Students from all over Ireland are taking part in Write for Rights, a new campaign launched by Amnesty International to encourage the public to send hand-written letters to activists.

Amnesty International’s goal is to mobilise and campaign for change so that everyone has their human rights recognised. They believe that actions of solidarity and compassion can help shift the reality of our society. Their Write for Rights campaign is the most far-reaching human rights event, which calls on the public to “help the fight against injustice by simply writing letters to activists targeted across the world.”

“One of the questions we get often is – How can we help create change for the better? Write for Rights is a great campaign accessible to people across economic and cultural backgrounds to get involved in activism.” said Deirdre Walsh, Activism Coordinator at Amnesty International Ireland, “By putting pen to paper, and rediscovering the sometimes lost art of letter writing, you can become a catalyst of change advocating for people who are relentless in their fight for a better world”.

This year’s campaign focuses on people who face injustice as a result of peacefully protesting and standing up for their rights. According to the NGO, they want to “remind those in power that peaceful protest is a right, not a privilege.”

Yren Rotela and Mariana Sepúlveda are two of the activists featured this year. They are two trans women from Paraguay who have been fighting with the State to be able to legally change their names and obtain identity documents which reflect their gender identity. Yren and Mariana have been facing enormous discrimination as they fight for their basic human right, so Amnesty International is urging the public to write letters calling out the Paraguayan government.

Amnesty Internationa currently has 20.000 members and supporters in Ireland, and last year they achieved 32.000 individual actions during their Write for Rights campaign.

Today we launch this year's Write for Rights campaign! Every year millions of you write letters in support of people facing injustice. This year, we are writing to defend peaceful protestors.

Join us & rediscover #TheLostArt of letter writinghttps://t.co/BX7VGBX4Hm pic.twitter.com/EnUdTftZYN

— Amnesty Ireland (@AmnestyIreland) November 16, 2022

This year, over 600 secondary school students from across the country have already signed up to take part in the campaign. They are also inviting the Irish public to participate by attending their event called PROJECT PROTECT PROTEST, which will take place in the Project Arts Centre in Dublin from December 5 to 10.

During the event, the public will be able to attend various workshops on how to take action in favour of human rights. Moreover, people will have the opportunity to write letters and express solidarity with those suffering injustice for peacefully protesting for their rights. PROJECT PROTECT PROTEST‘s calendar is available on Amnesty International’s website.

The tickets for the event will be available here from November 18. For more information on the campaign, check out Amnesty International’s website.