(2nd Meeting) 20th International Human Rights Summit
Meetings & Events
Date: 30 July 2026
Language: English
Transcript: https://transcripts.un.org/ar/asset/k1s/k1s6qg72dk?lang=en
Transcripts available through this tool are created by using automatic speech recognition and are not official records nor official documents of the United Nations. Official records and official documents are available on the Official Document System of the United Nations.

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Moderator [0:02]:

Everyone, please take your seats. Our afternoon program— And don't be shy, you can get a selfie at the end of the program too. All right, well, I hope everyone had a great lunch, they enjoyed their time. It's now my honor to kick off our afternoon presentation for day 1. Very exciting! Let's get a round of applause for our afternoon presentation. Great. And I'm gonna have everyone quiet up their conversations. You can absolutely continue those conversations, and we encourage you to do so after the summit program. So if I can get everyone in the back, can I get a thumbs up if you can hear me in the back? Great. From this side over here, can I get a thumbs up if you can hear me in the back? Awesome. All right, well, we'll get going. So it's an honor for me to get to welcome to this stage to kick off our afternoon presentation, this is Tobogo Joy Ngoma. She's a storyteller for social change. She's the founder of Brave Hearts Multimedia. And incredibly, she's also the granddaughter of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the 1984 Nobel Prize laureate. So without further ado, let's welcome her to the stage.


South Africa · Founder · Tobogo Joy Ngoma [1:31]:

Thank you.

Well, good afternoon, everyone. I hope that you won't fall asleep while I'm speaking since we all just had a big lunch. But however, I am happy to be here, especially since this month we are celebrating Nelson Mandela Month. So what a good day to celebrate the Summit for Human Rights under the name of Nelson Mandela. So thank you very much.


Moderator [2:11]:

Thank you.


South Africa · Founder · Tobogo Joy Ngoma [2:12]:

Good afternoon to everyone. So my address today is actually not just a celebration, it is also a plea. It is a plea inspired by the very first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which is, all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Those words are very simple and beautifully stated. They have inspired global movements, they have shaped national constitutions, and offered a lifetime of hope to millions. But the truth we must face is that they remain only words on parchment unless each generation actively chooses to make them real. Today we gather here to celebrate 25 years, and 25 years is a very, very long time, so this is a remarkable milestone for Human Rights International, a profound statement of what is possible when people commit themselves to educating others about our shared dignity. I want to take a moment to honor Dr. Mary Sharrow Worth. Mary, thank you for your vision and your unwavering commitment over the past quarter century. Thank you for constantly reminding generations of young people that human rights are not abstract or lofty ideals. They are lived realities that require our daily active commitment. I come from South Africa, the beautiful Rainbow Nation. It is a country whose history permanently reminds us of what happens when human rights and human dignity is denied by law. But it is also a place that shows us what becomes possible when ordinary people choose justice over fear, when ordinary people choose dialogue over division, when ordinary people choose hope over despair. Growing up, I learned that peace is not simply the quiet absence of violence. We have all seen that. Peace exists when every single child has the opportunity to dream. Peace is when a woman can walk her street without any fear. Peace is when a community is deeply respected and when every person knows without a doubt that their life is equal and worth it. This understanding shaped my entire journey as a storyteller, a peacebuilder, and a human rights advocate. Over the years, I have worked through television, documentary filmmaking, and peace education alongside with intercultural dialogue in South Africa, the US, and the South Caucasus. I chose the path because I believe that stories fundamentally shape how societies understand themselves. and how they treat one another. Long before laws change, stories change. Long before policies change, stories change. The stories we choose to tell and amplify determine who belongs, as I have learned in my country of South Africa, how stories of people who look like me were never told, whose suffering actually matters and stories whose humanity we recognize. This is why education is incredibly profound. True education does so much more than transfer data and knowledge. It shapes conscience. It teaches us not only what our own rights are, but why are the rights of the person standing next to us matters just as much. Human rights is education at its heart, an education in empathy. It teaches young people to replace fear with curiosity. It replaces prejudice with understanding, silence with courage, and indifference with active responsibility. This is the beautiful legacy we are celebrating here today, which is 25 years. But as I said in my address earlier, this is not only a celebration, it's also a plea to each and every one of you. As we gather comfortably in this remarkable place right now, in this room, somewhere in the world right now, a child is being shut out of a classroom. A journalist is being harassed and silenced. A family is fleeing conflict with nothing but what they can only carry on their backs. A young person is being targeted and discriminated against simply because of who they are. Human rights are not abstract academic principles to be debated in conferences like this. They are either lived or violated every single day. Most people who are facing these violations will never have the opportunity to sit in a room like this where we are sitting and standing today. So, and that means being in this room today is not just a privilege, it is a profound responsibility. Privilege is not measured by our comfort, it is measured by access. We have access to decision makers, We have access to platforms, access to resources, and access to the very same room where the future is being shaped, and that level of access creates an undeniable responsibility. So I want to ask each and every one of you a simple question: what will you do with that privilege?


Speaker 5 [9:42]:

Thank you.


South Africa · Founder · Tobogo Joy Ngoma [9:43]:

Of being in this room today, not tomorrow, not yesterday, today? Will you speak when it is deeply uncomfortable? Will you defend those whose voices are systematically ignored? Will you choose courage over convenience? History, as we have all seen and experienced, is rarely changed by extraordinary people. or legendary figures or titles alone. It is far more often it moved forward by the very ordinary people who simply refuse to remain silent, so people like you and me today. 25 years is a beautiful milestone. It is long enough for a newborn child to become an adult. It is long enough for an entire generation to inherit the world we leave behind. The question we have to ask ourselves is, what kind of world are we actually handing them when we talk about children are the future? I hope that When future generations gather to celebrate the next 25 years, they will look back at our choices and say that we did not become indifferent. I hope that they will say that when human dignity was threatened, we stood close together. I hope that they will say When misinformation threatened to tear us apart, we chose truth. That when hatred grew louder, we answered with compassion. And after that, when fear tempted us into silence, we found courage to speak. Every generation inherits a torch. Our job is to pass it on. is not just to hold it. It is to make sure that the flame burns much brighter when we pass it. Before I get off the stage, I would love to invite you to do something very simple, just like the Human Rights Declaration that I read. Please turn around, to the person sitting next to you or behind you or in front of you and look them in the eye, and I want you to say, I am because we are. I am because we are. I am because we are. And that, my brothers and sisters, it's a simple phrase that comes from the philosophy, from the African philosophy of Ubuntu.


Speaker 7 [13:04]:

Yes.


South Africa · Founder · Tobogo Joy Ngoma [13:05]:

It reminds us that our individual humanity is forever bound to the humanity of others. We cannot be human alone. Human rights are not protected simply because they are written down in declarations. They are protected because ordinary people like you and me choose every single day to defend the dignity of another human being. So today, my plea to you is very simple: leave this summit completely committed to ensuring that Under your watch, fewer people suffer because someone chose to remain silent. Live here determined to educate, to advocate, to listen, and to act. And above all, let us protect the sacred dignity that belongs equally to every single member of our human family. So I am, because we are, Thank you very much.


Moderator [14:21]:

That was beautiful. Thank you again, Taboga. Next up, please welcome to the stage the Honorable Dr. José Antonio Michelini, Federal Judge of the Federal Oral Criminal Court in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Argentina. And everyone, his speech will be in Spanish, so please make sure you put your earshells on if needed. We'll welcome him to the stage.


Argentina · Federal Judge · José Antonio Michelini [14:53]:

Thank you. Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, peace doesn't begin on a conflict. It begins way before in a society that learns to acknowledge, and everyone that has a right to will have dignity. First of all, I would like to thank Dr. Shuttleworth and everyone in the room who's wondering.


Speaker 11 [15:19]:

Mary.


Argentina · Federal Judge · José Antonio Michelini [15:20]:

And I'm saying Mary because I have changed my speech, and I have felt today part of this big family, which is not something I had written before. That to me is so important. So that's why I understand that the family closeness that's bringing me together, and I will put myself at your position. We can address you more familiarly. I can totally acknowledge that this declaration, this doesn't necessarily belong like an array and catalog, but rather This really stands for an ethical and legal binding agreement for the international community to stand for human life. Today, most of these principles that are part of international legal framework have now inspired different treaties and agreements at an international and global level to be ratified and agreements across the world. And then on top of that, from the legal framework of human rights lenses, it has experience a different type of evolution by extending the length of the rights that we currently hold, like the mechanisms that we have for the defense of such. This particular development has ratified that human rights are a living organism who is dynamic, permanent, and in constant construction and movement, capable of answering to social transformation, to scientific advancements, technological innovation and the new ways of vulnerability that come along with it. Consolidating these particular treaties, strengthening the international organizations that oversee it and the different universal systems that exist alongside of it, they clearly show that the international community has taken on a different type of commitment, making human dignity an international priority. Not only that, but also a peaceful one. And yet, the sole existing of legal framework doesn't necessarily guarantee that we will be respecting your human rights all along. Our experiences show that violations itself, they're not because of lack of legal framework, but rather unknowingness, dismissiveness, and in sometimes mispractices that violate the state of law and the respect for others. It is within this framework that this is decisive information where we can have this in human rights. The Declaration itself establishes this in Article 26 by pointing out that education should tackle into the full development of your human capacity and to strengthen your human rights knowledge. And the liberties that come with it. This particular clause fully unveils a deep understanding of the legal framework itself. Human rights cannot and will not be ratified exclusively through coercion, but rather they require a true culture of respect that is genuine and organic. To educate into human rights does not mean have international clauses to be taught, but rather it implies shaping citizenships that can understand the value of equity, freedom, solidarity, justice, and to respect diversity. It defines to develop competences within the conflict mechanism of dialogue and to reject all type of discrimination, violence, or aggression. It's in that sense in which the United Nations have forwarded different initiatives to consolidate education as a peacebuilding mechanism. The World Programme for Education on Human Rights, the 2030 Agenda, Sustainable Development Objectives, they all recognize and become a specific element for having inclusive, sustainable, and peaceful societies. It is this connection that seems to be no randomness. Long-lasting peace is not the lack of armed conflict, but rather it means that we have reliable institutions, equality, free justice access, and citizens committed to the democratic values of their society. Wherever there is systemic discrimination, extreme poverty, exclusion, prosecution, persecution, you could very hardly speak about values and a long-lasting peace. This historical background shows us that for us to teach you on human rights, this is not just an academic exercise, but rather is a transformative tool. It's the mechanism through which new generations will understand the value of democracy and the constitutionality it will have respect for minorities, and to understand the value of your local organizations. Nevertheless, the challenges that we face ahead are tremendous. We live in a globalized world that has been tackled by wars, migration crisis, hatred speech, misinformation, economical gaps, and accelerated technological changes that now get to question the protectiveness of human rights by itself. And in the face of this scenario, a training in human rights then becomes even more valuable than ever before. This not only should be shared at a legal level, but also we need to strengthen our own critical thinking abilities. Your citizenship responsibility, your capability to be a part of even more diverse societies, should also be strengthened. Having said this, we cannot leave aside the fact that human rights by themselves, they are not a static array of values or normativities put on a paper, but way on the contrary, they are characterized by their dynamic character and the evolutiveness character, which is deeply connected to social transformation, political, scientific, and technological innovations in humanity. Their development is the result of a historical process of us extending how far we can keep protecting human dignity, which cannot take one step back. It is the Human Declaration of Human Rights— the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reminds us that everyone is born free and equal. 77 years later, the challenge continues to be the same: transform these clauses into our daily lives. And that task begins inevitably with education. Because teaching in human rights is educating for freedom, for justice, and for peace.


