A camp for twenty three teenagers from Ulan Ude took place on the shores of Lake Baikal between July 26 and August 3, 2006.
The camp was organized by one of our two PMT groups. In total there were four camp leaders.

The preparation for this camp began in April 2006 when the camp was advertised in schools throughout Ulan Ude. Children from different schools submitted applications explaining why they wished to be involved in this camp and why they wished to further their knowledge on the issue of human rights. From these applications we choose twenty three children that we believed were most likely to benefit from this camp.

When we had informed the successful applicants we meet with them on three different occasions in May and June to clarify what they wanted to learn at the camp. From the information we collected from the children we designed a timetable to best suit the needs of the participants. For this camp we worked in conjunction with the ‘Brigantina’ youth club in Ulan Ude. ‘Brigantina’ applied to the city administration of Ulan Ude and secured a grant that enabled us to purchase tents for the stay at the lake. Another NGO ‘Green Walk’ provided us with the use of equipment including sleeping bags and other camping materials.

One of the main goals of the camp was to empower the participants. All those who participated in the camp are school goers and have become accustomed to taking orders from adults and those in positions of power. As the camp is entitled ‘Understanding Our Human Rights’ an emphasis was pleased on including the children in the decision making process as much as possible and giving them responsibility in the running of the camp. This is why we organized three meetings in May and June to allow the children to relay to us what they wanted to learn and why throughout the course of the camp responsibilities such as building the tents, collecting firewood, building fireplaces, cooking and cleaning belonged to the children.

On July 26 the camp began with a meeting in the premises of ‘Brigantina’ youth club. Here we outlined all rules that both PMT members and participants were to abide by for the next week.
The following day we traveled to the lake to a village called Povorod by train which is situated three hours from Ulan Ude.

Over the course of the next seven days the four members of our PMT began the task of educating the children of their human rights. The emphasis was placed on the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and what it means to the people of Russia.
The children were encouraged to explain what each of these thirty principles mean to them on a personal level and how they affect everyday Russia in contemporary society.

As the camp has still not reached its conclusion, the final assessment of the project will appear on this page the week starting August 7 …