1. “To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.”
Nelson Mandela, South African civil rights activist
2. “Activism works. So what I’m telling you to do now, is to act. Because no one is too small to make a difference.”
Greta Thunberg, Swedish climate change activist and Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience
3. “It means a great deal to those who are oppressed to know that they are not alone. Never let anyone tell you that what you are doing is insignificant.”
Desmond Tutu, South African civil rights activist
4. “If you want to improve your quality of life and the quality of life for all women, never stop questioning society or calling for change.”
Justina De Pierris, Argentinian student activist
5. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Martin Luther King, African-American civil rights activist
6. “The candle burns not for us, but for all those whom we failed to rescue from prison, who were shot on the way to prison, who were tortured, who were kidnapped, who ‘disappeared’. That’s what the candle is for.”
Peter Benenson, founder of Amnesty International
7. “Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free.”
14th Dalai Lama
8. “Letters aren’t just a simple gesture of solidarity, they become a source of hope and they have the potential to change people’s lives. I am living proof.”
Nestor Fantini, former political prisoner in Argentina
9. “People put up walls between each other – and it’s largely down to ignorance or negative media portrayals. We fail to realize there are so many good things and so many good people in this world.”
John Sato, World War Two veteran who took four buses to join an anti-racism march in Auckland after the March 2019 Christchurch shootings
10. “A political struggle that does not have women at the heart of it, above it, below it, and within it is no struggle at all.”
Arundhati Roy, Indian author
11. “Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world.”
Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani education activist
12. “My government makes me angry. The police force makes me angry. Homophobia makes me angry. Luckily, anger is what motivates me.”
Zhanar Sekerbayeva, an LBQ activist from Kazakhstan
13. “I never thought I’d be talking about police brutality and standing up for human rights. You never know what people are going through until it happens to you.”
Monicah Njoroge, Kenyan civil rights activist whose brother Evans was murdered after taking part in a peaceful protest
14. “Get up, stand up, Stand up for your rights. Get up, stand up, Don’t give up the fight.”
Bob Marley, Jamaican singer
