When childhood is over, adulthood prepares new challenges for you. Questions grow, but often your environment does not encourage an open dialogue and the opportunity to speak about problems in public. This year within the RIGHTS NOW! human rights programme we aim to create a safe space where together with parents and children we will discuss how to grow up without traumas, challenge stereotypes, teach and learn without discrimination, and build trust at home and at school.

For the first time, RIGHTS NOW! programme goes online: between 24 April and 3 May, we offer everyone to join online broadcasts on the docudays.ua main page. The programme will last for nine days, each of which will cover a specific topic: Human Rights, Cyberbullying, War, Family, Activism, Equality, Opportunities, Education. In addition, the audience will have a chance to participate in discussions with professionals from the civil, education and public sectors. During the discussions with experts from the civil, educational and public sectors we will talk about overcoming domestic violence, about cyberbullying and youth activism, children’s rights violations in Crimea and Donbas, and the widespread stereotypes about HIV-positive children.

All events of the human rights programme will be accompanied by a sign language interpretation that was made possible through a partnership with community organization Vidchui.

More information on the key events of the human rights programme below.

25 April | Theme of the day: Human rights

The quarantine restrictions adopted by the Government have changed our lives. We have to adapt to the new conditions of everyday life. How do we defend our rights under the emergency state conditions? We will talk about this at 2:30 p.m. during the discussion COVID-19: Are we prepared to compromise on our rights?

Exclusively for the Docudays UA Festival, a series of illustrations about children's rights were created on the basis of ‘Goose’ online meme. The presentation of the illustrations and the training Children Rights Explained Simply will take place at 6:30 p.m.

26 April | Theme of the day: Cyberbullying

How do documentary films help to address specific issues in society and become a viable tool for successful human rights campaigns? Last year's special event of RIGHTS NOW! programme was CHANGE IT! Lab of Influence for Activists and Documentary Filmmakers. In the Lab, representatives of U.S. companies that develop documentary distribution strategies described the successful cases of using films as agents of change. This year, Ukrainian civic activists will share their successful experiences. At 2:30 p.m. you'll find out how the documentary film Bully by American director Lee Hirsch helped to establish an open dialogue on bullying at school with parents, teachers, and teens. Join the CHANGE IT! Lab. Bully: A successful case of impact distribution in Ukraine.

At 6:30 p.m. during the discussion Campaign Against Cyberbullying. The Stories of Successful Counteractions experts of the National Ukrainian Campaign Against Cyberbullying will present a new analytical study on cyberbullying prevention and countering. The audience will be also able to watch firsts Ukrainian anti-cyberbullying cartoons based on real stories of teenagers who experienced cyberbullying.

27 April | Theme of the day: Cyberbullying

Stories of teenagers who experienced discrimination (hate, stereotypes, bullying) are now available on a single platform Stories That Make Us Care. How to use the platform for distance learning to engage teenagers in an effective discussion on cyberbullying? The platform creators will tell how to use it at 2:30 p.m.

At 6:30 p.m. you can join the presentation of the comic book I’m Not Your Pussy: A little book for girls about their own boundaries. The book contains nine stories about harassment and bullying at schools and outside of them.

28 April | Theme of the day: War

Following the occupation, Russia has been consistently expanding its legal field into Crimea. About 200 children are still deprived of their parents, who are being unjustifiably persecuted for political reasons. At 2:30 p.m. we will discuss the violations of children’s rights related to the armed conflict during the discussion Childhood in occupied Crimea: with weapons in hands but without the right to be a Ukrainian.

Join the discussion No place for children at war! that will take place at 6:30 p.m. We will discuss how Ukraine protects the rights of children in the context of armed conflict, and what kind of assistance the children in the grey zone receive from the state.

29 April | Theme of the day: Family

The authors of the Sheriffs for New Communities project will talk about the new way of organizing safe environments in communities and its effect on children’s rights during the discussion Children Need Sheriffs at 2:30 p.m.

We will continue talking about child protection during the discussion Domestic violence: how to help children? At 6:30 p.m. we will discuss how we can protect a child in a situation of domestic violence, and how we should explain to Ukrainian parents that the use of physical violence is not normal.

30 April | Theme of the day: Activism

What is the situation with attacks against civic activists and when will the people who ordered Kateryna Handziuk’s murder be behind bars? We will talk about it during discussion Attacks Against Activists: How to carry out an investigation? The experience of the initiative ‘Who Ordered a Hit on Kateryna Handziuk?’

We will talk how has the situation with teenage activist safety changed in recent years and how are the authorities investigating the cases of persecution against young activists during the discussion Teenage activism: pros, cons, and pitfalls at 6:30 p.m.

1 May | Theme of the day: Equality

Last year Ukraine launched the pilot project ‘Restorative Programme for Underage People Suspected of Committing a Crime’. In the first year of the project’s work alone, 50 children were prevented from undergoing criminal trials. This means 50 saved lives. At 2:30 p.m. during the event Mama I’m a Criminal: How restorative justice gives children a second chance you will have a chance to listen to their stories and learn how to save more children.

Together with Teenergizer experts, we will talk about how to ensure the right of children with HIV-positive status to non-discrimination during the discussion HIV positive status is not a death sentence which will take place at 6:30 p.m.

2 May | Theme of the day: Opportunities

The iLearn platform, with its open online courses and webinars for preparation to the EIT, was created to ensure that all students in Ukraine have the opportunity to enroll in the universities of their dreams, regardless of their place of residence, school or social status. The training iLearn: gamified preparation for the EIT and STA which will take place at 2:30 p.m will help you to learn more about the platform.

We will talk about the current state of the Ukrainian business community and the obstacles that prevent it from doing so during the discussion Children’s rights and business. How should children earn money? at 6:30 p.m. We will also consider the cases of children who successfully started their own businesses.

May 3 | Theme of the day: Education

During the practical lecture How to teach without discrimination? the educational workers will receive all the necessary theory and practical tools to implement a non-discriminatory approach to education. How gender is different from sex; what the gender-sensitive approach to education is; how to recognise gender stereotypes? All that and more at 2:30 p.m.

At 6:30 p.m during the training Why do children and adults need sexual education? we will discuss how to talk with children about sex, teenagers will learn what is a culture of consents and how ‘consent’ looks like in practice.

One more event of the human rights programme RIGHTS NOW! is The Living Library. The organizers selected unique ‘books’ for the library in order to offer ‘readers’ the experience of dialogue and awareness of how the life of a real person representing a certain vulnerable social group differs from our preconceptions about it.

The Living Library will be held online from 27 April to 2 May. ‘Readers’ who want to communicate with a ‘living book’ should fill out the registration form here.