Human Rights Day 2024

Annie Smith, Senior Human Rights Officer at BIHR, then introduced the Community Programme and the co-design project. This project involves BIHR working alongside community organisations to develop a practical and hopefully powerful resource which will enable them to use human rights advocacy to support and strengthen their work. 

The first community member to speak was Mimi Unamoyo of Bomoko NI. They have been working with BIHR to create a pocket-sized guide to human rights and housing for women seeking asylum and refuge in Northern Ireland. The guide has also been translated into Arabic and Somali and is available in a digital version. Mimi shared how important it is for people to have access to these practical and tailored tools to support them in their interactions with public services.

Next up was Councillor Faith Gakanje-Ajala from African Women Empowerment Forum. They have been working with BIHR to create a booklet designed to help women seeking asylum and refugee to access culturally appropriate support services. Councillor Faith reflected on her own experience of navigating the UK asylum system and the need for greater awareness of and understanding of human rights.

Harriet Matthews, Stuart Bowen & Jenny Mushiringani Monjero from Cwm Taf People First then shared their Easy Read human rights card game, the Game of Rights. This was created to support adults with learning disabilities to know and claim their rights. They talked about the importance of having accessible materials that support people to be involved in decisions about their own lives and to empower them to claim their rights. 

Lucy Fullard from Parent & Carers Alliance CIC then shared the work they have been doing with BIHR to create written and video resources for families and supporters accessing special educational needs and disability services. She said that, "to our knowledge this is the first guide, specifically for all the family with disabled children, to be able to use their human rights in this country. We believe this guide will make a huge difference."

We then heard from two speakers from community groups that have participated in the Community Programme in previous years: Fairuz Choudhury from Hopscotch Women's Centre and Joe Powell from All Wales People First. They shared the long-term impact of the resources they created, including a guide to human rights for Hopscotch staff and an Easy Read guide for adults with learning disabilities.