Bringing People in from the Margins–What Will it Take?

Today, World Social Justice Day, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, “With exclusion and inequality on the rise, we must step up efforts to ensure that all people, without discrimination, are able to access opportunities to improve their lives and those of others,” and he stressed the need to “build inclusive societies, promote decent work, bolster social protection floors, and bring people in from the margins.”

But what will it take to bring that about?

Without question, it will require an attitude of kindness and decency, being willing to communicate, to understand the needs of others. A recognition of the sanctity of every life. Being willing to help.

The Church of Scientology sponsors humanitarian programs that address factors that underlie exclusion.

United for Human Rights and its sister organization for young people, Youth for Human Rights, help people understand the rights that every man, woman or child has simply by virtue of being human. The Story of Human Rights documentary is a fresh and clever presentation of history from the perspective of human rights and the breakthrough represented by the work done to codify these rights in the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That document, which might be beyond the grasp of youngsters, is conveyed in terms and images children and teens easily grasp through 30 public service announcements, one for each article in that document.

The effectiveness of these videos is evidenced by the changes educators notice in the attitudes of children who study them. For example, one very serious form of marginalization that affects young people is bullying.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention, Suicide is the third leading cause of death among 15- to 24-year-olds,
15% of high school students seriously considered suicide in the past 12 months and 7% reported making at least one suicide attempt in the previous year.

Teachers who implement the Youth for Human Rights educational curriculum in their classrooms report a noticeable decrease in bullying, with pupils discussing the subject and expressing a shift in viewpoint and a desire to treat others with more compassion in the future.