The Raoul Wallenberg Academy is hosting an event involving human rights cubes in order to increase knowledge on human rights. The exhibition takes place in Kungsträdgården, Stockholm the 26-28 August (Friday to Sunday) from 11:00-18:00 PM.
We sat down with Sarah Bohman, the project leader, to get more details regarding the event.
What is the Cube Project?
The Cube Project consists of students participating in the creation of human rights cubes: 2x2x2 meter cubes which represent the 30 rights held within the UN Declaration of Human Rights. Schools are each allocated a specific right before spending time discussing the right and creating content for their cube. The content can take any form including text, images, and music. It is then put on display for the public.
Why did you decide to do this?
We started the project three years ago because we felt that there is a lack of knowledge about human rights among Swedish students. If we don’t know our rights, we won’t know when they are being violated, thus we started this project to encourage more people to take action. The purpose of the Cube Project is to get people to realise that we all must strive for the protection of human rights and be aware of our responsibilities as human beings. We are convinced that everyone can make a difference if we have the right knowledge and tools.
Why cubes?
The idea of a physical cube is based on a concrete interpretation of a situation when you do not have access to human rights. The cube portrays how people are excluded when human rights are violated and illustrates exclusion. To step into the cube is like getting a glimpse of how it feels to not have access to human rights. We let the student interpret freely and use creativity as a pedagogical tool to approach these sometimes difficult issues.
What next for the Cube Project?
This autumn we will start our fourth year with the project. Today we work with approximately 30 schools around Sweden. Besides schools, we work with voluntary associations, companies, municipal employees and officials and the general public. Imagine every community having their own exhibition with 30 cubes in every region in Sweden. There are so many possibilities with this project. This autumn we will also launch the project abroad in collaboration with the Swedish Institute in conjunction with the 250th Anniversary of the Swedish Freedom of the Press Act and the Swedish Right of Access Principle, corner stones of an open society. If everything goes as planned we will see the black cubes of human rights in New York, Budapest, Belgrade and Paris next year.