The UP Campus Tours (UPCT) 2022 honours students celebrated Human Rights Day with a mega-poster event on the 21st of March which highlighted the 2022 international theme for Human Rights Day:  "equality".

Human Rights Day in South Africa is historically linked with 21 March 1960, and the events of the Sharpeville Massacre. On that day 69 people died and 180 were wounded when police fired on a peaceful crowd that had gathered in protest against the pass laws. This day marked an affirmation by ordinary people, rising in agreement to proclaim their rights. It became an iconic date in the country’s history that today we commemorate as Human Rights Day, as a reminder of our rights and the price paid for our human rights.

The aim of the event was to commemorate what our university, and our country in general, has achieved as regards to equality. The students made a mega-poster with handprints and the word EQUALITY using different colours to enhance the concept of the rainbow nation, and diversity within our university and the country in general. The aim is to raise awareness of the importance of respecting human rights. 

This year, Human Rights Day in South Africa also coincides with the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the country’s Constitution. The Constitution enshrines the rights of all people in South Africa and affirms the democratic values of “HUMAN DIGNITY, EQUALITY, AND FREEDOM.”

UPCT honours students wanted the message of EQUALITY to reach a wider audience by posting reports and pictures on social media.  

Going forward in 2022, the UP-Campus Tours honours students aim to make the most of opportunities to celebrate more significant events on our calendar, from historical to artistic, cultural to natural, and formal to fun.

Watch this space!