Speaker 13 [22:17]:

Thank you.


Moderator [22:28]:

It's now my pleasure to introduce Rafael Freire Martinez.


Mexico · Rafael Freire Martinez [22:42]:

Thank you.

Good evening to all of you.

I was supposed to be a panelist, but yesterday something changed and now I am a speaker.

So if you don't mind, I will change to my mother's tongue so it's easy for me to express myself. So I will speak in Spanish this time.

Buenas tardes.

Buenas tardes. Good evening, everyone. For me, it's a true pleasure to be with you in the United Nations venue, a venue that I have been to many, many plenty times because I did study diplomacy within these headquarters, but I had never been a speaker. So thank you, Mary. Thank you, Raúl. I never thought I would step into the UN as a speaker and addressing such an important audience like yourselves, so I'm grateful for this opportunity. I would like to congratulate you for your first 25 years of having this noble cause that has no paramount in the world during the years of the summit and this particular time it's been devoted to education for peace. And this brings me back inevitably to Gandhi. Gandhi used to say that the path is not peace itself, but rather peace is the path. So what better place to quote this man than this venue than right now? So I would like to start my presentation by a quick story. This is a story that changed my life. It opened my eyes. It transformed the way I understand reality. And it helped me understand my true passion. Not only to share my knowledge, but to raise awareness, but also to understand others. I will tell you about Carmen Apolinar. It's an indigenous Nahuatl girl who fell into orphanage when she was 12. She's slightly older than myself, and she began to work as a domestic employee at my parents' home. And not only did she learn perfect Spanish eventually, but she also met all her academic degree all the way through high school. Years later, this particular woman immigrated to New York when I was a student here. And while I was studying in Columbia University, she was working at a factory putting sweaters together. And on the weekend, She was selling tamales, which is typical Mexican food, and she would invest $50 and make $500. So she was talented, she was an entrepreneur, and without knowing it, she was a great businesswoman. But also, she was far away from her community, no support network, not knowing her rights in full. When she was pregnant, by fear and by unknowingness, She didn't reach for a hospital, and his child was born with a disability. Years later, she went back to Mexico and went to Guerrero, the southern part of the country, which is one of the most vulnerable regions in our country. One day I told this to, you know, hundreds of students in my class, and they were entrepreneurs. And as I was speaking, something changed in the room. They just didn't listen to my presentation itself, but rather they were now led into a full life. They understand that talent is remote, but the opportunities are not there necessarily. It was then and there that something changed within me. From the moment that I understood and fully met the story of this lady, I devoted myself to education. Not just to share knowledge transfer, but also to take full advantage and to provoke the right questions, to raise awareness, to transform the way we see through our own lenses, but also to understand that those who can see a different reality than ours exist. In the year 2000, I had a chance to be at the Ministry of Education back in Mexico, and I was assigned with a tremendous task to find and reach our global sustainable development goals for 2030. And I had to reach them at a universal level in the country. But oh, surprise, in my country, I managed to tackle that target by 2005. And my learning went beyond that quota. It was beyond the number. I was able to fully understand the root cause of my problem, and it was on the outskirts. In my country, a lot of families would think that education began at primary school level, and they wouldn't see past that nor before that. They wouldn't understand on pre— pre— pre- and kindergarten education. And so they thought that when their children were through primary school, they were done. They have educated themselves. But by then, we understand that primary school was not the gate, but we had to handhold them all the way through, before, during, and after that process, which is what the GDS stands for. Because the right to education begins from the very few months of your life, and it doesn't go through at the second you're done, you know, on the alphabet or knowing numbers or doing basic mathematical operations. Time later in time, in 2009, we had a new model within the Mexican Constitution where we completely leave something out, which is individual guarantees, and we acknowledged human rights as a right by itself. This is a pivotal point back in 2009, and that's when I had to resort to subject matter experts, which is when I referred back to the UNESCO Quote, and then of course, Youth for Human Rights. And this now triggered a new question that has accompanied throughout my life: how can somebody exert their right if they don't even know they have it? The declaration dates back to 1948, and it's 2011, and I— we just didn't know them. With Youth for Human Rights and the UNESCO letter, We went into the national program of 2008 all the way through 2012 with the fantastic materials that you have in front of you. We recreated that 1 minute so that we could explain each and every single human right with, you know, simple-to-grasp images, simple vocabulary, so that a single girl or boy could understand that, you know, any parent, any adult would understand that regardless of where they would come from, their language, or their beliefs. We also use certain lesson plans of reading processes so that you could read of your human rights. And in Mexico, we only had the one book for primary school that quoted all those human rights. And as of today, that book— because Raúl has now confirmed this to me— is one of the few countries with the full declaration is now present And it's something we take a lot of pride in.


Speaker 16 [30:09]:

Yes, I see.


Mexico · Rafael Freire Martinez [30:11]:

And this is how, when a child learns that they have rights, their knowledge is not limited to their house. They talk to their parents, to their friends. It goes through their household and through the community. A little bit later on, I had a chance to collaborate with Qatar. And with Educational Bobo, and then Mexico, this was Brazil and Kuwait bringing together to receive $10 million per country to foster and move, to rescue children that are on the streets and put them back in school. In Mexico, we chose to identify where those children were living, and we didn't expect them for them to come to us. We went to them and we got them. We trained teachers at the community level that would speak indigenous communities' language. They would speak their parents to their parents. They would understand their traditions, and we would handhold them all the way to the classroom. And because of this Qatari support back in 2012, all the way to 2019, the number of children outside in the streets went from 5.5 million to just 4. So that means that having an investment of less than $9 per person, we were able to get people back in trajectory. But we also confirmed our hypothesis. We really changed their lives. And honestly, these are solutions that are priceless. Sometimes all it really takes is knowing what door you should knock on, who to listen to, and then decide that no one is invisible. This year, the Ministry of Education of Mexico will be reaching 105 years, and its founder, Mr. Vasconcelos, when he dropped this ministry, when he pictured that in his head, he thought about it, of people who could reach back from their knowledge and build citizenship. This fact alone, now that I got this invitation from the Ministry of Interior to work in that program, I think I might have, you know, taken that path. But to me, the purpose is the same. If you know your human rights, you can shape citizenship. And shaping citizenship, it's also a privation, a prevention process on violence, on gangs, and support social endeavors and make them opportunities, tangible opportunities for the youth, which is why I still believe that education is our golden weapon. Maybe a scholarship can avoid somebody from dropping out of school. One teacher can spot a hidden talent on another individual. One school can become the safe place and feel a full person and understand that their origin does not determine their faith. Education is your right and not your privilege. And as of today, in the world, we handhold 1,300,000,000 children across the world with, you know, schooling age. And out of them, I would say 273 million of them are outside of school. So it is that number, 273 million, That we should think of 273 million questions, possibilities, opportunities that the world is missing out. And this is why I would like to trigger this question to you to think at night. What are we going to do together? How can we make these 273 million get an open door to education, eventually towards their rights, but mostly to their future?


Speaker 18 [34:02]:

Thank you.


Mexico · Rafael Freire Martinez [34:03]:

Thank you.


Moderator [34:12]:

All right, everyone. This is a quick check-in. Are you guys?


Speaker 21 [34:16]:

Muy bien. Tienen calma.

Wow.


Moderator [34:18]:

Okay. I'm gonna work on that. But in the meantime, we're gonna keep bringing the heat. We've got some amazing youth speakers for you coming up next. So I'd like to welcome from Team Orles. our next youth delegate speaker.


Timor-Leste · Youth delegate · Eugenia Oliveira [34:48]:

Good afternoon, Your Excellencies, honored dignitaries, and friends. I was born during the 2006 crisis in Timor-Leste. My mother fled with me in her arms while my father and my brothers running behind us all the way to a displacement camp. I represent the world's youngest democracy, and I was raised by its struggle. My family had little, yet my parents sent 5 of us to school because they believed in one thing, and I want everybody to hear it: education can change our lives. Ama, apa, obrigado, ba sacrifício tomak. I grew up under the mindset that said women belong in the kitchen. Education is how I answered it. So here's my story. At 10 years old, I started an initiative called Maubere and Buibere Baixcola, urging children in my village to stay in school when survival push them toward the streets. That belief took me 10 scholarships, 1 year and 6 months to land with United World College of Southeast Asia in Singapore, my second home, where education unites nations for peace. There I led a campaign that raised enough for humanitarian relief, and every year Through the Timor-Leste Youth Initiative for Peace, we run a peace camp teaching young people conflict resolution and civic rights. Why? Because knowledge is power when you, you, and all of us share it. Now I am building Teach Forward Timor-Leste, originally a community project, soon nonprofit, hopefully in the future, returning to Bazar Tete, the village where I grew up, to train the teachers and bring children the learning I almost never had. I often find it interesting that people refer to us as future generations, but to me, these children walk in the same path as us, and they deserve a better system. In 2021, I presented I presented a speech during Teachers' Day at Colégio de Santo Inácio de Loyola, quoted, education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world, only to find out that 5 years later I lived that quote here, right in the United Nations. It is a dream come true. Education changed me. It changed my family. It is changing my community. But my country, Timor-Leste, children still have to leave school to sell what they can so their families can survive. That is why I'm here. I am Eugenia Oliveira, a buibere, who believes that education is not a privilege, it is a human right. Thank you very much. Mane kune.


