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...

ePals Students Make a National Geographic Publication!

Earlier this year, ePals students from around the world had the opportunity to enter a contest about Human Rights sponsored by national Geographic. They watched a video about the 10 major Human Rights (watch the video at the far right), were asked to "adopt" one of them, and then create poems or short statements about what the chosen right meant to them. After receiving hundreds of submissions, 16 of the entries were chosen by a panel of experts for a publication entitled, Every Human Has Rights. This book has just recently been published. It features the work of 16 ePals students!

 

Satisfied ePals Users Praise Human Rights Submissions

"The key – as it turned out – was ePals. I don’t know how many of you are familiar with ePals, but if you’re not, you should check them out. ePals is a safe social networking site that kids in classrooms around the world use to connect to one another, often doing joint projects. But what intrigued me most as a publisher was the possibility of harnessing those kids to demonstrate the emotional side of human rights." Read more...

Selected Submissions

This poem was submitted by Lauren A. of Alabama. Lauren is 18. She is passionate about writing. Congratulations to Lauren, who is featured on the first page of the Every Human Has Rights book.

Anjali is an eleven-year-old student from Michigan. She loves to read, write, play the piano and bake.

Nakayla is an eleven-year-old student in New Jersey. Reading and writing are her favorite subjects, but she also enjoys her involvement with the cheerleading squad.

Moon is a ten-year-old fifth-grade student from Michigan. She lives with her parents, two brothers, sister and two cats. She enjoys dance classes, playing tennis and jumping on the trampoline. She hopes to become a hairdresser, because she loves to play with the hair on her dolls.

Kathryn is a fourteen-year-old middle school student in Connecticut. She likes singing, acting, writing, laughing, hanging out with her friends and family, playing with her dog Grace, baseball, listening to music, art and playing basketball.

Tayler is a fourteen-year-old from Washington. She loves to read and write and spend time with her friends. She aspires to become either a writer or clothing designer.

John is a twelve-year-old seventh-grade student from Michigan. He loves to write, read, fish, take pictures and to swim. He also plays the piano and percussion and loves sharks! He wishes to become a doctor or a marine biologist.

Nyakuma is a sixteen-year-old student from Australia. Originally from Ethiopia, she and her family moved to Sudan and then Egypt before settling in Australia to avoid the wars in these other countries. She likes basketball and dancing and wants to become a dancer when she is older.

Sara is a twelve-year-old student from Pennsylvania. She has been dancing competitively for nine years, plays the violin and loves to read. She hopes to become a cultural anthropologist when she is older.

Caleb is a thirteen-year-old eighth-grade student from Connecticut. He likes to skateboard, play the drums, ride quads, play baseball, play football and hang out with friends.

Sarah is a twelve-year-old home school student from South Carolina. She likes to read, draw and write stories.

Sydney is an eleven-year-old student from Michigan. She swims on competition swim teams, loves to write and wants to become an Olympic swimmer or model.

Maya is a twelve-year-old student from New York.

Rebecca is a twelve-year-old student from Pennsylvania. She enjoys soccer and basketball and loves to read.

Tegen is a thirteen-year-old home school student from Canada. She loves to swim, bike and hang out with friends. She aspires to be a vet and teacher in Africa.

Mei is an eleven-year-old student from Missouri. Her favorite subjects are art, math, science, social studies and creative writing. She also enjoys sports- especially soccer and softball. She plans to go to college and to become and actress.