THE POWER OF COMMUNITY, CARE AND CREATIVE PROTEST

These expertly crafted and straightforward human rights teaching resources are timely and essential for teachers to use in classrooms to help children confidently explore issues around their rights, so they can advocate within their communities with empathy and compassion.

It was great fun for everyone. There was full house in the classroom. I found particularly impressive that he explained his sketchbook to the children. Children often think that authors or illustrators write or draw ready for print. He explained how to collect and organize ideas first.

Participating in Seen and Heard gave my son a unique opportunity to reflect on human rights—both his own and those of others—and to consider his role in shaping a fair and respectful society. The project also sparked his creativity as he collaborated with peers outside his usual social circle, combining different perspectives to produce a video. Empowered by discussions on human rights, he gained confidence and, alongside his classmates, began speaking against unfair treatment in their surroundings.

The Seen & Heard project showed me how important it is to give young people space to express themselves. In today’s world, their voices are not always heard, and projects like this help them understand their rights and speak about important topics. I especially liked how the project combined literature, culture, and media, allowing participants to express themselves creatively. I believe this experience gave them not only knowledge about their rights but also the tools to stand up for their beliefs in the future. A big thank you to the organizers and Amnesty International for supporting freedom of expression among young people!

Planning a project together with colleagues from different countries and being able to learn from each other was a great enrichment for me. The interdisciplinary idea of developing workshops for and with children as representatives of different arts is also something I would like to develop further in the future. And if I can dream, I hope that one day the children will be able to realise projects together with their peers from the participating countries and that everyone will meet. This will create a very tangible sense of our togetherness as people in Europe across national borders.

My participation in the ‘Human Rights, Storytelling and Speaking Up Against Injustice’ workshop at UM was a thought-provoking experience. It was heartening to see people from diverse academic and demographic backgrounds discussing pertinent issues such as the ethics of exposing and making human rights acts accessible to children, and questions related to power when placing children at the heart of stories. One of the major take-aways from this workshop was how we can engage with and examine literature through a human rights lens.

As a child, I sometimes had the feeling that my own opinion counted less than that of adults. The project made me realise once again how important children’s opinions are and how essential it is to listen to them so that they feel heard and seen. At the same time, it showed me how sensitively we have to deal with their thoughts and opinions, as they give us a deep insight into their emotional world and make themselves vulnerable in the process. My takeaway was to consciously listen to the children so that they don’t feel alone with their thoughts and opinions.

Being part of the Seen & Heard project as a Research Assistant was a really great experience. It gave me the opportunity to get hands-on with every stage of a research project, from gathering data to helping to analyse the results. It was really special for me to see the direct impact of the work carried out on the participants. During the mentoring programme especially, it was amazing to see how the participants left feeling more driven about the issues they cared about and more confident to share their perspectives and opinions. On a personal level, I learnt more about human rights and I feel really lucky to have been part of a project that I wouldn’t normally have been involved in. After participating, I felt more empowered to learn more and become more involved in advocacy.

I don’t believe in the adultistic perception that labels young people as apolitical. They are often deeply engaged in political and social issues and care about their surroundings and the things that affect their lives; they just express it differently than older generations. Instead of traditional party politics, they use new and creative ways to drive change and make themselves heard. Their ways of participation are more dynamic, digital, and issue-focused—it is crucial to establish opportunities for them to engage in discourse creatively. Dismissing their engagement overlooks the evolving nature of political involvement in the modern world.

Seen and Heard has empowered me. Realizing that you are part of an international, interdisciplinary project in which very different people are working together for children’s and human rights gives you hope and strength for everyday life. Meeting each other also gives the local players new impetus in the fight for the implementation of children’s rights.

First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the organizers for the opportunity to participate in this project. I found the idea of engaging teenagers and introducing them to such an essential area of knowledge—understanding their rights—very interesting. I really liked how involved the children were in the process and how they could independently interpret the knowledge they gained through one of the most relevant storytelling formats today—video. I hope and believe that this was a valuable experience for them, one that will help preserve peace and order in our shared future.

Seen and Heard is an exemplary collaboration between academia, art, activism, and young people. While it’s apparent that such work poses ethical challenges, the project also demonstrates the ethical imperative for making space for young people’s views and experiences. The films from Malta shared with our class showcased students’ capacity for civic imagination – the ways they envision tackling issues like fast fashion, bullying, and threats to their local environment. Witnessing the courage and creativity of their participation inspired me to brainstorm different ways that I can incorporate children’s voices into my own research. I cannot wait for the films and docuseries to be uploaded onto the website!