Moderator [38:06]:

Wow, right?


Speaker 25 [38:07]:

Wow.


Moderator [38:08]:

Okay, next up we have our youth delegate from Canada to take the stage.


Canada · Youth delegate · Ethan [38:15]:

Good afternoon, distinguished guests, ambassadors, and fellow delegates. My name is Ethan, and I'm 16 years old. For most of my life, human rights has always been abstract text in a textbook. Important, yes, but distant. That changed when I took a course breaking down our universal 30 human rights. Suddenly, I had a lens, and once you see the world through human rights, you cannot unsee it. I realized that the classroom I sit in and the climate crisis outside of it are not separate issues. In fact, true equality is impossible if we divide them. That realization pushed me into grassroots action through Youth for Human Rights Canada. We launched petition campaigns trying to incorporate human rights education into our school curriculum permanently. We ran workshops translating international frameworks into ideas that students actually cared about. I set up human rights booths at campaigns honoring missing and murdered Indigenous women, standing up against gender-based violence, and remembering the victims of the Quebec City mosque attack. I helped run our school's assembly for human rights to over 800 students. Why? Why did I do all this? To let other people know about their human rights. Education for peace. If we do not understand our human rights, how can we fight for them? Education is the ultimate leverage for change. I came to the summit to cut through all the polite talk. We hear promises about a sustainable future, But vague words don't protect vulnerable communities. We need real metrics, transparency, and institutions willing to share truth instead of polish. So let's stop asking for a better world and start enforcing one.


Speaker 28 [40:28]:

Thank you.


Canada · Youth delegate · Ethan [40:29]:

Thank you.


Moderator [40:38]:

Guys, I'm going to learn to be so bold. That was pretty epic.


Speaker 31 [40:42]:

Wow.


Moderator [40:43]:

Okay. Next up, we have from Costa Rica, our youth delegate.


Costa Rica · Youth delegate · Sofia Arguedas Ramos [40:55]:

Good afternoon. Good afternoon, Excellencies, distinguished guests, and fellow delegates. I am Sofia Arguedas Ramos. And I am 18 years old, and I represent a country that believes peace must be taught. In Costa Rica, when citizens were asked whether human rights education belongs in our schools, 94% said yes. Think about that. In a divided world, nearly an entire nation agreed on one thing: our children should learn dignity, equality, and justice. in a classroom. I am part of making that real. Through Youth for Human Rights Costa Rica, I organize conferences in high schools and distribute educational materials to students, because my generation should not have to discover their rights by accident. And I have supported the vision behind Legislative File 21096, championed by our Youth Human Rights President, Braulio Vargas.


Speaker 34 [41:54]:

Thank you.


Costa Rica · Youth delegate · Sofia Arguedas Ramos [41:56]:

To weave human rights education into our fundamental law of education in Costa Rica, so students not only learn their rights but practice them in real life. Schools shape societies. A classroom that teaches inclusion produces citizens who include. A school that respects diversity builds a nation that defends it. That is why Costa Rica's example matters far beyond our borders. To every member state represented here, Strengthen human rights education. Invest in the system that prepares young people to become active promoters of peace and human dignity. My country abolished its army before I was born. I have never known a Costa Rican war. I want every young person everywhere to inherit what I inherit: peace built in a classroom. Thank you.


Moderator [42:46]:

Thank you. Awesome. And next up, we have from Ghana, our youth delegate.


Ghana · Youth delegate · Charity Oteyindakwa [43:06]:

Good afternoon, Your Excellencies, honored dignitaries, and friends. I am Charity Oteyindakwa. I stand here today not as someone who had it all figured out, but as someone who decided to take action. 9 years ago, I founded Smiling Hearts in Ghana because I refused to watch young people shrink their dreams to fit their geography. I wanted them to know a fundamental truth: you are born free. Free to dream beyond borders. Free to choose who you become. And free to take charge of your life. I have watched that truth change lives. Mentees from Smiling Heart have graduated from the university and have stepped into prestigious global roles. Girls who thought school was closed to them are now in tertiary education. Over these 9 years, I have used my platforms to speak plainly against gender-based violence. And I say to this room, it's a free world. No woman deserves violence. No one does. And as an international graduate student in public policy, I remind my fellow students that your human rights do not expire once you cross a border. But I have also learned this. But I have also learned this. Until we know our rights, we cannot exercise them. Ignorance is not neutral. It costs us our dignity. That is why I took the Youth for Human Rights e-course myself, and that is why I share it across my networks and platforms. It is free, yes. It is necessary, yes. And people deserve to know, yes. To the young people across the globe, this moment is our future. Start where you are. Stand up in your classrooms. Speak up in your digital spaces. Show up in your communities. Do not shrink yourselves and do not harm others while you exercise your individual freedoms. Together, let us turn our education into immediate action. Thank you.


Moderator [45:45]:

You know, guys, as a youth, when I was up here as a delegate, people used to come up and say, wow, I love hearing the youth speak. And I was like, that's cool, you know? When you're younger, it's a little different, but I can say You guys are incredible. It's really inspiring to hear from such amazing, amazing youth delegates. We're very honored to have you, so let's give them another hand. Would you guys like to hear from one more youth delegate?


Speaker 39 [46:14]:

Yes.


Moderator [46:14]:

Yeah? All right, so we have from the Democratic Republic of Congo our next youth delegate.


Democratic Republic of the Congo · Youth delegate · Esther Furaha [46:28]:

Your Excellencies, honored dignitaries, dear friends, good afternoon. I'm Esther Furaha from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I have a question for you. When you hear about the Democratic Republic of the Congo, War. For some people, it's war. For others, conflict. For so many, it's sexual violence. Imagine living in a world where sexual violence is used as a weapon of war. That's not imagination for girls and women in the Congo. That's their reality.


Speaker 42 [47:15]:

Thank you.


Democratic Republic of the Congo · Youth delegate · Esther Furaha [47:19]:

Growing up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, I saw the pain. I saw the silence. I saw the trauma the survivors had to carry long after the violence ended. I realized that staying silent was not the solution. Staying silent was only allowing the circle of violence to repeat itself. I could not change the past, but I could be part of a better future. So can you. That's why I founded Stand Up and Shine, a safe space where survivors can find hope and a chance to rebuild their lives. During COVID we used to have support groups, skills learnings, training workshops, and today we continue doing this work through TikTok Lives, where survivors share their stories and get support and help others break the silence surrounding sexual violence. Through this work, I've seen survivors regain hope. I've seen them regain confidence. Because every story shared reminds another survivors that they are not alone. As young people, we are not only the leaders of tomorrow; we are the voices of today. Women are the beginning of every human story. Before we become leaders, before we become changemakers. We were once children, loved, carried, and chaired by a woman. If we fail to protect those who gave us life, then we have failed to protect humanity itself. Protecting human rights starts with protecting women's rights. Thank you.


Speaker 44 [49:20]:

Thank you.


Moderator [49:29]:

Awesome. Next up, we have from Italy. This is Professor Ornella Castiano, representative of the Il Viliero Parlante Network.


Italy · Professor · Ornella Castiano [49:42]:

Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. Allow me thank our president, Mary Shatterford Wood, and Italian President Fiorella Cerchiara for the invitation.


Speaker 47 [50:03]:

Thank you.


Italy · Professor · Ornella Castiano [50:06]:

I will briefly present my experience in legal education that I have been carrying about— out for many years. I ask you to follow the translation because I will be speaking in Italian. Thank you for the patience. Vi parlerò del veliero parlante. Let me talk about the network that I work with. This is a network in Italy that I have founded dating back to 2008 to make sure that we can try that within the military school and regular schooling within Italy, and generate an innovation process. This innovation process has to do with— I suspect that should have to privilege active syllabus that would focus on abilities. And so within the different decisions that you would have within the classroom, you would be able to have activities. And so that way we would have a combination of skills and a global movement that would be sustainable. And they would be working with this new rulebook that I created within the school system. And as a result, 50 schools that were working all together, and now they were cooperating in order to picture if we could have different systems, and in order to have— if we could have a different competence from teachers, because If we have more capable teachers, we could transport and they can transfer this knowledge to the student in a way faster. Specifically, topics that were interested into having not necessarily, you know, an imaginary collective thought, but rather something that would shape their citizenship, that they were interested to create an active Collaboration with Peace. How is it that we organized ourselves? I thought I had an image here, I'm sorry. So what we did was to organize by gathering our community in different interests as teachers, and we did invest in our resources, and then we specialized in a specific our classrooms in groups that were interested in very specific parts of society. And so what we did was to give them some professionality across the network so that they could have a very strong requirement in place. This modality within the system, and then we can study, and then we can also have it on different processes, and we could report it in the classroom, and that way we can translate it into an active activity, meaning we could have them transform that knowledge into an active creation. The result of this approach was a major number of ideas that were heavily interested in a way to approach the schooling in a new way. And that definitely represents the path to change. We're talking about, you know, book teaching, but also according to us that they could put their hands on and have skin in the game so that they could have innovation processes feel very natural. This is what we were coming on from the 3rd week of May all the way to potentially in south of Italy. We gathered an event for like about a week. Where within that week we showed those products that were the result of these innovative workshops that we would have, and they could definitely compare and contrast among ourselves and to verify whether or not— I apologize because the images that I wanted to show you are not there. I just wanted to show you what the products were that we did have work with. Because this is how we managed to have our human rights embedded into these products, and that's where we would have our collaboration. In 2018 and 2019, it was the very first time where we would have our first meeting with the direction so that they could recognize the training equipment that we would have. For the very first time. And after they have approved it, the head of this ministry, they agreed to different tests and so forth, they selected us. That's a story that we have shaped all together. The school had decided that we would have to work on a specific topic. And from that topic, we needed to continue to develop on. And so we went to recover on a very specific topic, which is the metabilia, which is a concept that entails for how you can live your own life and have life in it by itself. This is something that is inspired into a model that is important for us so that we can visit how early life can be shaped.


