Creating a fairer Britain
This is an introduction to get young people motivated to create artwork exploring equality and human rights and to enter the awards.
Ask everyone to think of an occasion when their own or someone else’s rights were not respected. Prompt them to think about, for example:
Ask: What do you wish you could have said? (Or what would you have said if you had been there?)
Help them to: Cut a suitable shape from a sheet of paper or texture/card. The shape might be a megaphone, a telephone, a speech bubble, a hand...And write those words big and strong.
Display these shapes as a wall of voices. Discuss what the wall of voices would sound like, in terms of volume or pitch. What feelings arise when rights are denied?
In small groups, make a list of all the reasons why people deny rights to each other, why we discriminate against others.]. Why do you think this happens? Prompt young people to think about:
Ask them to: Share and agree the 4 or 5 most common explanations you came up with.
Ask students whether they believe this statement:
“Expressing your ideas with art, whether in images or stories or music, can be helpful in changing this situation and ending prejudice.”
Ask students to think of reasons why and examples where it has been helpful?
Ask them to imagine that they’ve been given a week off normal school to use creativity to change things. What could you do? Would you get together? What art form would be most effective?
The Commission exists to create a fairer Britain, one in which fairness, respect, equality, dignity and autonomy are enjoyed by all. Write these up or hand them out on cards. If you could give one of these as a gift to someone you know or have heard of, to whom would you give it and why, and what would it change?
If you have time for more creativity: if this gift could be symbolised in an image, what would it look like? Can you draw it?