Angelina Jolie tells starstruck schoolchildren to 'fight for universal human rights'... as they lend support to Grenfell Tower survivors
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- Published on Wednesday, 30 November -0001 00:00
- Written by Daily mail
She acts as UNHCR Special Envoy and harnesses her global fame in Hollywood to help child refugees in war torn countries of the world.And actress and philanthropist Angelina Jolie, 42, has spoken up at a performance by more than 600 children as part of a project between world human rights organisation Amnesty International and Chickenshed Theatre.Held at the Royal Albert Hall on Monday night, the event saw the beauty urge schoolchildren to fight for universal human rights for children all over the world.Angelin shared her message via a video clip which was played out to the audience.'Children, I need you,' she said. 'We all need you. We adults, we are a little lost these days, we want you to think that we have it all under control, that it will all be fine. And it will be,' she began.'The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; it’s like your secret book of laws. And if you can master it, no one can trick you, or your friends. And you can take those laws and rights and go head on with those adults who won’t listen.'With the power of not only what is right and fair, but what is law, you can fight back. And as you grow up, you will have the tools to protect yourselves and to defend others.'It means you can grow up to be citizens who together can complete the work that my generation will leave unfinished and fight for universal human rights for all children.'Angelina is famed for her humanitarian work; she first witnessed the effects of a humanitarian crisis when she was in Cambodia filming the 2001 film Tomb Raider.She has since visited war-torn countries all over the world, such as Sudan's Darfur region and Syria, with the aim of bringing awareness of humanitarian plight to public knowledge.The Tomb Raider star has adopted three of her six children; Maddox, Zahara and Pax were adopted from orphanages in Cambodia, Ethiopia and Vietnam respectively.The children's performance at the Royal Albert Hall was based on Amnesty’s children’s book Dreams Of Freedom, which celebrates the words of human rights heroes such as Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama and Malala Yousafzai.During the performance, children shared their own messages of freedom and solidarity starting with 'I stand with…'. ollowing the recent tragedy at Grenfell Tower, many of the children changed their line to 'I stand with Grenfell' in support of all those affected. Chickenshed is a charity that makes inspirational theatre by bringing together people from all backgrounds to produce performances that entertains, inspires, and informs both audiences and participants.The children taking part in the performance are from London schools in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham, Westminster, Wandsworth and Enfield. Additional schools and children’s groups have also been involved in the creation of the performance over a period of two years.Amnesty International is the world’s largest human rights organisation with more than seven million supporters worldwide.
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