Speaker 49 [55:39]:

Yeah.


Italy · Professor · Ornella Castiano [55:40]:

We will touch on violence, which is called volenuna. What is strange for us is how your perfect enemy— I don't understand why they would not attack me directly, and yet violence would come in, and by destroying it is how we can make something new again. That's a boy who wrote that. Just look at his thinking process, you know. It's philosophical thinking right there. And from philosophical thinking, we transform them into active thinking and a peacemaker. And I've told you that we have worked on We were doing certain collections. What we did was to move the critical mass on that. This is why we had a major number. When we were looking at a project, we were looking to have cooperative activities into it and merge it into a big school project. What we did was a very good showcase talking about courageous women and men. We did study different members within Italy, not just that, but also the most important women that could serve as a role model for our students so that they could follow on their path and their step. and not just exclusively one piece of paper that they could read, but also a showcase that they could have viewed further on. I do apologize extremely because my AV and my PowerPoint presentation would make my point a bit more clear. So I do apologize because I feel like this might not be very clear. But the project that we had had, we had launched it in June. And these will have to do with— this is called Rajiviti, which is the universal word, roughly translated. Allora, in principio, This is a project that will prepare our students for the anniversary of the Human Declaration of Human Rights. By then, we were missing 2 years, and so we need to have clarity on that. And this is something in Italy, part of September. From September to June next year. So it will stem from the study all the way to the school. And then we would have a bicycle, you know, it was an artistically type of bicycle because that was the project to make it artistically looking. And by every single artist, Um, and every single straw will communicate a human right. Uh, so because I don't have my presentation, just picture in your head a full bicycle. It was a free design. We wouldn't necessarily want to have the traditional bicycle design. It was just a general design of mobility. And we will be having next year, 2027, who would be the winner of that with the director of the creative, Gioru Capiroli. to have these evaluated on how this bicycle wheel will take a picture of it, and then you can edit it, and then we can test whether or not the guys were actually writing something connected to our ride, and that would, you know, represent into art. And then stemming from this, and from this XYZ word, maybe we can think whether or not education was actually achieved. or not giving the solutions of human rights. And that, of course, will, will be filled with the art, you know, of the colors that of their liking and the words of their liking. And that, just picture it in 2028, we're gonna launch it and you're gonna be seeing it once this is over, little by little. And this eventually will be concluding in 2028. I come from Italy, you know, the southern part of Italy. So I also come from the southern part of the world. But we all had to move because we really need to do something about the world, and we will do whatever we can do for our children, with our children, and to share with them the emotion and the excitement that they have. And I hope I was able to transfer that to you. We do have a lot to share, even though we come from a very small island, but we do have so much energy that there are, you know, from tiny little humans. And we did ask that question, would you like to implement this spoken project? And then let us know. And so, you know, what can we do? We can do another bicycle, we could do another graffiti, we can do another something that could help so that we can all together shape in our community. Thank you very much.


Speaker 51 [1:01:29]:

Thank you.


Moderator [1:01:39]:

All right, everyone. Well, I am inspired to restart my Italian Duolingo. I don't know about you, but— all right. And incredible work. We are so grateful to have had you. Next up, we will have Rector Dante Haro presenting for the Universidad de Guadalajara and the Centro Universidad del Sur, CU Sur. Let's welcome him to the stage.


CU Sur · Rector · Dante Haro [1:02:13]:

It is my privilege to be in the United Nations Headquarters today. Distinguished authorities, Dr. Mary Shuttleworth, thank you. Thank you again for your kind invitation. Advocates for human rights, beloved members of Youth for Human Rights International, it is with deep honor that I address these words on behalf of the center of the University of Guadalajara in the southern campus in Mexico. So that we can reaffirm that human rights education represents one of the most valuable investments we have ever made from the international community, that you have ever done, and that you ever will. Educate the youth in topics of human respect for dignity is to plant the proper seed for more democratic societies in the future, inclusive societies, but peaceful societies as well. Which is why we extend our deepest and honest congratulations for Youth for Human Rights International, that has been led majestically by Dr. Mary Shuttleworth. Which is why we are celebrating the 25th anniversary of an organization whose work has transcended borders, generations, and cultures. Thank you. Because of your great work in Mexico, Mr. Raúl Arias and Teacher Maggie Ibáñez, congratulations to you too for this amazing work that you do. History will remind you like this: great transformations begin when a generation decides to take on the responsibility to defend the dignity of all humans. That has been exactly the legacy that we have decided to shape, to shape citizenships that are citizens of the world, that they know that every single right that you have defended will strengthen humanity at large. As a public university in my country, the Guadalajara University is deeply committed to the holistic formation, research and fostering of human rights, and to acknowledge that the importance and the huge need that we currently hold, that at a global level we can have a universal peace culture, universal respect culture, solidarity, and justice for all. We share our conviction that universities themselves and society at large, we also hold a shared responsibility, and I would say a historical responsibility to teach not for knowledge alone, but rather to raise ethical awareness, social responsibility. And Dr. Mary, your leadership has proven time and time again that perseverance, generosity, and a deep conviction can shape an idea into an international movement that will transform an entire country. For your first 25 years May they not be a simple celebration of your path, but rather the beginning of a new era of hope, cooperation, and to globalization to benefit the current generations in the room and the upcoming ones. Because for as long as there is one girl or one boy that they don't know their human rights, our job will continue to be pending. But every single individual that learns to defend their human dignity, they also represent a new hope for the world. That's the true legacy of today. So we celebrate our commitment that all together we renovate in the faces of the international community. Long live Youth for Human Rights.


Speaker 54 [1:06:15]:

Felicidades.

Congratulations.


Moderator [1:06:26]:

Now, please welcome Mr. Sundar Shani for the National Assembly, Federal Parliament of Nepal.


Nepal · Sundar Shani [1:06:43]:

Namaste and good afternoon, and always good morning for the human rights activists. Dear Dr. Mary Sattarwar, it's my pleasure to extend my heartfelt congratulations to you and your entire team, Youth for Human Rights International family, on this celebration of 25th anniversary. This significant milestone stands as a testament to your visionary leadership and your unwavering commitment to advancing human rights education across the globe. I also congratulate Youth, Human Rights, and International on this continued participation in the International Human Rights Summit at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Your presence at this distinguished Global Forum reflect the organization enjoying the contribution to the promoting in the valuable of dignity, equality, justice, and the respect for the fundamental human rights. As a member of the National Nepal National Assembly, I recognize the what vital role of the human rights education play the strengthening democratic values, responsible citizenship, and the peaceful society. Youth human rights and international dedication to empowering the youth people with the knowledge of their rights is both inspiring and commendable. Please accept my sincere, the best wishes for your continued success May Youth for Human Rights International continue to inspire future generations and make meaningful contributions to the advance of human rights worldwide. With highest regard, congratulations, Honorable Gansham Rijal, Member of National Assembly, Federation Parliament of Nepal, and youth from Nepal also. Thank you. Dhanyavad.


Moderator [1:09:08]:

And now from Canada, it's my pleasure to introduce Deputy Chief Ahmad Salih, York Regional Police.


YRP · Deputy Chief · Ahmad Salih [1:09:22]:

Good afternoon, everybody. Distinguished guests, dignitaries, friends, and leaders, it's an honor to be here on behalf of our Chief Paulo da Silva, who was unable to make it today but extends his support. I'm joined here by Staff Sergeant Dana Cuff, who you'll be hearing from tomorrow. Dr. Mary Shutterworth, I've never met you, but I got to tell you, I am incredibly impressed by everything that you've done. Thank Thank you for 25 years of excellence, 25 years of persistence in pursuit of human rights. We are all indebted to you. Thank you. I want to acknowledge very quickly Nicole Crellin, who has worked very closely with YRP to hold us accountable, to make sure that we're here every year for this very important cause. And listen, in my world, we deal with youth all the time, and we've got some exceptional leaders in the community as young kids. But we also have some kids who come from marginalized communities and they struggle with violence, they struggle with exploitation, they struggle with human trafficking. And what I'm seeing today with the youth in the audience, it is incredibly— it's a proud moment to see that we are in very good hands in the future. Congratulations to the future leaders of this room because we know in retirement we're going to be taken care of with what I'm seeing today.


Speaker 59 [1:10:44]:

Thank you.


YRP · Deputy Chief · Ahmad Salih [1:10:45]:

So thank you. So on behalf of York Regional Police and Chief Paulo da Silva, we are honored to extend our support for the 20th International Human Rights Youth Summit. This important event provides a meaningful platform to recognize and promote awareness for the historical significance— sorry, I'm not wearing my glasses, so you have to bear with me here. To promote awareness for the historical significance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to encourage continued dialogue, education, and action in support of human rights and principles around the world. At York Regional Police, we remain firmly committed to supporting human rights education and mentorship for children and youth during the formative years. We recognize the importance of fostering core values such as respect, harmony, inclusion, sustainability, while promoting the fundamental rights, freedom, and dignity of every individual. We commend Youth for Human Rights International for its steadfast dedication to building safe, inclusive communities and empowering the next generation of compassionate, informed, and engaged leaders. We also extend our sincere congratulations to the honorees recognized during this year's awards ceremony for the outstanding contributions and advancements of human rights. The perseverance, leadership, and dedication is an inspiring example of both— for both youth and adults and reflects a strong commitment to the principles and enduring spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We wish Youth for Human Rights International every success with this year's summit and look forward to continued celebration in advancing the cause for human rights for all. Thank you.


Moderator [1:12:43]:

Okay, everyone was just given a pretty grave responsibility. I wanted to make sure everyone got— you're now responsible for the retirement of a Canadian deputy police chief.


Speaker 62 [1:12:52]:

Did anyone—


Moderator [1:12:53]:

you're tracking?

Okay, good.

So next up, it is my honor to welcome all the way from Michoacán, Mexico, Julio Alberto Arreola Vázquez, Mayor of Pátzcuaro, Michoacán. Let's give him a very warm welcome.


Mexico · Mayor · Julio Alberto Arreola Vázquez [1:13:20]:

Good afternoon, everyone. Mary, thank you for the invitation. It's been a pleasure to be here today.

