BATAVIA, NY — Most communities would go far and wide to find a way to end youth violence, and Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) officials in the Buffalo area are no exception. This week, an answer came from far and wide — by way of Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) and "YW Teens," a group of Genesee County teenagers dedicated to bring an end to discrimination, racism and conflict in our streets and schools. According to the newly formed YW Teens' stated mission, the Genesee County's YWCA has made it a priority project to bring human rights education to the children of Batavia and, in so doing, "eliminate racism and empower women."

On Thursday and Friday, May 18 and 19, that goal took shape as YW Teens presented a number of human rights seminars to Batavia Middle School seventh graders. Assisting these young human rights champions were representatives of Youth for Human Rights International (www.youthforhumanrights.org), a youth outreach project of the Church of Scientology International's human rights department (www.scientologyreligion.org).

YHRI, which teaches children around the world about human rights, bases its curriculum on the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Its unique "tools for tolerance" include What Are Human Rights?, a booklet that, in child-friendly prose, describes each of the Universal Declaration's 30 principles. Translated in more than 20 languages, What are Human Rights? is specifically for use in schools and community centers worldwide.

As well, the YW Teens' program included the presentation of the award-winning film "United," a music video depicting a sour, bully-ridden urban playground scene turned round by a united, community-wide human rights consciousness. Vice President of the YWCA Board, Susan Hawley, said the video's hard-hitting, hip-hop message "helps communities face up to—and effectively deal with—youth violence matters that school and civic officials have increasingly had to contend with in recent years."

Featuring cameo appearances by major celebrities renowned for their humanitarian efforts, "United" injects a worldview of human rights and tolerance on everyday neighborhood life. Premiered at the United Nations' World Headquarters in New York City in August 2004, "United" has since won acclaim with nine international film festival awards, including the Grand Jury Award from the New York International Film and Video Festival. It comes highly recommended from leaders across the political spectrum. Craig Mokhiber, deputy director of the U.S. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights at the UN headquarters in New York, described the video as "brilliant, an important contribution to human rights education."

In preparing for the Batavia Middle School seminars, the YW Teens learned and discussed the importance of human rights, with reference to the views of history's greatest leaders and humanitarians — from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" and Nelson Mandela's "My ideal is a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunity," to L. Ron Hubbard's "Human rights must be made a fact, not an idealistic dream."

The culmination of the Batavia students' human rights training will be their participation in an essay and poster contest, with each entry highlighting one of the Universal Declaration's 30 articles. Awards will be presented at the Genesee County YWCA in early June.

Susan Hawley, an advisor to the YW Teens said, "Youth need to learn and apply human rights as a subject so they can become advocates of tolerance and peace."

"I knew my students had a lot to learn about human rights," added Batavia seventh grade counselor, Sharon Wall. "So when YW Teens came to me with their project proposal, I saw the opportunity to reach beyond our range of academic subjects and start tackling the human rights issues people young and old face every day. For us, this program introduces a series of well-thought-out principles that human beings, young and old, must live by in order to have a truly civilized society. As individual members of society, we need to take greater responsibility for making our world a better place."

YW Teens is now turning its sights to presenting these seminars and contests in all Genesee County schools. Interested educators can learn further details by visiting .