Know Your Rights and Claim Them: A Guide for Youth
In an increasingly complicated, fast-changing world, this book is an essential piece of kit for every bookshelf, and don’t let the ‘celebrity endorsement’ put you off! Angelina Jolie’s foreword underpins the seriousness of the subject matter, while coming across as practical, sincere, very positive, and really sets the tone for what’s to come over the ensuing pages. It explores why having formalised, ratified human rights codes are necessary, what’s protected under them, why young people (and adults!) should make sure they are followed, and why continued action to right wrongs is needed.
The linear, easy-to-follow approach starts with a potted history of how the Rights of the Child came into being and why they matter. Following this, there’s a run-down of each category of rights – abuse, war-crimes, racism, etc. – which highlight, using real-life examples, rights violations, impact, and resolution. These are presented clearly, without patronising the reader and cleverly circle back to the positivity of the foreword in emphasising that youth activism and greater rights awareness, mean that wrongs can be put right again.
It’s the perfect segue into the third quarter which includes information about, and approaches to, youth activism, providing sensible information on how far to go, keeping yourself safe, etc., and the book then closes with a handy glossary and resource material for taking your knowledge further. A great resource for young and old and makes this complex area accessible, without ever being too po-faced.
