Cape Town, South Africa — An artist who uses plays, poetry and pictures to teach Kenyans about human rights and a youth activist on democracy and accountability in Togo have been selected to receive the 12th Reebok Human Rights Award.

The annual award which recognises four people under age 30 for their efforts to promote human rights will be presented to William Coley and Heather Barr of the United States, Ndungi Githuku of Kenya, and Kodjo Djissenou of Togo at a ceremony 21 March 21 in Boston.

Githuku, 27, the first artist to win the award, uses his talents as a playwright, graphic artist and performer to educate his fellow Kenyans about human rights, and mobilise them.

According to his biodata, Githuku became an activist at age 19 when he joined protests in support of political prisoners jailed on alleged fabricated charges.

He has been a leading voice for human rights and democracy ever since.

Despite numerous incarcerations and brutal torture by the police, Githuku continues to express, educate and organise for change using all his many creative talents - from songs to poetry, cartoons and theatre.

In 1998, he founded the Pamoja (Together) Theatre group, for which he writes, directs and acts plays that raise awareness on alleged police torture, political corruption and democratic principles.

The 18-member theatre troupe carries its messages to villages throughout Kenya when Githuku is not in prison.

Djissenou, 24, is a journalist who grew up in orphanages and has been campaigning for human rights in Togo since age 12.

He has been campaigning to educate and mobilise Togo's youth about human rights for most of his life.

"If there is hope for change, it lies with the nation's youth. But before there can be change, we need to teach that there are limits to what is acceptable, and that there are better ways to treat each other-without violence," he said.

In 1994, Djissenou founded La Conscience, a non-governmental organisation on human rights and democracy.

He also publishes a newspaper under the same name that focuses on human rights issues, written and produced entirely by young people.

Despite the country's poor infrastructure, his youth network created an innovative system that distributes 25,000 copies of La Conscience to more than half the country's schools - a broader geographical reach than Togo's daily newspapers.

Through the newspaper, Djissenou has created the Rapid Alert Network, which anonymously gathers information to combat reported child trafficking and locating missing children.

In 1998, Djissenou organised an "Election Caravan," in conjunction with the national elections, to educate the Togolese population on the importance of their vote.

Each year, the Reebok Human Rights Award is given to four individuals whose human rights work has brought hope, inspiration and strength to the lives of others.

Since 1988, the award has honoured 60 courageous and dedicated young people from 28 countries.

All award recipients are engaged in issues directly related to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Recipients receive a 50,000-US-dollar grant from the Reebok Human Rights Foundation as a donation to a human rights organisation of their choice.

They also become members of Forefront, a network of past recipients sharing resources, ideas and information around the world.