Social Justice Day 2021
On 26 November 2007, the General Assembly declared that starting from the 63rd session of the General Assembly, the 20th February will be celebrated annually as the World Day of Social Justice.
This day supports efforts by the international community to search for solutions to achieve sustainable development, reduce poverty and to promote decent work conditions, gender equality and justice for all.
Svitac (Firefly Bosnia) celebrated this day with their young adults’ group aged 18-30. They attend weekly English conversation workshops led by Angela and Malcolm; international volunteers from the UK.
The idea of Social Justice was introduced by playing the Monopoly board game. This time, the rules were modified for a special ‘Social Justice Monopoly’ version. The goal of the game was to earn money and purchase property as you progress across the board. The players in this game did not start equally, some were given less money to start with than others and some were allowed to roll the dice twice and progress across the board faster.
As the game progressed the consequences of the inequalities in the group were evident. Some players were able to earn a significant income and easily purchase property while others struggled with limited opportunities.
The group discussed the need for interventions that actively address inequalities, focusing on the question, ‘If you could change one thing to reduce inequality in your community what would it be?’
The solutions our group proposed of included eliminating taxation on food, universal income for all and providing better access to housing. These discussions made for a fantastic start to learning about Social Justice!
