Grassroots Human Rights Project

About the project 

The CAJ Grassroots Human Rights project focuses on educating young people in local state schools about their human rights. Through educating young people from underprivileged backgrounds on human rights issues around the world and at home, the project hopes to raise awareness about human rights and at the same time inspire them to pursue a university education in the future. 

The issues covered range from broad questions like “what is a human right?” to more practical examples such as a person’s rights with regard to “stop and search” police powers and the right to education. 

 

Student Volunteer Role 

The Grassroots Human Rights Project is currently recruiting student volunteers to practice and deliver interactive, informative and age-appropriate human rights workshops to students ranging from Year 8 to Year 13. You will be assisted by the Grassroots Project Leaders in doing so.  These workshops will be centered on topics such as equality, the right to life, anti-discrimination, the right to education, and more. 

Volunteers will facilitate discussions that encourage students to share their ideas, ask questions, and develop their understanding of human rights issues. They will collaborate with fellow volunteers and teachers to adapt workshop materials based on the needs of each school or class. 

Currently, we have weekly workshops confirmed with four schools, for the following times. Please ensure you are available on a weekly basis for at least one of these sessions. 

• School 1: Year 12 students, every Wednesday from 14th January 2026.
• School 2: Year 12 students, every Thursday from 15th January to 12th March.
• School 3: Year 9 students, every Monday from 19th January - 9th February, from 9:20AM - 10:10AM.
• School 3: Year 12 students, every Wednesday from 21st January to 11th February, from 3:30PM - 4:20PM.
• School 4: Year 12 students, every Thursday from 15th January to 5th February from 2:50 – 3:50PM? 

  

This role is suitable for those who want to develop their public speaking skills and inspire secondary school students to develop their awareness of human rights issues.

 

Pro Bono Skills Development Framework   

The Centre for Access to Justice now offers all students engaged in extracurricular pro bono the opportunity to participate in the Pro Bono Skills Development Framework . This framework allows you to reflect on the skills gained during your placement, aligned with the Aurora Competence Framework. Completing it earns you a Certificate of Commitment to Pro Bono, acknowledging your dedication and skill development. Your participation will help you document and showcase the valuable competencies you've developed, however, please note that participation in the PBSDF scheme is entirely voluntary and will not affect your placement in any way.  

Please note that if you are completing the Grassroots Project as part of course requirements, you will not be eligible for the Pro Bono Skills Development Certificate.  

  

Notes on Training 

Successful applicants will need to undergo the Grassroots Human Rights Project volunteer training session, an online Volunteering with Children module, andonline safeguarding and data protection trainings.  

(1) GHRP Volunteer training session 

Volunteers must be available to attend the delivering workshops in schools training session on 19th November, from 2-5PM.  

(2) Online Volunteering with Children Course  

Once selected, all volunteers will need to complete the Volunteering with Children training. This course includes new content about how to safeguard children and young people while delivering sessions. For this reason, all Project Leaders and volunteers will need to complete this new course, even if they have previously attended our face-to-face training. This is an online module and can be completed at any time. 

(3) Online Safeguarding and GDPR Training 

The Centre requires that all volunteers take a short online courses on safeguarding and data protection.  

 

How to apply 

The deadline to apply is the 2nd of November, 11:59PM. Please ensure that you are available from 2-5PM on the 19th November for the mandatory 'Delivering workshops in schools' training session. 

All UCL students are eligible to apply. 

Please apply via the online application form. When applying, please make sure you have completed the  CAJ Equality and Diversity Monitoring Questionnaire.  You only need to complete this once per academic year.  

Please note the Centre for Access to Justice strongly discourages use of artificial intelligence in applications. Use of content generated by artificial intelligence in your application may affect your chance of success. 

Should you have any questions, please contact Annika Melwani at annika.melwani@ucl.ac.uk.