Wish to speak for human rights? Shoot a film, instead

Dubai - Entries invited from youth aged 19-29 for Human Rights Short Film contest.

Addicts or recovering addicts, people with mental health disorders and those living with a disability need to openly share their stories to increase awareness of human rights values.
Speaking at the launch of the Community Development Authority's (CDA) second edition of the 'Human Rights Short Film Competition', CDA Director-General, Khaled Al Kamda told Khaleej Times that people in the UAE tend to talk less about certain addictions or disorders.
"Anonymity and denial" hinders an individual's chance at a normal life, Al Kamda added.
"People need not be shy, need not be scared. They need to tell their stories, share their experiences with others, and stop being in denial. That goes for their family members too."
He said cases of drug addiction and mental health are a "global issue", not a localised issue, and people need to take heed of this.
"These are issues which affect many people around the world. We are not immune to them. People in the UAE tend to talk less about certain addictions or disorders because they feel they will be shunned out of the community. That is not the case, we are here to tackle the issue and inform people of their rights as a human."
University students and young community members aged between 19 and 29 are being urged to tap into their creative side in a bid to highlight human rights issues here.
Asked to create a thought-provoking awareness video based on three main subject groups including people with disabilities, addicts and recovering addicts, and persons with mental disorders and infectious disease, the videos will later be used alongside the CDA's community awareness campaigns.
The short film competition will require students across the emirates to produce a 3 to 5 minute long video using both visual and sound effects. Last year's winners, Hessa Al Ajmani and Maryam Al Kamali from Zayed University, used their personal experiences to make videos, which focused on childhood disability.
"When I was a child in school, I shared a class with a girl who had Down Syndrome. Teachers treated her differently and she was isolated," Al Ajmani told Khaleej Times.
"Many of my friends had dys lexia, too, but they were not aware of it for years. The teachers would call them lazy. For our video, we wanted viewers to focus on the need for community awareness, not the disability itself."
Though it only took a couple of days to shoot and edit the three-minute long film, Al Ajmani has one piece of advice for this year's hopeful entrants.
"Make sure you leave plenty of time for official approvals. It took a long time for the school to agree to allow us to shoot on their premises."
But she said people should definitely participate, even if not to win.
"This is a great experience to share your hard work and make a difference to human rights in this country."
Cash prizes of Dh30,000, Dh20,000 and Dh15,000 will be rewarded to first, second and third place winners respectively, and the competition, which opened on Monday, will close on February 1, 2016.
CEO of Human Rights Sector at CDA, Maitha Al Shamsi said 43 videos were submitted last year. As a result of this huge interest, CDA expanded the target group this year.
"Before, we only targeted university students but this year those up to the age of 29-years-old can participate. We want to spread the culture of rights among the young community."
In the UAE, expatriates diagnosed with infectious disease including HIV/aids or tuberculosis will automatically be deported from the country.
In response to this issue regarding a lack of human rights among non-citizens, Kamda said the law will "supersede" in such cases.
With no restrictions in regards to content, Kamda encouraged participants to use "real life stories" where possible, as they allow for closer community engagement.
"Hearing real stories may encourage others to seek help and deal with an issue."
Those interested can enter either as individuals or in groups, but only one entry per person can be submitted.
The winners of the competition will be announced in March 2016.
kelly@khaleejtimes.com