Bermuda?s human rights laws will come under the spotlight this week at a meeting at which Government backbencher Ren?e Webb will speak.

The Smile Foundation ? which runs arts and educational programmes for young people ? is launching a series of monthly fundraising ?town hall meeting? at 7 p.m. on Wednesday evening at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute.

The first is titled ?Bermuda?s Human Rights Legislation ? Processes, Procedure and How We Pave The Way Forward?.

Ms Webb will be one of seven panellists discussing the recent rejection in the House of Assembly of her Human Rights Amendment Act, which would have outlawed discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The other guests are lawyer Mark Pettingill; former Government Ministers Quinton Edness and Arthur Hodgson; the Rev. Lorne Bean, of Bright Temple AME Church in Warwick; Pastor Terrance Stovell, of the Better Covenant Christian Fellowship and psychology lecturer Quinton Sherlock.

Smile?s acting president Derek Hamlin said: ?We believe that this is a topic that deserves being addressed because of how it unfolded in the House and the subsequent protests that followed. Our stake in it is nothing but facilitator.?

The meeting will begin with a short film called ?Democracy?s Protest? made by youngsters at a Smile summer camp last year.

Mr. Hamlin said: ?It is based on the issue of human rights and the protest. Some of the footage is from the summer camp.

?There is a feature in the film that will showcase some of our young people during that summer camp experience. The viewer will see how poignant the connection is with the issue of human rights.?

Mr. Hamlin said the new meetings are aimed at ?educating and informing the public? on important topics.

Although Smile works with young people ? its name stands for Students Making An Impact Through Learning Experiences ? the monthly sessions are also for adults.

?We are trying to expose not only young people but adults to the very, very important exercise of knowing what your laws mean as they are interpreted by your lawmakers and being very much involved and engaged in that process,? said Mr. Hamlin.

Entry to Wednesday?s meeting is $20, which includes a buffet. For more details email bermudatownhallaol.com or call 236-2864.

Meanwhile, activists who marched on the House of Assembly a week after Ms Webb?s bill were thrown out have welcomed her plan to re-table the draft legislation in November.

Suzanne Mayall, one of the organisers of the June 2 demonstration, told that the focus was now on a long-term human rights campaign, though the strategy for this was still being finalised.

?Following June 2, we embarked on an exercise to document the positions of every MP ? for and against the amendment, with reasons ? for the benefit of the public at large,? she said.

?Our dialogue with our political leaders is continuing and we hope to be in a position to publicise the results soon. We are also looking at further events, specific tools and strategies which will further the goal of improving our democracy.?