So, with the permission of everyone here, I will do my presentation in Spanish. Distinguished Excellencies, Ambassadors, and all members in the room that are here with us today, it is my greatest honor and privilege to address you on behalf of my magical town of Pátzcuaro, Michoacán. A Mexican millenary land, birth of a cultural enrichment process, and home to ancestral towns and descendants. I come to the summit with a firm conviction. I believe that ruling, it's an act of service, and our top priority should be the well-being of every single citizen. Today we are gathered here to share a common goal. Educate for peace. And that's why it's needed that we need to reflect on the true meaning of these words in the public debate arena. We had to be on how education had to be a simple teaching class and competitiveness, and sometimes that sets us aside on different solidarity societies. This is not just about stepping on somebody else, but rather we must understand that the mistake is being made to reduce peace to a simple number of a checklist that keeps us safe from violence that sometimes is triggered by ingovernability. But rather, we have to understand that peace is a direct result from social justice. To live at peace and in peace means to live calmly. It means to build opportunities so that we can all coexist dignifiedly. And education, as many of you have mentioned this before, education should be the transversal axis that should shift the realities where peace is missing. In Pátzcuaro, Tons of youth are committed to change. They are being taught in our schools to become peace promoters. They are fully committed to promote a culture of respect and to build safer and more humane environments. With clear actions like the ones we had the first march in pro of human rights, with over 1,000 youth participating on it, but also being the venue for the Latin American Summit for Youth for Human Rights and being its hosting town back in June this year. Pátzcuaro is raising its voice loud and clear, and we are joining the right side of history. But we need you to be more of you to take on this challenge, because the challenges continue to face us. And for as long as there is dismissiveness, indifference, negligence, and lack of services, our job is not done. And that puts us to work, but also at risk. We cannot have long-lasting peace if we leave out those who need us the most. Peace is not just inherited.


Moderator [1:16:55]:

Thank you.


Mexico · Mayor · Julio Alberto Arreola Vázquez [1:16:56]:

This is built, and it's built hand in hand on a daily basis. Every single kind of act of kindness is futile if it doesn't change for the better the living conditions of those around us. So if what we say in this summit is not changing one single life of those suffering because of injustice, And other factors, then our words will be buried in oblivion. Let's keep working all together with the full certainty that the long-lasting peace will not be achieved for as long as social justice is not the reality for us. Youth in the room, I've listened to you intentionally, and I am amazed at your maturity. I'm amazed at your critical thinking, and I want to tell you, your voices have been heard. I heard you in the world, and your actions will change the world. Thank you.


Moderator [1:18:09]:

All right. Well, I think we can probably all agree that social media has been a pretty incredible tool for change. Show of hands, how many people are using social media to really forward their messages and their own work? It's quite a bit, right? So we're very excited to provide another tool for you at Youth for Human Rights with regards to social media. Would you guys like to see it?


Speaker 68 [1:18:35]:

Yes.

Yeah?


Moderator [1:18:36]:

All right. All right, well, as you can see, our team has been hard at work in the background today capturing all of you while you've been listening intently. What's really cool about this is we've made this available for you to share with your networks, and I'm going to tell you how to do it, but I want to make sure that you do this at the end of the summit so you can enjoy the rest of the speakers. But these These are both available on Youth for Human Rights International's Instagram page and Facebook. So it's very easy. After the summit, you'll be able to share that reel directly, and you can say, wow, I had such an awesome time learning so many great things, and get people active that way too. Sound good?


Speaker 70 [1:20:15]:

Yes.


Moderator [1:20:15]:

All right, great. And you never know who might be filming you. So thanks everyone for being engaged listeners. All right, and next up, it is my absolute pleasure to welcome my— one of my favorite people in the entire world. Many of you know and love him as well. This is Dr. Raúl Arias Pérez from Mexico. He is the president of Youth for Human Rights Latin America, and he will be moderating a panel today on Human Rights Education: A Legacy of Change. So let's welcome him and his panelists to the stage.


Mexico · President; Moderator · Raúl Arias Pérez [1:20:49]:

Thank you, Hello?

Oh, hi, it's working. So I'm very honored to moderate this panel and It's the best panel I have ever had the privilege to moderate because they're all friends of mine. This is the family. We used to be there sitting where you are, and now after 20-plus years of being volunteers, now we are here on this panel. So we hope to see you in a few years here, young delegates. And yes. So, So for 25 years, Youth for Human Rights has shown us that dedication can plant seeds of dignity, responsibility, and peace. Seeds that can continue growing across generations. Each of our panelists has followed a different path. Some have dedicated more than 2 decades to this movement. Others are discovering new ways to use their voice, their art, and their influence to create positive change. So I would like to invite each of you to reflect on the following question: from your own journey and experience, how has human rights education shaped your purpose, and what would you say to the young delegates here today about the role they can play in carrying this legacy forward? So, Kabin, please.


Mali · Panelist · Kabin [1:23:01]:

Okay, merci de m'avoir donné la parole.

Madame la Présidente.

Thank you for having me and thank you for giving me this word. Madam President of Youth for Human Rights, Dr. Mary, Mr. Moderator and Your Excellencies and the different guests, at the time of this conference, which is Education for Peace, and understanding the heritage that we would have, we would have something when the war, the discrimination, the hate, and the different extremists that we would have it would take a different challenge. And then if we were to talk about the other side of it, which is peace, we can have the dedication that can be resumed. It was back in 2010 where I was part of a young delegation, and I did an international conference in Sweden. And in 2014, I attended Brussels where I was able to have the honor to serve as the Young Ambassador for the Rights of Men, and at that moment, that reshaped my commitment to transform the rights of human rights into a dignity that would serve the most vulnerable. And that has taught me that by using these pamphlets, by sharing these documents, I had to translate them into the lang— into the tongue of my people, because this is— they just didn't know how to read English. So I took it into my own hands to translate it into my indigenous language. And then since people couldn't understand it, they couldn't understand the bottom of it, Ladies and gentlemen, I think that in Mali we are going through a very particular moment, but we are very proud on how we can defend our heritage and how we can keep our fire in the belly to keep defending ourselves and to say yes to life, yes to dignity, yes to freedom, yes to justice, and yes to peace. These are the principles that every single life is a life. Day and night, this is a message, a universal message. Ladies and gentlemen, as Nelson Mandela once said, education is the most powerful weapon to change humanity. And I would like to tell you that education itself on human rights It's not just our most powerful weapon, but it's the way we will prevent violence and to create long-lasting peace. And now, delegates, you have the responsibility to create a generation that will always choose dialogue over violence, that would always choose solidarity, solidarity versus conflict, justice over injustice. And that you will choose peace over hate. And I would understand that your engagement and your cooperation through Youth for Human Rights International continues to be meaningful. And thank you, Madam Mary, the President of Youth for Human Rights, for your anniversary, for your vision, for your commitment to Towards the rights of human rights. Thank you, Mary.


Panelist · Erica [1:27:23]:

Excellentísimas autoridades. Beloved guests, delegates, ambassadors, and excellencies, and representatives of civil society, and dear youth, it is my great honor to address you today and to share with you the following: how has Youth for Human Rights shaped my personal purpose, and what I would tell them, you young delegates, Over the role that you get to play to continue this legacy on, well, for me, the right answer begins in 2009. That's the year when I, you know, I heard a question over social media that changed the course of my life. And it said, would you like to be a promoter of human rights? And my immediate answer was, yes, yes, of course. Without thinking about it, that simple invitation would become later into my life's purpose, and that has guided my life for the past 15 years. I understood that the best way to defend human rights was through education, because nobody can and nobody will protect that, that they don't know. That's how my first project came about. I gathered 30 people and I asked one of them that would exemplify one of these rights and the different articles, and just one per person, you know, in paper with their colors, with their crayons, whatever they would have. And with those images, we walked my community on September 16th, Mexican Independence Day, where we would traditionally have a parade because of my Uh, original town, Pátzcuaro, Michoacán. While people were celebrating the independence of our country, we were also sharing the message of freedom, equality, and dignity for humanity. And I am happy to remember how people would stop when we were parading along and they were like, wow, we have 30 human rights? I had no idea we had one. So that moment alone changed my life. That confirmed me that education would share awareness, would raise awareness, and transform lives. Ever since, I have devoted my life to share these messages with schools, communities, public arenas, and international forums. Every conversation, every workshop, and every community activity has proven that education in human rights not only will share knowledge, it will shape better citizens, deeper commitment citizens, and peacemakers. But the impact on me came to me and my own family. I had the privilege to share this with my children. My son, you've been walking by my side from the very first summit, and from a young age he has served others. My daughter Isabella, here with me, he's growing up listening this message and participating with me every step of the way. Oh, I love you, Mommy. They stand for my biggest hope because they can confirm that values have been inherited generation through generation. To the delegates who are here in the room, I just want to share a simple message: do not wait for somebody else to change the world. Big changes, they always begin with a single person. And that person chose to act regardless of age, professional background, or residency. What's important is to be courageous and just take that first step. Every single one of you, you have the capability of becoming a trainer a leader, an educator, and a peacebuilder. Talk about human rights in your schools, in your house, in your parties, in your communities, and in your social media. Listen empathically, respect one another, and become the example that you would like to see in their world. I'm convinced that the legacy of human rights doesn't belong to a single generation, but rather it belongs to the ones to come. Our responsibility is to handhold them, or the ones that are coming behind us. I'm the living example of it all. 3 generations: 1978, 2000, and 2019. The history has been written already. My purpose continued to be the same one in 2009: work so that human rights stop being a mere aspirational idea, but rather They become a tangible reality for every single human being, regardless of where they are, anywhere in the world, at any age. And I have full certainty that committed youth like the ones you have here, that future is not only possible, it has already begun. Let's continue to persist, insist, and move forward. Our time is now. Our objective is ours. We are a great equipment and a great team that is moving forward every single day. And I can proudly say, and I would like to thank all of the support I have gotten from Raúl Arias and Maggie Ibáñez, who have acted as my mentors, my teachers, and welcomed me into this family back in 2009. And now, please say after me. Youth for Human Rights forever!


Mexico · President; Moderator · Raúl Arias Pérez [1:33:42]:

Thank you, Erica. Fiona Palomo, please.


