Annual Human Rights Walk in The Woodlands, Texas

THE WOODLANDS, Texas, December 22, 2017 (Newswire.com) - Youth for Human Rights organized their 7th annual Human Rights Walk and Festival at Town Green Park in The Woodlands, a community 30 miles north of downtown Houston, Texas. The event was held Dec. 9 in honor of International Human Rights Day. 

All along the route were posters produced by Youth for Human Rights International illustrating each of the 30 articles on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations 69 years ago on Dec. 10, 1948.

Knowing that everyone has these rights is vital in our increasingly interconnected world.

Demme Durrett, Youth for Human Rights, Houston

In 2011, Demme Durrett, then a high school freshman at  John Cooper School, organized and held the first Human Rights Walk in The Woodlands, a project she undertook to earn her Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest achievement in the Girl Scouts.

Durrett launched her initiative after learning that there is more human trafficking in Houston than in any other city in the United States. "I began planning a community-wide celebration on International Human Rights Day," she said.

"I thought a large-scale event like this would be beneficial as it both brought awareness to the plight of human rights violations like human trafficking and present human rights education as a tool," she said. "I want our society to be based upon empathy, mutual understanding and respect. The way to do this is through universal human rights education."

In her interview with the Houston Chronicle, Durrett explained that even though she is now away in college in New York, she holds this annual event because the people of Houston are important to her and people who are aware of their rights are more likely to defend the rights of others and report violations.

"Knowing that everyone has these rights is vital in our increasingly interconnected world," she said. "Houston is one of the most diverse cities in America, and human rights are essential to ensuring that everyone is treated fairly."

Source: Youth for Human Rights