The City of Pasadena and the Pasadena Commission for Human Relations presented the “Models of Unity” award to Scientologist Tim Bowles and Youth for Human Rights International in council chambers January 30, “In recognition of a group that fosters collaboration in the areas of programs and resources while connecting individuals among the diverse community of Pasadena.”

Bowles, Human Rights Director of the Church of Scientology of Pasadena and Director of International Development of Youth for Human Rights International, created the African Human Rights Leadership Campaign to provide young African men and women the training and experience they need to play key roles in creating and sustaining just and prosperous societies.

Bowles was joined at the award presentation by Joseph Jay Yarsiah, Youth for Human Rights Program Director for Africa, with whom he piloted a youth leadership campaign in Pasadena and Duarte last year, expanding on what they had learned implementing the campaign in high schools in Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Togo and Ethiopia.

In accepting the award, Bowles said:

“On behalf of Youth for Human Rights International and its many local and worldwide volunteers, thank you very much for this acknowledgment of and confidence in our work. I believe that we live in a day where cynicism and apathy are the ‘new cool’ and where too many think they have the luxury to harbor false, fixed ideas about those groups or individuals labeled as different, whether those differences come in the form of ethnicity, culture, economic station, or religion. The Youth for Human Rights mission is to educate young people on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ 30 articles and to equip them as leaders for mutual responsibility, fair opportunity and social justice.”

Presenting the award were Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard, Human Rights Commission Chair Nat Nehdar, and members of the city council and commission.

Among the honored guests with Bowles and Yarsiah were Dr. Mary Shuttleworth, Youth for Human Rights International’s founder; Aida and Betty Ogba, active with the Mayor’s Youth Council and members of the Marshall High Empowered Leaders Club; Rona Bowles, Tim Bowles’ wife and Executive Director of the Church of Scientology Pasadena; and Eden Stein, President of the Pasadena Church.

“We believe Einstein got it straight when he said we cannot solve the significant societal problems we face today with the same level of thinking we had when we created them,” said Bowles.  “Thus it is the task of each generation to guide those that follow to become more competent, more effective and more responsible than their teachers. We know you share these concerns and this determination.”

Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to making education on the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights broadly available. For more information, visit www.youthforhumanrights.org.