Panelist · Fiona Palomo [1:33:48]:

Your Excellencies, distinguished delegates, honored guests, dearest Dr. Mary Shuttleworth, and fellow youth leaders, thank you for the opportunity to be here today. It is a great honor to join you at the 20th International Human Rights Summit as we celebrate 25 years of Youth for Human Rights work promoting dignity, understanding, and peace. My parents taught me from a very early age that all living beings are sacred and worthy of respect, that their survival can either be blunted or enhanced, and that enhancing it consisted of, amongst other many things, being warm-hearted and altruistic. They reached millions through their work in the arts and philanthropy, and flawlessly balanced safeguarding the pure wide-eyed wonder of childhood with education on the human rights and the state of the world. This most definitely shaped me into the woman I am today, full of determination, empathy, and an unwavering sense of responsibility. They ignited a preexisting spark of curiosity and concern I had in my small chest, and I have carried it with me since. As an actress, I have to layer all the parts of a person until they come to life. Their emotions, their dreams, their fears, if they are in love, if they always keep a few coins on the nightstand and the reasons for it. All of these little details down to the core of a person. A core I universally find is benevolent. I love my job. I get to be so many people and live so many stories in just one lifetime. We joke about this sometimes amongst actors, but we feel as if some kind of authority will show up to set one day and say something like, all right, fun's over, no more pretending like this is a real job. But it is, and I'm so grateful for it. Because when you portray a character authentically, you create a window to this beautiful essence that resides within all people. Cinema is infallible proof of this. The fact that we all sit before the big screen looking up, feeling the same feelings, having the same thoughts, questioning the same things should tell you something about our humanity and is evidence of this shared essence. As an artist, I wish not only to relate and foster it in the arts, but to actually build a world fit for it. I can tell you after embodying so many characters that people are terribly interesting, wonderful to learn from, and so worthy of compassion and love, indisputably deserving of being treated justly and of having safety sufficient to But that's just the thing. It is pressing that they know this too, and for them to know that it is not a thing that should rely upon whether they happen to encounter those who bear common decency, but for it to be a certain and undeniable set of principles that must and will be kept wherever they go, as no less than law. In this fast-paced world in which tenderness and reason can be overtaken by the noise of machine and animosity, The most promising guarantee of making society's building blocks sturdy begins with education. Helping the human rights be known is not only a task that will restore humanity's pride, it will restore humanity itself. In spite of the world's technological advances, scientific breakthroughs, and cultural globalization, we must re-instill the indispensable for a livable world in which people can claim their life as as their very own. So let's keep spreading word. In people's eyes, you'll see the same power that is in blooming flowers and in the turning heavens, and it is not deserving of misery and suffering. It is deserving of life, of aid, of compassion, and freedom. Fellow youth leaders, if I may, I'd like to say something specifically to you. Do not be disheartened. Our younger generations are under many pressures, as you and I know. The media overexposure we are subject to nowadays is not easy on the mind or heart, and I want to remind you, for the days in which it gets a little bit too loud, you are still creating an effect. You will still be forming change. There is so much good out in the world, and people are in dire need for mercy, answers, and protection. You are the men and women of tomorrow, and of today, as so beautifully said this morning. And because of the empathy and character that brings you here today, you are the very promise of a new day. So carry on strong. I thank you dearly once more for having me here today. Thank you all for what you are doing. I admire you tremendously. It is a dream come true to speak at the United Nations, and I'll never forget the exhilaration of sharing a room with so many who feel for the world in the very same way I do. I know that together, with unity, steady work, and courage, we will continue to bring to the world prosperity and peace.

Thank you.


Mexico · President; Moderator · Raúl Arias Pérez [1:38:50]:

Fiorella Cerchiara from Italy.


Italy · Panelist · Fiorella Cerchiara [1:38:52]:

Buonasera, parlerò in italiano.

Eccellenze, gentili ospiti, Hi, youth delegates, and thank you for everyone who have been celebrating this 25th anniversary for Youth for Human Rights International. Back in 2005, I had to recognize the project of Youth for Human Rights within our university network by participating in a project that was organized in different ways. This came about by Youth for Human Rights having a very specific response at the core of our own society. Every, every single second of our schooling period, I had the opportunity to study all of these documents all together. And at the time, for me, that helped me to understand how this could happen. And then of course, in, in Italy, I our first step is to understand what was the level of knowledge of our current group in terms of this topic. And it turns out that most of our schooling group did not know it. So then, of course, what we did was to understand what were human rights and understand it at every level of society, which is why— With different, um, public manifestation and different activities, we came into unity. Which is why we would have different projects and numbers where we would have a calendar for human rights where students, understanding by kids, will represent it by design with the different projects that they would have. And of course, we represented it with a true calendar in a family point. And of course, the knowledge of this topic did not necessarily have a topic in school, but rather this was sent with a different project with parents, grandparents, children, and students, because the study of human rights is necessarily through parenting alone, but also through schooling, but also within the internal core group of that student. And with the evolution of technology we had a new tool coming up, which is something that would come up as shortened. It was a very short course for a very short period of time, but very effective. And then, of course, after the students were learning upon the Declaration of Human Rights through materials of Youth for Human Rights, we were realizing that the video would have an individual— whether or not it was also a violation of human rights, but also violation of rights in general. And because of this project, they were able to visualize that, and they have now connected to our— the communism phase of Italy, how they could fight it. And now they knew on their respect towards dignity and human rights. In Italy, for those who are coming from different cultures and countries, it is our honor to understand that they could have our honor to participate with us so that they can have a safer future. And then of course, they needed to understand our own community out there. Thank you for this collaboration, and that's why we visited the African continent. And across with United, we had Transform and our own resolution. United for Africa. And we did this in the project label United for Africa. Then our original purpose was to promote the awareness of human rights. And then, of course, we were visiting different parts of the country, and that's where we had an urgent problem to tackle, making sure that children just didn't have a way to have direction on this topic. And then, of course, when we were having a low escolarity level, we were working on a different sense. That's why we would have artists and citizenships alike, and that's— that will direct the instruction itself. Which is why we were building 5 new schools in Ghana, so that that way we can have children find a solution through their own and by having teaching on it alone. Throughout the year, we have also collaborated with different university levels to have had the honor to present an award to, to Madam Dorela, who has been the sister-in-law of the Dalai Lama, and having supported her endeavors in India. And by supporting her own endeavor, we have translated what we need to do in Tibetan language. And we took the pamphlet and translated it among students. And with very much honor, we had also had a very special recognition with the, with the, um, inner court of the Dalai Lama that says the importance of having known this material across India is priceless. And so we managed to tackle 8,500 people, and we're working across our community on the topic of migration and integration. And because they know these topics, the discipline we hold, their respect for this topic and the different axes, we were able to have true integration. And our work begins with a very specific formation by having internal protocol with the embassy and so forth, with the sole objective to tackle And like that, we are trying to have it. We can have it through human rights. Then of course, we can have one through the different points in society. We continue to push forward our mission with the same enthusiasm and with the same determination because we are, through knowledge and understanding, the respect for human rights will make it possible to build authentic respect for authentic people and a long-lasting peace. Thank you very much.


Mexico · President; Moderator · Raúl Arias Pérez [1:45:27]:

Coronel Marcelo Montenegro from Ecuador.


Ecuador · Colonel · Marcelo Montenegro [1:45:32]:

Distinguida doctora.

Dear Dr. Mary, I would like to share with you, for leading, for leading a global movement, Dr. Arias, as a moderator, thank you. And dear youth, leaders from the world, Good afternoon to you all. It's a true privilege to address you from the— from the World Peace— from the World Peace Headquarters. This is not a casualty. We are here, those who have the torch of change in our hands. So, dear youth, This is an untamable voice that you will have to have. This is something to have that in order to transform the world. But they are coming and understanding that they're coming to us for true revolution. And the true revolution for peace really begins in our families and in our environments. My history in defending my own rights is starting by wearing my police officer uniform in Ecuador, and I understood really early on And this is completely tied up to my human dignity, and I led so that more people, over 50,000 police officers, could be trained in Youth for Human Rights training. And in 2018, I led, uh, to a record Guinness Challenge To have the longest, largest class in Ecuador that broke a World Guinness Record. This is not just a numerical challenge, but it was also a massive demonstration that when human education is imparted with passion, It can join a full nation and inspire the globe. Our mission is to take the light of this so that we can have a true society, but we have to go beyond it. So then, of course, we have to add our issue. This is something that allows us freedom. We are trying to make education the plant-based seed rather than the activity. And so they actually composed one particular song. And education can heal the deepest wounds embedded into this society, so that everything that we have achieved thus far— inspiration needs to become structure. We need to create public policy, and that will trigger sustainability, which is why by the end of August we will be having the approval of public policy policy to promote human rights at a national level in one of the most important counties in Ecuador, Manabí, backed up by a very specific point, making sure that in Portoviejo, in Manabí, which is our core legal capital, we are designing a pioneering political public public endeavor that will make human rights education in primary school level, college level, and in our community and institutions mandatory. But public policy won't change lives by itself and alone. They will be changed with human beings with courage. And I ask you that you go from action to peace. You people have a historical responsibility to have your own voice and to lead with the example, which is why I'm having this challenge. Let's have a good challenge for that. On December 1st, within the framework of human rights, every single one of you should be executing Every tangible action which is worthy and high impact. And let's post in our social media within the foundation. And then we can break another world Guinness and say, we're not here just to do speeches, but we are here to deeply impact you with real actions. Let's transform ourselves today. Let's act today. Let's build that bridge. And let's build the peace world that humanity needs. Thank you.


Mexico · President; Moderator · Raúl Arias Pérez [1:51:26]:

Rahul, my brother.


Speaker 82 [1:51:29]:

Rahul.


