The installation is inspired by the opening words of the 1948 document which reads, “Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world…”
The art, which is designed to inspire curiosity and engagement with the UDHR, includes an eight-foot-tall mirrored lenticular that reads, “MEMBER OF THE HUMAN FAMILY.” Other messages become visible when the object is viewed from different perspectives. On the back is a mirror highlighting the 30 individual articles of the UDHR.
“We’re giving one of the most important documents humanity’s ever crafted the social currency it deserves,” Gabriel Reilich, VP of Content and Development at GOOD, said. “We want the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to enter the public consciousness as easily as any viral post or highly photographed moment can.”
In 1946, as the horrors of WWII began to slowly come to light, the United Nations realized its charter did not go far enough to help protect the world’s citizenry. The next year, the U.N. established a committee, chaired by former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, to draft the UDHR to protect everyone, everywhere. Ratified by the U.N. in December 2018, it’s the first to ever declare fundamental rights for all of humanity.
The document outlines 30 articles affirming an individual’s rights which include: dignity, liberty, brotherhood, and the prohibition of slavery and torture. It also affirms the right to freedom of thought, opinion, religion, conscience, and peaceful association.
It’s been translated into 500 different languages and served as the basis for customary international law for over 50 years and served as a precursor to the International Bill of Human Rights, which came into force in 1976. The celebration of its anniversary comes at a time when Americans need to recommit themselves to human rights, especially given the current administration’s track record on the matter.
People have been posting their interactions with the art installations under #HumanFamily.
