Is New Zealand still a global leader in the upholding of human rights?
Your Challenge
Learn about New Zealand's commitment to human rights, its relevant support structures, and whether it is living up to its promises.
Engage the wider community in your research as you seek the most common human rights problems in this country, and identify their causes and possible solutions.
Read
Look at the NZ Human Rights Commission website and familiarise yourself with the issues so you can use them in your discussions.
Follow this Process
Discuss - ask yourselves, 'what are the most pressing human rights problems in this country?' Also ask yourselves why these particular issues keep arising, then come up with a plan of action to create positive change on one of your chosen issues.
Brainstorm - discuss the human rights issues you are most interested in, or that you feel are in most urgent need of improvement in this country. Refer to this easy-to-understand version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for a broader global context for these issues, and see if there are any problems in our country that may not have been identified in the Human Rights Commission website. Share your own stories and experiences if you feel comfortable doing so.
Research - use the web to discover the often conflicting opinions on whether New Zealand has a good human rights track record. What do you believe? Find out what your wider community thinks about the state of human rights in New Zealand, and which issues strike them as particularly important. Ask for their suggestions on how things could be improved. You could use paper, online, audio or video surveys to gather this information, and then combine it with your own ideas and preliminary conclusions. Devise a method to choose a single issue that has been highlighted in your research then study it in more detail. Can you think of any solutions to this problem that no one has yet thought of? Use your imagination and be creative. Never underestimate the power of thinking outside the box!
Summarise - prepare a report detailing your findings and present it to the school and wider community in any format you wish, even this website.
Take action - decide your next step. How can you use your new-found knowledge to make a positive difference? Do you want to launch a campaign, make a complaint to the Human Rights Commission or simply make a commitment to learn and share more about this fundamentally important issue?
Capture and share these outcomes using photo and/or video and post on this site to inspire others. Provide regular updates if this becomes an ongoing project.
Educator Notes:
Links to the New Zealand Curriculum:
Differentiation suggestions:
Useful links:
- Summary of human rights in New Zealand
- Read our government's response to an appraisal of its human rights record
- Read how New Zealand may need to improve its human rights performance
References and Acknowledgements:
Related links: