A Charter - bridging the gap between rights and responsibilities ... sustaining the development a new social platform representing the broad scope of a global commitment to human responsibility, to be endorsed by citizens around the world. … promoting citizens’ involvement in the development a culture of responsibility, giving added meaning to Human Rights.

1. C a n a d a /Qu é b e c co mm ittee T he A lliance for a C harter of H uman R esponsib i lities Let our Inukshuk , guide you through this bird’s eye view of how we are bridging the divide between rights and responsibilities around the world. … is all about you and everything that affects your life. T ake part in this global initiative of reflection and action! Y our knowledge and experience make all the difference! To find out more about the Canadian experience and say it in your own words in our Blog Visit our web site at www.respoinfo.org Cécile Sabourin Fabienne Preséntey

2. The many projects associated with the Charter reflect a great diversity of implication and implementation. It’s up to us to come together and choose the most appropriate approach (s). The Charter is a “pre-text” – that serves as a pretext for discussion concerning our responsibilities. The Charter is what we make of it … wherever we are ! Responsibility There is no prescribed way of doing things, however, all the projects share a common point of reference. The Charter is not bound by an exclusive set of ideas or views. It’s all about bridging the gap between rights and responsibilities .

3. As Edith Sizoo, one of the founders of the Charter points out ….. “ In the beginning, we were most concerned with initiating ‘a call for responsibility’ – towards a culture of responsibility, in order to attract attention to the need for an international charter dealing with ‘ our collective responsibilities’ (Kofi Annan) on every level, including international institutions.” We decided to take an approach facilitating the creation of local socially oriented groups, in a variety of sectors,worldwide. Our goal is to develop a civil society initiative building a culture of responsibility . With the Charter we work together to : 1. find ways by which to make the “taking of responsibility” part and parcel of “having the right to”! 2. engage a citizen’s call for governments to put in place a set of guidelines, encouraging those concerned, to comply. Another charter...Why?

4. EGYPT NEW ZEALAND & SOUTH PACIFIC CHINA Translated into 16 languages and available on every continent, the Charter is ultimately intended to be adopted by the citizens of the world and international institutions. The Charter is not a given ! It is a dynamic ‘work in progress’ engaged in translating the many ways in which we define responsibility into constructive actions. It is distributed, discussed and drawn on, in a variety of ways. There are as many definitions, as there are ways of implementing responsibility - the Charter initiative recognizes that a western based reference is far from universal! INDA PHILIPINES SOUTH AMERICA AFRICA NORTH AMERICA EUROPE GEORGIA IRAN

5. to tell the Charter One thousand and 1 ways “ In Zimbabwe we have the word ‘UBUNTU’, which means ‘togetherness of being” - responsibility implies being responsible for life, respect for tradition and rejection of any imposed will.” Responsibility is viewed quite differently from an African perspective, as John Stewart points out. Westerners start off from the point of view of "I“ whereas, for Africans, each person exists because everyone exists.

6. Sudha Reddy has worked to put into place leadership workshops for women. 250 women, coming from differing castes, religious and linguistic communities use the principles of the charter as a pedagogical guide. Even though it is impossible to translate the exact meaning of each word, the women link the principles directly to their daily lives – illustrating them both in drawing and in writing. The Charter supports the struggle for the recognition of the rights of the Maori, as written in the treaties, as well as on the questions of water and other environmental issues. INDIA New Zealand South Pacific Betsan Martin introduced the notion of responsibility into research projects dealing with the question of indigenous titles of Lake Taupo.

7. WEST AFRICA In the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Benin and in Burkina Faso, socio professional colleges have associated themselves to the activities of the Charter. In Senegal, The Charter has been adapted with background rap music, in Wolof, French and English! This has given an opportunity for the youth to take over and disseminate its principles, in several countries. It is also used as an audio-tool in post literacy programs. The time-honoured folk telling culture and that of listening to the radio,inspired the FM Koungheul’, radio station to use this form of the Charter, as the musical intro of one of it’s programs . A recent regional meeting in Lomé, underlined the complementarities between the values put forth by the Charter of African Unity , the African Charter of Human and People’s Rights and the Charter for Human Responsibilities . A few of the musicians invloved

8. The Charter Committee co-sponsored a workshop on Black-Brown Alliances, aimed at identifying commonalities in the experiences of Black and Brown (Latino) people in the US and promoting ways of working across racial lines to ensure respect for human rights and the needs of children and families. A project was developed bringing young cultural workers to the first US Social Forum, where they shared their creative expressions of responsibility and convened a discussion around “ What are our responsibilities as artists?” In the United States Members of the Carpet Bag Theatre

9. The Charter takes an inclusive approach to our many local, regional, cultural and linguistic points of view. The 10 principles are intended as a guide for the practice of human responsibilities. Every sector of human activity defines responsibility differently, according to their particular history and current socio political and economic contexts. Established in over 16 countries and on every continent; the Charter is a tool for bridging the gap between rights and responsibilities and developing a culture of responsibility Sculpture by Uta Stengel, Terre des Hommes SENEGAL, NEW ZEALAND, UNITED STATES, INDIA, CHILE, CHINA, GEORGIA TOGO, LEBANON BRAZIL, EYGPT, CANADA, EUROPE, ZIMBABWE, IRAN COLOMBIA, PHIllIPINES

10. The Charter for Human Responsibilities is about all of us..... Contact Us! [email_address] Together..everyone makes a difference Canada/Québec Committee Our Web Site www.respoinfo.org