The BOY in the STRIPED PYJAMAS Amnesty International Film Workshop

Amnesty International Welcome Amnesty International www.amnesty.org.uk Ask if anyone has heard of Amnesty and can explain what Amnesty does. Amnesty is a movement of ordinary people – like you and me. We work in lots of different ways to protect people’s human rights. Amnesty is independent of any religion, ideology or political party. Amnesty International does not take sides in conflicts but supports individuals wherever their rights to freedom and fair treatment are denied.

Location map: Germany Map from BBC country profile

Thinking about the film 1 How are people in the camp treated? Theatrical release poster

Thinking about the film 2 Why is the story told from Bruno’s point of view?

Thinking about the film 3 How do the different adults in the film react to what is going on?

AFTER THE FILM – Warm up activity Discuss the film with your neighbours, and think of either: 1. A Question 2. A Fact or 3. A Feeling

Amnesty International The candle and barbed wire is our logo. Can you think what the candle and the barbed wire represent? (Take answers from the audience). This logo comes from the Chinese proverb: ‘Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness’.

More about Amnesty International We are ordinary people from across the world standing up for humanity and human rights. Our purpose is to protect individuals wherever justice, fairness, freedom and truth are denied. 2.8 million members and supporters worldwide 260,000 in the UK Over 800 groups in schools and colleges in the UK – Amnesty youth groups are a dynamic network who campaign for human rights, raise awareness and fundraise in their schools and local communities. They might write letters to governments to ask for the release of someone who has been unfairly imprisoned, meet their local MP to try and change laws in the UK, or hold a music event in their school to raise awareness about a human rights issue.

Take action www.amnesty.org.uk/youth www.amnesty.org.uk/education Amnesty members take action to change things for the better and now you can too. In the film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, we saw how many people including Jews weren’t able to enjoy all of their rights under the Nazis. Sadly today, there are still many people in the world who are unable to enjoy their rights and members of Amnesty take action on their behalf. Young people are some of the most committed and lively Amnesty activists. You can find out more including how to set up an Amnesty youth group on the website. The slide shows school students protesting outside the Nigerian High Commission in London in June 2009 on behalf of Patrick Okoroafor who has been in prison for 14 years since he was 14.

What are HUMAN RIGHTS? Ask audience if anyone can give an example of a human right – take a few suggestions Ask audience if anyone can define what we mean by human rights Human rights are what every human being needs to live a healthy and fulfilled life and to participate fully in society. They are entitlements – you have them just because you are human.  Human rights are: ·         universal – they apply to everyone equally ·         inalienable – they cannot be taken away from people ·         indivisible – they are all connected – failure to protect one right can lead to abuse of other rights, just as taking action to fulfil one right can lead to the fulfilment of other rights

Where do human rights come from? In 1948, after the horrors of the second world war, and especially of the Holocaust, people from all over the world came together to draw up a list of rights people should have. These rights weren’t completely new ideas – they are underpinned by a set of common values that have been in societies, civilisations and religions throughout history, such as fairness, respect, equality, dignity and autonomy. The resulting document, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), was adopted by the countries of the UN in 1948 and it remains the most famous and most important of all human rights frameworks in the world. The photograph shows Eleanor Roosevelt, the most influential member of the UN Commission on Human Rights which drew up the UDHR.