Hässelby school raises human rights
”We started the cube-method to make it easier for schools to talk about human rights with the students. It’s important to us that the memory of Raoul Wallenberg and his fight for human rights live on, but since we have a pretty good life here in Sweden injustice can seem very far away. The cubes are a concrete way for young people to become aware of what human rights are”, says Zandra Bergman at the Raoul Wallenberg Academy.
Since 2015, Hässelby Hem and Soya Group has supported the work of the Raoul Wallenberg Academy and has been part of making projects such as the cube-method possible. The Hässelby school has participated in the cube-method several times and has for example, during earlier years, made deeper studies into “the right to the world around you” and “the right to own property”.
When a school participates in the cube-method it is assigned one of UN’s thirty human rights to work with throughout the year. The school then receives a 3×3 metres black steel cube, inside which the students decide how to shape and present the right they are working with.
“It’s always very exciting to see what the cubes look like. They can be filled with music, illustrations and one year a school had put an entire tree inside the cube”, says Zandra Bergman.
Why is it important that children and young people learn more about the human rights?
”To dare to take a stand and question injustices when you see it you have to know what rights you and others have. We would like for more young people to show the same moral courage as Raoul Wallenberg did, and to do so they need knowledge to be able to act”, says Zandra Bergman.
Who was Raoul Wallenberg?
Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish diplomat and businessman who during the World War II helped tens of thousands of Jews to flee from Hungary, which was controlled by the Nazi. Because of this he was eventually captured and until this day his fate after he disappeared is still unknown. However, the memory of him and his moral courage lives on by for instance the Raoul Wallenberg Academy and projects such as the cube-method.
Earlier years, prior to the pandemic, the cubes have been presented at an event in Kungsträdgården. To the right is Hässelbygårdsskolan’s cube.