Nepal · Panelist · Rahul [1:51:29]:

Thank you, Rahul Arias, distinguished moderator, esteemed fellow panelists, honorable, respected guests, ladies and gentlemen. It is a great honor to join you at the United Nations Headquarters as Youth for Human Rights International celebrates 25 years of service to one of humanity's most important responsibilities: helping every person understand their rights, respect the dignity of others, and contribute to a more peaceful world. My journey with Youth for Human Rights began in 2004. From those early years, I learned that human rights education is not a ceremonial subject or a distant legal idea. It is the foundation of responsible citizenship, social harmony, and lasting peace. It teaches us that dignity is not granted by power. It belongs to every human being by birth. It also reminds us that human rights are cross-cutting, connected to peace and security, climate resilience, food security, digital safety, education, governance, and development. Since 2012, I had a privilege of serving with Youth for Human Rights Nepal. Our work has focused on making the Universal Declaration of Human Rights practical, accessible, and meaningful in daily life. Through more than 900 programs across Nepal, we have brought human rights education to students, educators, youth leaders, police institutions, and communities in both urban and rural areas. Our objective have never been only to conduct programs. It has been to help build a culture of human dignity. For many young people, human rights may first appear as a legal or institutional concept. We therefore translate these principles into daily values: respect in classroom, equality in communities, freedom of conscience, responsibilities in leadership, and peaceful courage in the face of injustice. Today, this education is more urgent than ever. The full realization of human rights remains unfinished. Ongoing tension in West Asia, the continuing conflict in Eastern Europe, and instability and humanitarian challenges in parts of sub-Saharan Africa remind us that when peace is fragile, rights are fragile. In such moment, education is not a luxury. It is a preventive tool. It helps society resist hatred, protect human dignity, and choose dialogue before division becomes violence. We are living through unprecedented climate disruption. Climate change is no longer only an environmental issue. It is a human rights issue. When flood, drought, extreme heat, and changing weather patterns threaten livelihoods, they also threaten food, water, health, shelter, education, and security. Food insecurity is therefore not only an economic indicator, it is also a human rights indicator, because when families cannot access nutritious food, human dignity is placed at risk. Human rights indicators must be understood broadly. They are reflected not only in laws and constitutions, but in whether a child can attend school, whether a family has food on the table, whether the community has clean water, whether women and young people participate, whether minorities are protected, whether information is trustworthy, and whether people can live without fear. Dear friends, the digital age has opened another frontier. Social media can connect people and amplify youth voices, but when misused, it can spread hate, misinformation, discrimination, and division at extraordinary speed. Artificial intelligence has offered great promise, but without ethics, transparency, accountability, and human rights safeguard. It may create new risks to privacy, equality, freedom of expression, and democratic participation. Human rights education must therefore include digital literacy and responsible technology. Among the most meaningful outcomes of our work has been seeing young people move from participation to leadership. In our program, students who first joined as learners have later become volunteers, trainers, organizers, and advocates in their communities. This is quite the power of education. It multiplies knowledge, strengths, character, and prepares citizens who choose dialogue over division and service over indifference. As we celebrate 25 years of Youth for Human Rights, the next chapter of human rights education must be practical, multilingual, digital, inclusive, and youth-led. It must prepare young people not only to understand the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but also to apply its principle to the defining challenge of our time: conflict, climate change, food insecurity, inequality, misinformation, and emerging technologies. From Nepal to this Global Forum, I bring a message of partnership, responsibilities, and hope. If we want peace, we must educate against hatred. If we want justice, we must teach dignity before industries becomes normal. If we want resilience, we must recognize that climate, food technology, and human rights are part of the same human story. Human rights education is not only a program, it is a promise. A promise that every child, every community, every nation deserves the knowledge of dignity, protection of rights, and the opportunity to live in peace. So, dear friends, let's carry that promise forward together with courage, humility, wisdom, and one unwavering commitment. Thank you.


Speaker 84 [1:58:04]:

Thank you.


Mexico · President; Moderator · Raúl Arias Pérez [1:58:10]:

Thank you, Raúl, from Nepal. Now from Costa Rica, Licenciado Dani Vargas.


Costa Rica · Licenciado · Dani Vargas [1:58:27]:

Good afternoon, dear authorities and members of the room and all of the members present. Good afternoon to all delegates. You are the reason we're all here. We want to thank Dr. Mary for your kind invitation and for the organization in general. Dear friends, this is where we should have human rights education from the moment they step into their room When I read Education for Peace for about, I would say, a while, when I was in primary school in my country, that was the motto of our Ministry of Education. Education for Peace, that was the motto already. All of this strategy from a country in Costa Rica, for example, at its moment in time, would revolve around We still have it, but it's around culture and peace. And I am extremely happy, which is part of why we currently hold here. And I'm glad that I am being able to be developed. I would like to understand how these public spaces, how we can develop upon policies of peace. Talking on education for peace, I would like to touch on a very specific quote from a poet from Costa Rica. It said, peace is not a medal. And that's true. Peace within human rights endeavor, it's not a trophy and it's not a golden medal. It's an intangible value that you get. And society should understand how this should become a tool so that the long-lasting and defense of peace can manage to be at a single pace. In order for that prevalence within the time that's been allotted— and please stop me if I go over time— I will try to put it in a nutshell. In these 3 scenarios, I would like to share how this is part of international Sometimes we talk about peace. This is also on long-life construction. This scenario will continue to have a political chancellor and different topics and different actors. And then of course, this is the scenario that would help us to guarantee the different instruments as the international agreements, covenants, and treaties. But those rights in particular are the ones that should prevail. And I think the instrument of peace— this is something that is present in your folder. While we do have a hierarchy on this topic political-wise, This is a very real scenario that must be confronted. And then of course they will develop in a series of legal instruments that I will not delve into in the interest of time, but, you know, drafting, um, a covenant against torture, against human trafficking, and why not, you know, very into detail. But the second scenario, it's protecting human rights, peace, through our national legislation and through the constitution. And making human rights a part of the constitution. They all get to incorporate human rights within each constitution. This is our most local scenario. And then of course, uh, here we threw out the different covenants, the different treaties, and so forth. In some countries like the one I represent, we had for a few years the approval of an enactment law that was approved on having human rights and with an endeavor of Youth for Human Rights to promote human rights as part of the mandatory syllabus in primary school. So this was a major instrumentalization point. But the third scenario I would like to reach is that that particular scheme, that national scheme, needs to be set out In a way in which you can touch on human rights in every level of education. And that's my point. These 3 scenarios, our most powerful scenario, because in the other points that I was making, I can talk this with authority because I've been an active part of it with different public official levels. And why not? I have drafted this, and I have also, uh, understand this. But I have also seen this in topics like what we have been just hand-holding these communities so that boys, children can understand this covenant in human rights. And trust me when I say this is one of the most powerful instruments because that begins at a very early stage. I was very, you know, impacted to see this girl in the panel. I love to see a girl on the panel. This is early age education in every single stepstone in a political arena, but in human rights, this is paramount. And believe me, just by simple dissemination, by simple promotion of the videos that Youth for Human Rights is sharing through the PSAs, we have a valuable tool That shares the capability to share. Scenario 1, which is international community through the different covenants, treaties, and why not. Scenario 2, which is the constitution of our own countries. But that second scenario— the third one, sorry— is where all citizens are involved regardless of the public official arena. All the covenants and all the treaties is permanent education as the single solution. And my time is up, so I can feel Raúl's eyes in my head, but my quick conclusion here is that when it comes to the current scenario, and I want to be very, very— leave you with a very powerful message. Certain leaders are resistant into approving education As a mandatory element, and this is my public call-out, you need to make this request a constant request. Never let go. Be relentless. As I said before, human rights is not a golden medal nor a trophy. It's something, it's an asset that needs to be protected and permanently defend them, and you need to defend them by yourself. So this is an open call so that you in this room, but specifically the delegates, step out stronger with a deeper conviction to prevail within human rights. Thank you.


Mexico · President; Moderator · Raúl Arias Pérez [2:05:52]:

That's China Murthy from India.


India · Panelist · China Murthy [2:05:56]:

Moderator, for giving me an opportunity. Excellencies, distinguished delegates, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen. It's my great honor to be joining you in the United Nations Headquarters as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of Youth for Human Rights International. I extend my sincere appreciation to the organizers and the organization for bringing together the voices committed to advancing the human dignity, justice, peace through education. Today, I do not speak as a speaker, but I speak as someone whose journey in human rights began more than a decade ago as a volunteer with Youth for Human Rights International, inspired by a simple but transformative belief that when people understand their rights, they begin to transform their communities. As I grown in India, I have witnessed how discrimination can quietly shape lives, limit opportunities, and undermine the human dignity. Among the most enduring challenges has been caste-based discrimination, a practice that contradicts the universal principle that every human being is born free and equal in dignity and rights. While the law and the public policies are indispensable, I come to realize that legislations alone cannot eliminate prejudice. Lasting changes begins when the heart and mind changes. That is why I choose human rights education as a foundation of my work. For more than a decade, I have worked with young people, educators, communities, civil society organizations to promote the values of equality, dignity, respect, and inclusion, whether through awareness programs, educational workshops, youth leadership initiatives, community engagement, It can be different, but our objective is always the same: to replace discrimination with understanding and prejudice with respect. Human rights education teaches us something more powerful. It reminds us that before we identify ourselves by a nationality, ethnicity, religion, language, gender, or social background, we are all members of one human family. When young people embrace this principle, they begin to question the inherited prejudices, become an advocate to the inequality— sorry, equality— within their schools, families, workplaces, and the communities. Throughout this journey, I have witnessed remarkable transformations. Young people who once accepted discrimination as a social norm, now they begin to challenge, the courage, and the compassion. Communities that rarely spoke about equality now started engaging in a meaningful dialogue. These experiences have strengthened my conviction that education is one of the most powerful tools for social transformation. Today, the new forms of discrimination continue to emerge alongside longstanding inequalities. Through digital technologies, misinformation, hate speech, and social polarization are the present new challenge of the human dignity. This makes human rights education more relevant than ever before. It must equip people not only with the knowledge of their rights, but also with empathy, critical thinking, ethical leadership, and deep respect for the diversity. Human rights education should not remain confined to the classrooms. It should become a part of everyday life in our communities, in our institution, our workplaces, our digital spaces, and public disclosures. Every teacher, every parent, every policymakers, every community leader, and young person who has a role to play in cultivating the culture of respect and inclusion. My journey has taught me that the fight against the discrimination is not won through confrontation alone. It won through education, dialogue, partnerships, and the courage to uphold the dignity of every individual. Every conversation, every conversation that challenges prejudice, every classroom that teaches equality, every young person empowered to stand against discrimination brings us one step closer to a more just society. As we celebrate the remarkable 25th year of legacy of Youth for Human Rights International, Let us renew our collective commitment to ensuring that every child, every young person has access to a quality human rights education. In doing so, we invest only not our individual empowerment, but also in peaceful, inclusive, and resilient societies. Allow me to conclude with a reflection that guided me, my own journey. Discrimination— if discrimination is learned, but so is respect. If prejudice cannot be taught, then equality can be taught more powerfully. The human rights education gives us an opportunity. Through education, we can build a future where every person is valued not by birth or a background, but by their shared humanity. Thank you.


