Archive: Around Town

On May 31st, four New Roots Charter School students traveled to Washington DC to participate as finalists in the First National International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Symposium. Students were invited to participate in the IHL Action Campaign (IHL).

IHL is a nationwide American Red Cross pilot program that aims to teach youth that 'Even Wars Have Limits' and to support their development as critical thinkers, problem solvers and compassionate global citizens, able to grapple with ethical dilemmas and global issues.

Three students from Ithaca College and Cornell University conducted a series of hands-on, interactive sessions helping New Roots students understand the role of IHL in conflict and war zones. New Roots students Hali Van Valkenburg, Zachary Hall, Janice Harmon and Isaak Hill communicated their newfound knowledge of IHL with a powerful interactive simulation that won them a trip to Washington DC where they presented at the first National IHL Youth Symposium. The American Red Cross intends to use the New Roots students’ action campaign as a stand-alone activity to teach others about prisoners of war.

The IHL experience was a powerful lesson in Human Rights and a clear example of the New Roots approach.

“Before this whole experience I didn’t know that International Humanitarian Law or the Geneva Conventions existed,” said Hali Van Valkenburg, a junior at New Roots who hopes to educate people about IHL and the Geneva Conventions as they apply to different conflicts or wars.

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