In times of coronavirus and social distancing, many of us are having to stay at home.
Here are a few free things you can do from home to empower yourself and develop skills that promote equality and respect in your community. Why not use your time wisely?
1. Share something hopeful and positive
It can be difficult to deal with all the news right now. Why not share something positive, like a video of people showing solidarity during this pandemic or a good news story that you found online?
Where there are people, there's always hope – even in times of a global pandemic – because our common humanity unites us all.
You can also help limit the spread of misinformation online by only sharing advice from experts and reliable sources, like the World Health Organisation. This will help stop people around you from panicking.
You can also on your social media accounts.
2. Educate yourself
Use your time wisely - there are loads of educational materials on human rights that you can study. We have a whole dedicated to exactly that.
On our Academy, you can:
- Take an introduction course on the core concepts of human rights.
- Turn yourself into an agent of change with our new online course on the UDHR.
- Learn how to protect yourself online and promote digital security.
- Come face-to-face with human rights activists in this course on Freedom of Expression.
- Learn what a human rights defender is, and become one yourself.
Find all of our free courses
3. Get involved: Sign a petition
Human rights abuses are still happening around the world. Use this time to take action and have your say.
against forced veiling in Iran.
imprisoned for sharing body-positivity images online.
4. Checkout our 'how-to' tutorials
We have broken down some serious human rights issues into . Teach yourself how to spot fake news or protest peacefully.
5. Help others with technology and social media
If you are good at using technology and social media, you can help those who may not be. Guide people through using messaging apps and social media. Call them to show them remotely how to look for help, find reliable sources and advice online. Help them find communities and people online they can talk to.
6. Show solidarity, care for others, volunteer
At times like this, there are so many ways you can help those around you. For instance:
- Follow health workers’ advice and social distancing guidelines if you’ve been advised to do so. It helps protect people most vulnerable in your communities and eases the burden on carers and hospitals.
- Provide emotional support for people via phone calls or messages. This can be an extremely lonely time for many. Call people and provide them with support.
- Help limit the spread of misinformation and create awareness about basic dos and don’ts by promoting advice from experts and reliable sources.
- Share scarce resources, be considerate when shopping and offer help to people who are less able to access protective necessary goods that are in high demand.
- Support your local businesses by utilising their delivery service if they have one
- Find out how you can support freelancers and zero-hours contract workers
- If you are a small business yourself, how can you pivot to meet people's needs during this crisis.
- Volunteer to go to the shops for neighbours that may be elderly or with a disability, while observing social distancing.