#HumanRightsDay: Education as a right and honouring Nelson Mandela


December 10th, was Human Rights Day, a chance for people across the globe to reflect on their rights, the rights of others 国产视频 and crucially, whether those rights are being delivered.

This year, those reflections were of course particularly poignant as tens of thousands of South Africans 国产视频 joined by millions of viewers across the world 国产视频 made their way to the FNB stadium in Soweto to celebrate the life of Nelson Mandela, one of the greatest champions of human rights of our times.

As world leader after world leader acknowledged, Mandela was a man whose legacy was to honour the right of every human being regardless of who they were and where they were from. As UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon put it,

国产视频淢andela was国产视频ne of our greatest teachers. He taught by example. He sacrificed so much 国产视频 for freedom and equality, for democracy and justice.国产视频

The conversation about rights carried into the Twittersphere when Girl Rising hosted a Twitter Chat about girls国产视频 education with thought leaders that included the Global Education First Initative (GEFI), UN Girls国产视频 Education Initiative (UNGEI), Ashoka Changemakers, Girl UP, World Vision, and A World at School.

Hundreds participated from around the world to answer questions about how we can work to improve the fate of girls on their path towards an getting an education. 听

Read the insightful question and answer tweets below:

One of our favourite answers came from @GirlUp:

It reminds us of of Nelson Mandela国产视频檚 quote that:听

国产视频淎 good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.国产视频

A World at School and GEFI then hosted a Google+ Hangout on Continuing Mandela国产视频檚 Vision: Education as a Human Right that featured Chenor Bah of Sierra Leone and Hayley McQuire of Australia from the Youth Advocacy Group and Gcobani Jombile, a youth leader in South Africa.

During the discussion, Mr. Bah emphasized how:听

国产视频淢andela represents国产视频 [how] young people in today国产视频檚 world, we国产视频檙e called to be global citizens国产视频Mandela] had a sense of responsibility to people.国产视频

The day's activities carried the weight of Mandela's mission for equal access to education for every child and that providing opportunity is not just the responsibility of one group or organisation. Education is a universal human right, and regardless of one国产视频檚 gender, origin, or affiliation, it needs to continue to be the driving force behind fulfilling our responsibility to one another as students of Mandela.

Watch the entire Hangout here: