Milan, Italy – the Church of Scientology of Milan was the venue for a special human-rights meeting organised by the association Diritti Umani e Tolleranza. The event brought together leaders from Latin American and African associations living in northern Italy for an evening of capacity-building, recognition and dialogue on the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The gathering was led by association president Fiorella Cerchiara, who opened the event and underlined the need for concrete human-rights education in Milan’s diverse neighbourhoods. During the meeting, participants were recognised for completing the full study of “Uniti per i Diritti Umani”, the Italian version of the international United for Human Rights (UHR) programme, which explains the 30 articles of the Declaration through booklets, short films and structured lesson plans.
Having completed the course, the new graduates now plan to bring the programme into their own communities, churches and cultural associations, using the materials to organise information meetings, youth workshops and other activities that promote dignity, equality and mutual respect. Their work reflects broader European concerns, as surveys and human-rights bodies continue to report discrimination based on ethnic origin and skin colour in various EU member states, and emphasise the importance of education in building inclusive societies.
Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard famously stated that “human rights must be made a fact, not an idealistic dream”, a phrase that has been adopted as a guiding motto for the Church-supported human-rights campaigns. In line with this, local Scientologists in Milan support the secular United for Human Rights materials so that educators, NGOs and community leaders of any belief can use them in their daily work.
Commenting on the initiative, Ivan Arjona, representative news eu elections of the Church of Scientology to the European Union, OSCE, Council of Europe and United Nations, said that the Milan event shows how European values can be turned into everyday practice: “Seeing Latin American and African community leaders in Milan graduate from a programme on the Universal Declaration is a concrete example of how human rights are made real in European neighbourhoods,”