Aw human sowels is born free and equal in dignity and richts

Anniversaries. You know for ages that they’re coming up and then suddenly you’re dashing around at the last minute looking for a suitable demonstration of your affections.

Apparently the 60th anniversary is the diamond one but while our efforts to mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10th December may be lacking in sparkly expensiveness, they will certainly be well served in energy, breadth and activism.

First there is the "Our World – Our Rights" conference on Saturday December 6th. Kicking off with a review of the state of human rights in Scotland and around the world, the event will then host a series of workshops giving the human rights perspective on a range of issues from women, older people, children and women to trade unions, disability and the War on Terror. Over 200 have signed up so far – you can book one of the few remaining places here.

This will be followed by Scotland’s contribution to the world-wide Fire-Up event. People will be gathering together in hundreds of places all over the globe, to light a candle, fire or flame as part of a mass demonstration – we’ll be firing up as our conference closes at 4pm so we hope you’ll join us for this special candle-lit occasion.

Laughter is important in any relationship, especially if you manage to laugh together, so in the evening afterwards there will be a special fundraising comedy evening organised by Glasgow University Amnesty Society. Doors open 7.30pm, hilarity commences 8pm.

What better way to celebrate an anniversary than with a night out at the pictures? So we’ve joined forces with the Filmhouse in Edinburgh and the GFT in Glasgow to show a series of human rights related films in the week around the anniversary, each followed by a panel discussion with related speakers. So come and share a box of popcorn with us while we discuss the film.

And of course the day of the anniversary itself must be the focus for something extra special. In our case the First Minister of Scotland has accepted our invitation to receive a framed copy of the UDHR translated into Scots Scotland’s third language and idiom of choice for Robert Burns, Scotland’s immortal bard, author of rights anthem "A man’s a man for a’ that" and, of course, no stranger to love himself.