Young Human Rights Reporter Of The Year Award
Young Human Rights Reporter of the Year competition
Together with the Guardian Teacher Network and SecEd the Young Human Rights Reporter award is open to all young people in the UK. Find out how to enter the 2012 competition (Closing date 31 January 2012)
2011 Shortlist
Primary Short List:
Christina, 10, Knockmore PS, Northern Ireland
Daniel,10, St Georges RC Gordon Rd, Enfield
Kayla, 9, Holy Trinity CofE Primary School, Trinity Walk
Suraj,10, Bablake Junior School, Coventry
Luke, 10, Badger Hill Primary School, York
Ellie, 11, St. Ebbes School Oxford
Stefanos, 9, Holy Cross, Fulham
Isabella, 11, Merryhills Primary School, Enfield, Middlesex
Alex, 10, St. Cedd's School, Chelmsford, Essex
Naomi,11, Putney High School, London
Lower Secondary:
Natasha, 11, Belfast Royal Academy, Norther Ireland
Arian 12, Kesteven and Sleaford High School, Sleaford, Lincolnshire
Conor, 14, Carre's Grammar School, Sleaford
Rhys, 14, Archbishop McGrath High School, Tondu
Nicole, 13, Bullers Wood School, Kent
Angus, 13, The King Edward VI School Morpeth, Northumberland
Orla, 14, Princethorpe College, Rugby, Warwickshire
Aisha, 13, Bancroft's School, Woodford Green, London
Izabel, 11, Gaynes School, Upminster, Essex
Sajjidah, 14, Paddington Academy, London
Upper Secondary:
Daniel, Year 11, Harrow School, Middlesex
Beth, Year 11, Bablake School, Coventry
Ellie, Year 10, Berkhamsted School, Berkhamsted
Hannah, Year 11, Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School
James, Year 10, Chigwell School, Essex
Janki, Year 11, Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School, Kent
Jess, Year 11, John Hanson Community School, Hampshire
Katherine, Year 11, Aylsham High School, Norfolk
Sarah, Year 10, Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School, Kent
Wangu, Year 11, Thornleigh Salesian College, Lancashire
6th Form:
Angus, Year 13, The King's School, Canterbury
Annabel, Year 12, Bradford Grammar School, Bradford
Annie, Year 12, Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School, Kent
Catherine, Year 13, Oakwood Park Grammar School, Kent
Eunice, Year 12, Surbiton High School, Surrey
Holly, Year 12, Queen Elizabeth School, Hertfordshire
Ingrid, Year 12, Brynhyfryd School, Swansea
Jocelyn, Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School, Kent
Louisa, Year 12, Stroud High School, Gloucestershire
Nathaniel, Year 12, Hockerill Anglo-European College, Hertfordshire
Tatyana, Year 12, St Pauls Catholic College
2010 winners
Last year, Florence from Drayton Park Primary School in Highbury won the category for 7 to 11 year olds, while Nicketa-Lee from Harris Academy in Purley won the category for 11 to 14 year olds.
Florence's article focused on the abuse that some people have suffered at detention centres here in the UK. Nicketa-Lee's article tackled the very personal issue of bullying.
Florence and Nicketa-Lee's work was showcased at Amnesty's annual Media Awards on 1 June in front of an audience of over 400 of the nation's top journalists and other high-profile guests. The articles have been published by Amnesty and the Guardian, and the winners took home goodie bags which included an mp3 recorder.
Read the winning entries below | Learn more about the winners on the Guardian website
2010 Winning Entries
Primary winner: Is This Nazi Germany?
Florence, 10, Drayton Park Primary School, London
She wakes, as eight men in dark uniforms barge through her front door. Her mother screams, but she stays riveted to the spot, shaking uncontrollably. The men hand her mother some paper and ignore her screams of outrage.
The men search the house. It is turned upside down. Abruptly, they are both frogmarched to the back of a van. They don't know where they are going or how long they will remain in this dark, enclosed space.
This is not Nazi Germany; this is September 2009 in Leeds. Bethlehem Abate is 11 years old and has escaped with her mother from Ethiopia, where she was abused by her father. If she returns to Ethiopia, she will be separated from her mother, who is Eritrean. She will have no one to care for her. Her mother will be put in detention or even killed by the authorities.
Yarl's Wood is situated in Bedfordshire; it is a detention centre for asylum seekers. Each year there is an intake of 1,000 children. It is not a place for children. No child should be deprived of their education and freedom in this way.
As Bethlehem entered Yarl's Wood, she said, "It was like going into prison, for doing an awful crime."
"I thought the British government would understand our situation and help us."
Bethlehem and her mother have now been granted the right to remain in this country. They look back at their time in Yarl's Wood with horror. Many others are not so fortunate.
Secondary winner: Sticks and Stones
Nicketa-Lee, 14, Harris Academy, Surrey
Sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you. This is something that was constantly recited in my mind as I tried to overcome the words flung across the bus, the tutor room and the playground. Bullying.
What is the first word that runs through your head when the verb is thrown at you? Maybe something that is repeated constantly in order to make someone feel bad about themselves, or maybe just something to pass someone else's time on a school day. The dictionary definition of bullying is: 'The act of intimidating a weaker person to make them do something'. My definition in a nutshell was: 'I don't want to wake up in the morning'.
Being a victim of bullying for five years left me scarred and vulnerable to the outside world. It was hard enough being in school every day, having to hang my head low, waiting for the next spear of abuse to hit my back, but even going to the cornershop for my mum, I felt that I had to hide myself away from the public, looking over my shoulder, expecting someone to comment on my face, the way my hair was done or the way I walked.
It was a continuous battle of the heart, mind and soul. My mind struggled with the fact that if I was to tell somebody then it would seem like I was a snitch. That would make things so much worse for me, whereas in my heart I just wanted to be free of all the verbal and physical abuse. In my soul, I longed for a friend who would stand up for me or maybe make me feel better about myself.
Bullying is something that happens worldwide, and many young people as well as adults face this daily and don't know what to do about it or what to do with themselves. Bullying in itself is against human rights, everyone deserves the right to feel safe in the environment they are in whether school or home, and no one should be given the chance to have that security taken away from them. No one should feel that they are being degraded in any way or form. We all have a right to live as a human and live the life we choose to. No one should be bullied; the world is a diverse place with millions of people of different race, sexes, talents etc. If we all respected each other more, the world would be more than a happy place.
