Good Idea: Interactive website shows what human rights means to lives

Provider Amnesty International
Name RespectMyRights.org

Poverty and human rights are complex subjects. To help young people understand how they affect the world, charity Amnesty International has created a dedicated interactive website.

RespectMyRights.org allows 15- to 22-year-olds to explore how human rights violations affect people living in poverty. After creating their own online profile, young people can follow scenarios by answering a series of questions. Currently there are two live journeys: the “poverty trap” and the “housing journey”.

The housing journey begins by asking young people to build a house from blocks representing what they believe are essentials, such as water, a bed, or internet access. The site then compares the answers given with those from users from around the world. It asks the young person to consider what it would be like to live in a house with no locks on the door, or where a whole family shares one bedroom. The young person is next evicted, and has to learn about survival.

“Through this platform, young people can develop a good understanding of how human rights violations deepen poverty,” says Amnesty International’s Alberto Emiletti, who helped set up the project.

At the end of the journeys, users are encouraged to take action against poverty and human rights abuses, either by joining Amnesty International campaigns or by sharing ideas with other community members. One young user says: “It made me feel really special to see my thoughts on the site right next to someone from a totally different country but who supports the same cause.”