Human Rights Walk and Festival in The Woodlands

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- Today is International Human Rights Day, created in honor of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly Dec. 10 1948.

In celebration, community members participated in the annual Human Rights Walk and Festival at Town Green Park Dec. 7. The event included bounce houses, vendors, a rock wall, dance and musical acts, a raffle, as well as booths from 29 local nonprofits, one of which won a $1,000 donation. The overall goal: to educate the public about their human rights, and to get youth involved.

During the walk, participants passed by 30 pillars, each decorated with one of the 30 human rights affirmed by the UDHR, including, “We Are All Born Free and Equal,” “The Right to Education,” and “No One Can Take Your Human Rights,” to name a few.

“Human rights are the rights that all people have regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, or culture,” said Demme Durrett, Founder and Co-Director of the Human Rights Walk and Festival. “As the saying goes, ‘if one is human, one has human rights,’” she said.

Demme and her mom Sherry created the event when Demme was a freshman at The John Cooper School, for her Girl Scouts Gold Award. Nine years later the event is such a success that groups in Luxembourg, Albania, and the UK have replicated its format in their own countries.

As a result of this accomplishment, Demme and Sherry were able to found a larger organization called, “Youth For Human Rights USA,” which endeavors to make human rights a reality.

Demme now works for the U.S. State Department. For the past nine years she has been chosen to represent the United States at the Annual International Human Rights Summit. Just this past year, she spoke at the U.N. about her human rights activities.

The walk and festival could not have been possible without the 100 volunteers from local high schools, all of who have the potential to follow the footsteps of Demme, and change our world’s outlook and education of human rights.

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