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The importance of volunteering

At Creating Rights, we want to take the opportunity of having participated to two great volunteering events lately to express how nice it feels to be part of the big non-profit community. And to meet and potentially collaborate with individuals driven by the will to give a bit – or a lot – of their free time and get some experience while volunteering for non-profit organizations.

The first event on 14 June was organized by Volunteer The Hague, a fantastic volunteer organization that builds a bridge between non-Dutch speaking individuals in The Hague who want to get volunteer experience and non-profit organizations who need this kind of people to reach their goals. The Volunteer The Hague Mix and Match Networking Event saw 12 non-profit organizations meet over 150 people. This event is organized several times a year, see here and here for more information.

Volunteer The Hague also intervenes in events when needed, to give presentations on what it means to volunteer and how it can help regarding career evolution. They did so at the second event Creating Rights participated in, on 30 June at the Institute for Social Studies in The Hague, organized by The Umbrella of Hope Uganda. There we met with African students completing their Master program in development studies. It was a great opportunity for us to meet with motivated young and brilliant individuals who already work on human rights, transitional justice, gender, and conflict issues.

Creating Rights, like numerous organizations, is made of a team of volunteers who share an interest in the interdisciplinary field of art and human rights, or want to help a new organization to grow. If you feel you could benefit from a volunteering experience with us, and want to help us achieve our vision and mission, please visit our Get Involved page, regularly updated with volunteer profiles, or contact us!

Scaffold: an architectural perspective on the death penalty in The Hague

by Fiana Gantheret

Scaffold

The wooden installation by the American artist Sam Durant looks like a gigantic children’s play structure and stands on the grass next to the International Zone in The Hague, The Netherlands. The sign at the bottom of the stairs is daunting: “Access at your own risk – Children under guidance only – Beware of slippery and protruding parts – Do not climb”. A large metallic staircase located on one side of the installation brings the visitor to a wooden floor made up of several levels.

Each level is composed of a reconstructed wooden gallow that was used in an execution “of historical significance in the United States”, one can read on a sign visible on the platform. The announcement at the bottom of the installation, the “protruding parts”, the slippery stairs… seems to have a meaning : one cannot approach – let alone access – a scaffold without risk and roughness being involved.

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