"Be the change you want to see in the world." _{(Mahatma Gandhi)}

60 years have gone by since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been approved and announced by the general assembly of the United Nations.

Now, it is the time for looking back on what has been achieved through those years. A great deal of work has been done to raise consciousness of human rights, actively exercise them and defend them even under adverse conditions. For instance, human rights are a subject that has found its way into many school curricula. Also various human rights organisations have been founded and are fighting for the preservation and enforcement of specific rights. At political level, institutions have been established which monitor and ensure adherence to human rights. Examples are the United Nations, the European Court of Justice for Human Rights in Strasbourg and the International Court of Justice in Den Haag.

One can summarize that some goals have been reached. But there is still much left to be done to translate human rights into reality. At this very moment, human rights issues are covered by the media worldwide but as soon as they lose interest in this topic, human rights will again vanish from the newspapers, TV-screens and public discussion. But the abuse of human rights will still remain. To attain a long-lasting effect there has to be a continuous dialogue about and constant action for human rights. For this reason, we have decided to make the Human Rights the main topic of ISWI 2009. 

We invite you to discuss with many other young people from all over the world how we can realize those basic rights for every human. Share your opinions and ideas, tell about your experiences and try to find possible solutions.

See you at the ISWI 2009!

Your ISWI Organisation Committee