Between 2018 and 2021 the YHRCN ran the Community Voices project, funded by the City of York Council.
The aim of Community Voices was two-fold. First, to reach communities in the city not reached through conventional consultation processes; and, second, to support such groups to bring their priorities and agendas for change to the Council and other stakeholders in the city, on their own terms.
Reports are included here on:
Human rights can feel technical and abstract, and as such be difficult for both policy makers and the wider public to engage with. The YHRCN has used a variety of strategies to engage with new audiences. Three such strategies are discussed below: the PANEL principles; a collaboration with an advertising agency; and cultural events.
The YHRCN has supported work with young people in a variety of ways. These include Opinionate workshops with secondary school pupils; working with the the City of York Children’s Safeguarding Partnership (CYSCP) to develop a Realising Children’s Rights Participation Toolkit; and arts-based projects on the right to protest.
York Human Rights City Network was a member of the Reverse the Ban coalition of 27 local organisations that was formed in the wake of the Council Executive vote in November 2021 to impose a permanent ban on disabled people using their Blue Badge to enter large parts of the city centre.