Church of Scientology International's Human Rights Education Campaign goes Global
With this week's unveiling of 30 new TV public service announcements (PSAs) — each illustrating one of the 30 articles of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 17 languages — churches of Scientology around the world in partnership with Youth for Human Rights International (YRHI) are stepping up their grassroots efforts to make human rights an everyday reality. At free public events held on every continent this week, local Scientology churches are releasing the PSAs as part of an expanded campaign to promote the fundamental principles set forth in the Universal Declaration.
Each local launch premieres a selection of the PSAs, including "The Right to Life" (Article 3); "Freedom of Assembly" (Article 20); "The Right to Education" (Article 26); "A Free and Fair World" (Article 28); and "Our Responsibilities" (Article 29).
Some 450 actors and actresses appear in the messages. The time and effort involved in shoots was equivalent to what it takes to shoot a full, feature-length film. Five months of postproduction followed and, in the end, the 30 PSAs were produced — start of scripting to finish — in seven months.
This grassroots campaign is inspired by the words of Scientology founder and humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard, who wrote, "Human rights must be made a fact, not an idealistic dream."
The need for broad-scale human rights education could not be more urgent. Across the globe today, 100 million children are living on the street, and 115 million primary school-aged youth are out of school. Through these audio-visual presentations and other educational tools, the Church of Scientology International's Human Rights Department and YHRI seek to reach millions of people to raise awareness and bring about global change.
"The release of these PSAs constitutes a breakthrough for the teaching, preservation and advancement of human rights for all people everywhere," said Church of Scientology International human rights director, Leisa Goodman.
The new PSAs are a unique educational tool in part inspired by YHRI's award-winning United music video (TXL Films). United has won 12 film festival awards, including the International Gandhi Film Festival in Barcelona, Spain.
"The PSAs are something entirely new," said Taron Lexton, the 22-year old director of United and the new PSAs. "They bring to life the very human rights you actually have right now."
For more information on the Church of Scientology International's human rights campaign, call the Church of Scientology International's Human Rights Department at (323) 960-3500. For information on Youth for Human Rights International, call (323) 663-5799 or email news@youthforhumanrights.org. To view sample PSAs and the United video, visit www.youthforhumanrights.org.
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