Reebok and Human Rights
an article by Danielle Brauer

On May 17 Reebok held its annual Human Rights Award ceremony. "The Reebok Human Rights Foundation was created in 1986 to expand Reebok's commitment to human rights." The award not only offers recognition to individuals and their NGOs hard work but also provides them with a 50,000 grant to apply towards their work. Currently 84 young activists have been recipients of this award. This foundation encourages young leaders to stand up for what they believe in.

This year there were four new recipients. Two of these recipients were: Otto Saki: He is from Zimbabwe, at age 24 he has made great strides in, "advocating for human rights defenders facing harassment and arrest." (Zimbabwe Lawyers For Human Rights- www.zlhr.org.zw) Li Dan: He is from China, at age 27 he has shown courage as he has worked to bring China's AIDS epidemic to the political table. "Li Dan helps AIDS orphans who have been rejected by their communities and pressures the government to respond to the growing crisis." (China Orchid AIDS Project www.chinaaidsorphans.org)

One of the most poignant moments of the evening was when a Tibetan nun named Phuntsog Nyidron took the stage. Phuntsog was a recipient of the 1995 Reebok Human Rights Award. However she was in prison for the past 15 years for speaking out against the injustices in Tibet and it was only now that she was able to formally except the award. Phuntsog encouraged everyone to remain dedicated to human rights.

The evening ended on a lighter note as 11 past award recipients, the 4 new ones, along with youth dancers all joined together dancing and signing to Bob Marley's Get Up, Stand Up! It is encouraging to see how a large corporation like Reebok can help to improve the lives of others around the world. For more information go to: www.reebok.com/humanrights. This promotes the peace keys of respect share listen

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