WORKSHOP

WRITING OF APPEALS
Target group: Pupils of the second and third triad of primary schools (age 11 to 14),
secondary school pupils
Goal: Young people get acquainted with the meaning and power of appeals. They also get to
know their potential power and usability in situations in which anyone can get into at any
moment.
Time: 60 minutes (90 minutes, if you enter into a much more in-depth discussion about
certain examples and talk about which human rights have been abused, how to ensure they
are better protected in the future).
What will you need: the internet, a computer, copies of three cases for group exercise (you
may other examples for which we are writing about at this year's marathon, you may find them
on http://sola.amnesty.si/maraton-pisanja-apelov.html - only in Slovenian language), copies of
the comic strip entitled We Have Power, Let's Use It!
(http://sola.amnesty.si/novice/pripravljeni-na-maraton-pisanja-apelov-2013.html).

Icebreaker (10 minutes)

Ask the participants what are human rights? Who has them? Where do we get them? Where
are they written? For easier understanding of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and
the individual articles within in it, you may view the video found in this link (or
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woATZ_Fq72k).
Explain to the participants that everyone has rights, which belong to us all since birth and
that no one has the right to take them away from you or anyone else (for more information
concerning this topic you can click on this link only in Slovenian language). Human rights
are, unfortunately, frequently abused. Ask the participants, if they know of any events in
which human rights have been abused.

Main activity (30 min)

Divide the participants into groups of three or six and issue them case studies of events. Tell
them, that they have 10 minutes to read their cases and identify which human rights were

abused as well as come up with solutions to solve the problems highlighted in the cases. You
may issue the participants a copy of a simplified version of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.

A man was returning home from work one evening. He was passing through a park in which a
demonstration took place earlier. Suddenly, he was assaulted by several police officers for no
discernible reason. He was brutally beaten and was thrown into a fire. He barely survived the
encounter. He lost one eye and 80% of vision in the other. He suffered a fractured skull along
with several broken bones and severe burns. Despite the denunciation against the policemen
no one has yet taken the responsibility for the assault.
Which rights have been compromised in this situation? What can the man do?

This particular community has been living on the shores of a particular lake for many years
now. The authorities have recently rented the territory to a company who filled in the lake,
which destroyed many households. The residents have formed a resistance against the
operation. One of the ardent supporters of the locals' rights has been sentenced to prison last
year under the accusation that she was a planning an attack on a man. Her trail was unfair as
no evidence was provided to back up the accusation. Many believe that she was locked up
because she peacefully protested for the right to adequate housing for her community.
Which rights of hers have been abused? What can the woman and her community do in this
situation?

A blogger posted a picture of Mohammed on his Facebook profile. He was arrested after a few
days as someone reported him for insulting Islam and Muslims. He was sentenced to 7.5
years in prison. The blogger is, therefore, a prisoner of conscience, as he was arrested simply
for stating his opinion.
Which rights of his have been compromised? What can he do?

Each team should present their case and their suggestions. If two teams happen to choose the
same story, they can compare their suggestions. After that, ask others for their ideas and/or, if
they agree with the suggested solutions.

Ask the participants how they think they would be able to help the people in the examples.
Issue them cut up copies of the We Have Power, Let's Use It! comic strip
(http://sola.amnesty.si/novice/pripravljeni-na-maraton-pisanja-apelov-2013.html - only in
Slovenian language) and instruct them to piece together a story from the piece. Upon
finishing, take a look at the stories put together and remind them of the importance of taking
action against injustices as well as the importance of taking the appropriate procedure in
doing so. By this, we mean sending the appeal, complaint or demand to the intended body
and clearly articulate what is the problem. The most effective appeals are those, which are
polite, clear, and contain references to legal bases and entitlements, as well as human rights.

Closing activity (10 min)

Explain to the young participants that the examples, which they debated, are real. They
contain stories that took place in Turkey, Cambodia, and Tunisia. All of these people take
action by themselves. However, international support plays an important and key role in such
situations. We will write appeals for these people at this year's appeal writing marathon.
People from others countries can do, and change, a lot for people who are currently too scared
of taking action for fear of being of being punished for supporting human rights.
At the end of the activities you can watch a selection of short films made by Amnesty
International about the hidden power of appeals.
Talk about if they liked the film, what they like the most, and what do they think its most
important message was.
Films:
Letters Stop Bullets (1 min 33 s)
Symbolic spot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwl2aFNsW30
Letters Prevent Torture (50 s)
Symbolic spot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOvgVXN_jYc
What is Amnesty International? (4 min 15 s)
Introduction to Amnesty International
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM66lUgnvj0&feature=c4overview&list=UU5EfdnNOd9m8cP-8nSaRnMw