Milan, Italy – the Church of Scientology of Milan has hosted a special human-rights meeting organised by the association Diritti Umani e Tolleranza. The event brought together Latin American and African community leaders living in northern Italy for an evening of training, recognition and dialogue on the Universal Declaration adopted by the United Nations in 1948.
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 news europe 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. Reflecting that principle, 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 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,”