of school curriculum, as well as extra-curricular activities such as the Peace Club

The following are comments from youth and the youth-focussed to illustrate the kind of enthusiasm and ideas that people have already.

"Remember - many of the role models for kids are found in the field of sports and entertainment."

"The foremost contribution that can be made through the organization of activities throughout the year is to focus on young people and reach them where their interests are."

"(At the Saskatchewan Ombudsman office)...we are interested in promoting our work and the Declaration to high school students as they are at an age when they will begin to come into contact with government, their regulations and the bureaucracy...."

"Priority with teens according to a recent survey commissioned is 1) Music; 2) Friends; 3) Sex."

"We would like to have Bruce Cockburn introduce landmine survivors to us" - a youth participant.

"We want to get involved, but don't know how or where!"