Rules and Information

The Organizing Committee for the Tennessee celebration of International Human Rights Day is pleased to invite all interested students to create and submit a work of art in honor of Human Rights Day.

What is Human Rights Day?
Human Rights Day commemorates the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), on December 10, 1948. This day is celebrated every year, world-wide, as a renewal to our common commitment to universal dignity, non-discrimination and justice.

How Will Tennessee Celebrate?
We are planning an event that will include a formal program with speakers, a presentation of lifelong human rights awards and other elements.

Throughout the program, we would like to display art from students that depicts one or more of the rights enumerated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In fact, from our perspective, this is the most important part of the program, because it provides students an opportunity to learn and think about Human Rights.

Who is the Organizing Committee for this event?
The Organizing Committee this year includes representatives of the Tennessee Human Rights Commission, Metro Human Relations Commission, Tennessee United for Human Rights and other like-minded organizations. Any organization involved in human rights matters and willing to work is welcome and encouraged to join the Organizing Committee.

What is meant by “art”?
For logistical reasons, we are requesting only two-dimensional visual art of any media. The maximum size of the art should be 8.5” x 11”.

The subject of the art should be directly related to one or more of the rights enumerated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Each piece of art should have attached to the back a form that will include information on name, school, grade and age. It will also provide space for a paragraph written by the student to write about the meaning of the art and to which article from UDHR it relates (Get the form).

As this is meant to promote human dignity, the organizing committee reserves the right to reject submissions which in its sole discretion contain inappropriate language or graphics.

Who is eligible?
The project is open to all students in Tennessee, including public, private and home-schooled students.

How will the art be used?
Art may be photographed or scanned and organized into a slide show that will be displayed throughout the Human Rights Day event. Some art may be included in the printed program or displayed on our website. Extra copies of the printed program could be made available to schools, teachers and students at their request.

What is the deadline and how do students submit the art?
We are asking any educator wishing to have one or more students participate to register as a sponsor. Students must submit their art to their sponsor by November 21. For those in Davidson county, the Organizing Committee can arrange to pick up the art from each sponsor after the Thanksgiving holidays. Others should mail or deliver their art to the address below.

There may be more than one registered contact person in a school, and parents who home-school may register.

Art may also be sent or delivered directly to Human Rights Day Committee, attn: Brian Fesler, 1130 8th Ave S, Nashville, Tennessee 37203. Work in digital form may be emailed to gro.rhuntnull@ofni. If sending directly to the Committee, the deadline for receipt is November 28.

Where can one find more information?
More information on the art project as well as on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related issues may be found here on tnuhr.org

Students or educators can also email gro.rhuntnull@ofni.

In addition, human rights instructional material in the form of booklets and video resources are available free of charge to any educator on a first-come, first-served basis. Please contact us to request your materials.

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