Manningtree High School scoops Human Rights Prize

The prize, which is open to secondary schools and sixth form colleges, is awarded for the creative project that best communicates what students have learned about human rights through the process.

Students from Manningtree and The Gilberd School spent a day on campus last December, hearing bite-size lectures from human rights experts, visiting a marketplace in the Hex - staffed by representatives from Amnesty International, Hope Not Hate and Refugee Action Colchester - and brainstorming ideas with visual artist Jane Frederick and poet Luke Wright.

They then split into smaller groups to develop their creative projects over the next ten weeks.

The students’ final presentations, delivered to an audience at Essex Business School, showcased the campaigns staged in their own schools, which featured videos, photography, dance and poetry.

Katya Al Khateeb, from the Essex Human Rights Centre and a competition judge, said: “Human rights are part of everyday life – they affect our experience of the world and the decisions we make. They can be taken for granted and often it’s only when our rights are violated that we stand up and take notice. This project is about creating a greater understanding of human rights in our future leaders.”

The Human Rights Prize is a collaboration between the Human Rights Centre and our Arts Education team. 

Clare Ruffle, Arts Education Officer, said: “Projects like these, which showcase our campus and allow student to interact with both academics and visiting artists, give those involved a great taste of university life. The arts can be a powerful tool in driving change and it’s been great to see the students excited by the possibilities open to them.”