Trees for Human Rights

The Trees for Human Rights that can be found all over the city are a kind of social sculpture. The Trees for Human Rights carry the idea of the human rights into the different districts of the city where they are fostered by an array of initiatives, associations and persons. Starting in 2007 Gingko 80 trees have been planted all over the urban area of Nuremberg and each of the Gingko trees is dedicated to one of the 30 paragraphs of the Declaration of Human Rights. At the side of every Gingko tree, a granite boulder is placed with the human right „written in stone“. The persons fostering the Gingko trees thus also foster the human rights.

The Gingko tree is one of the oldest plants in the world and is known for robustness and durability. In Hiroshima, Japan, a Gingko budded in the year after the atomic bomb. Worldwide the Gingko tree is a symbol of hope, friendship and invincibility. Therefore, it fits perfectly to symbolize the effort and hardiness it will take to win recognition of human rights for all humans.