Mexico · President; Moderator · Raúl Arias Pérez [2:11:15]:

Thank you very much for this amazing panel. As a final message, I want to say that 22 years ago, I made a decision that quietly changed the course of my life. I decided to become a volunteer of Youth for Human Rights. At that time, I didn't know where that decision would take me. I didn't know how many countries I would visit, how many extraordinary people I would meet, or how many lives I would have the privilege of touching. What I did know was that I could no longer look away. Today, after 22 uninterrupted years, people sometimes ask me, how do you keep going? The answer is simple: because I still believe. I believe that every conversation matters. Every booklet matters. Every classroom matters. Every child who learns that they have rights matters. I believe that every time we teach one young person about dignity, respect, and responsibility, we plant a seed. And history has taught us something remarkable about seeds. They grow quietly. You don't always see the roots. You don't always witness the harvest. Sometimes the person who plants the seed is not the one who enjoys its shade. But that does not make the planting any less important. Being a volunteer is not easy. In fact, many times I ask myself, why am I doing this again? I sometimes think the world is designed to make it difficult. It is designed to give you countless reasons to quit, to convince you that you are too small to make a difference, to reward comfort instead of courage. To normalize apathy, to make idealism seem naive, and sometimes to make you feel as though you are the only crazy person who still believes the world can become better. But if you continue to disagree, if you refuse to surrender to indifference, if you reject conformity, if you keep raising your voice long enough and loud enough, someone will hear you. Then another person will join you, then another, and one day you will look around and discover something extraordinary. extraordinary. You were never the only one. That is how every meaningful movement begins, not with certainty, but with courage. There is a story that has stayed with me for many years. A survivor of human trafficking was once asked, what is the worst thing you ever witnessed? Many of us expected her to describe unimaginable violence. Instead, she gave an answer I will never forget. She said, the worst thing I ever saw was people covering their eyes, not literally but metaphorically. People choosing not to see. People choosing not to care. The answer changed me. Today my 2 daughters are here with us somewhere, and like every parent, I hope they grow up in a better world. But I do not expect them to say that their father changed the world. That would be too far, far too ambitious and perhaps far too naive. What I hope they they will say is something much simpler. I'm proud that my father never covered his eyes. I'm proud that he saw injustice and chose not to look away. I'm proud that he spent his life doing everything he could to leave us the world better than he found it. If one day they can honestly say that, then every hour, every obstacle, every disappointment every sacrifice, every sleepless night will have been worth a million times. So today I want to leave you with this invitation, especially you young delegates. Do not measure your success by how famous you become. Measure it by how faithful you remain to your principles. Never allow the world to convince you that your kindness is your weakness, that compassion is outdated, or that idealism belongs only to the young. Because the future will always belong to those who refuse to stop believing It can be better. Be the person— be the person who plants the seed. Be the person who speaks when others remain silent. Be the person who refuses to cover their eyes. And even if you never see the full impact of your work, never forget this: every forest begins with a single seed. And like Oscar Arias from Costa Rica once said, Remember that when you fight for the impossible, you begin to make it possible. Thank you.


Speaker 90 [2:15:23]:

Thank you very much. Thank you.


Moderator [2:15:59]:

Wow, quite a few nuggets of gold spread across those amazing reflections. I think we can all agree there was a lot to learn from each of them. And finally, to give our closing reflections for the day, I'd like to welcome José Pablo Quiñones-Guzmán from Mexico. He's the coordinator of the Nobel Peace Center for Education, the permanent secretariat of the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates. So let's please welcome José Pablo Quiñones-Guzmán to the stage.


Mexico · Coordinator · José Pablo Quiñones-Guzmán [2:16:30]:

Thank you.

Hi everyone.

Hello.

Hello, hello, hi, hola. I'm so happy to be here. I'm so happy to do the closing remarks. Thank you so much, Mary, Dr. Mary Shuttleworth. It has been an honor to be invited here. Thank you so much for my colleagues that collaborate with the Permanent Secretariat of the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, Joy, Dr. Sian Duffy, and I think that also Dr. Ira is going to be here tomorrow, and of course, all the youth delegates here, a big round of applause for you again. Being a youth leader in a position, it's a big responsibility, but also it's a space that that belongs to us, and we need to take advantage, and we need to use these spaces to raise our voice and to foster our fights, our voices, and to foster the human rights and dedication. On behalf— to do these closing remarks, I wrote a brief message. And first of all, on behalf of my colleagues of the Permanent Secretariat of the World Summit of the Nobel Peace Laureates for Peace, I'm here to celebrate this Beautiful, beautiful, outstanding Human Rights Summit for Peace. Congratulations, congratulations, Dr. Mary. Congratulations, all the team. Congratulations, congratulations for all the youth delegates from around the world. I don't remember the last time when I felt these beautiful vibes in a beautiful and by a monumental place like the UN Headquarters. So again, congratulations for this beautiful opportunity and milestone that 25 years old you have achieved. We are so happy to be here. We have those— the Nobel Peace Summit Secretariat is so happy to be here to foster your organization and to keep collaborating with you, Dr. Mary, and your organization. You know that, and the youth and organizations be here, you know that you can count with us. Our organization has a rich history of 25 years old— 27 years old. We were founded by the President Mikhail Gorbachev, the Nobel Peace Prize. Since our foundation, we have been promoting values of peace in vibrant and inspiring cities and projects around the world. We have organized summits in different countries, in different cities, and also we believe We strongly believe in the youth. Since 2012, when we founded our youth program called the Leading by Example program, we have designed a series of events and activities aligned with the global youth wishes and aspirations. And youth initiatives in peacebuilding, that of course these initiatives include projects to empower youth people, that also that youth that lives in areas affected by violence, in the very— started in the— violence started in the very grassroots levels. Marginalization, and social discrimination. Of course, we are working also in the conflict areas, in the big, big conflict areas that is happening now in the world, not just in the local world, in the local place, local places. And also, we are also focusing on the most critical issues in humanity. that it has been very inspirational this day to hear each of you to talk about these issues and to hear you, how you are thinking to approach, to tackle these issues, and how from the south and the north of the cone, to the east, to the west, the globe, we are thinking how to approach and how we are a fist, how we are fisted together to approach these issues, that we are not people walking alone. We are a group of people, vibrant people, working together. This is a very inspirational thing. We are facing together the issues of humanity. That is a very thing that I want to remark first in these closing remarks. We are facing how to find common solutions. Second, third, how to seek new tools. It's definitely we are seeking new tools in this room and beyond. of this room, we are seeking new tools to these peace challenges, but also for the education, peace education challenges. I heard here my colleague to say about, to talk about the planetary health. We are looking for Solutions for the planetary health. Inspiration. I heard a lot of inspiration here. Inspiration is a powerful word. Sometimes we are the generation that have lost the inspiration, but we don't need to lose inspiration. We need to share the inspiration that we have, that we have found in this room. And we now need to share also the methodologies to help these challenges, to solve, to figure it out, these challenges for the sake of world peace. In this context, it's proper to mention, for example, our Nobel Peace Summit Center for Education, But not only our Nobel Peace Centre for Education, that is a project that offers a structural platform, mixed online and local, for universities around the world. Also, your projects. I know, we know that each of you, our delegates, the youth delegates from this summit, you have projects, local projects, university projects in your countries. You can share between of you, between the youth of the Human Rights International. You can share your projects between the government's officials, with your family. You can share. As someone mentioned here, you can put the seed And then you are going to see how the city is growing up. You can include these projects that not necessarily have been established as academic-specific. For example, is this project academic or an NGO? I don't know. You can take to action. This is another important remark to this day. Day to take to action. You have mentioned a lot how to take to action. You are, you are mentioned again and again ways to take to action. So, so we have discovered how to take to action. This today you have mentioned a lot, many ways to take to action. Tomorrow I, I'm, I'm totally sure, we are totally sure that you are going to, to mention another ways to how to take to action. So let's move forward. Let's take to action together. Together, we— today, thousands of brilliant people like you and young professionals, young professors, young people from around the world have participated in this kind of events to inspire generations. In our case, we use the legacy of the Nobel Peace laureates to inspire the people. And in line with the Nobel Peace laureate, the Dalai Lama's concept for ethics, our educational system must attend to inner values, educating the hurt by teaching love. This is a very important thing that I need— I want to finish my participation. We need to teach— talking about education, peace education, we need to teach love, compassion, justice, forgiveness, tolerance, and peace, of course. As the Nobel Peace Prize Dalai Lama says, our planet does not need a large number of successful people, but our planet desperately needs peacemakers. Healers, restorers, storytellers, and loving human beings of all kinds. It needs humans who are good to live alongside. Dear friends, dear youth delegates, Mary, future colleagues, on behalf of the Permanent Secretariat of the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, And in the spirit of peace that embodies this Youth Summit, we hope that this event and the future ones will— we will still help in representing the inspiration, the future generations to consolidate A sustainable peace, not merely as a dream, but as a reality translated into concrete actions. Because remember, living a life is not a privilege, it's a human right. Thank you.


Moderator [2:29:24]:

All right. Well, that was incredible speaker after incredible speaker, and I really encourage you to do what he said. Obviously, today we've learned a lot, and tomorrow I think we'll continue to just sit with all of the amazing things that we've heard and start thinking, you know, how can I put this into action? How can you take one small step? that's going to be towards making a big difference. So with that, that is our close. This will mark the end of today. I welcome you to gather your belongings and head out to the front of the UN. Pictures are best in front of the UN, so I highly recommend, again, grab your friends, grab your belongings. We'll see you back tomorrow. Make sure to get some great pictures. Thank you all for a great first day.


Speaker 94 [2:30:09]:

Thank you.