BANGALORE: "If the world lets go of such atrocities and if people do not actually learn to stand up and act, I fear one day my home may also be faced with similar horror and no matter how much I beg and cry for help, it may not come," said Mathhew Arnold Mata, 16, from Legacy School, Bangalore.
This was the student's reaction when he was shown the plight of civil rights activist Irom Sharmila, in an effort by Amnesty International India to bring Human Rights Education programme into the classrooms.
Wild, wild web: Is the Internet a lawless no man’s land? Based on the recent public debate on data protection and massive privacy infringements, this course will explore the connection between cyber security and human rights, and systematically examines the compliance between international human rights norms, standards and mechanism within legal and political frameworks and the growing cyber security regime.
HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE
KATHMANDU: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is planning to incorporate human rights education into the school curricula.
The commission wants to include human rights education in schools in order to create a rights-friendly society, said NHRC Secretary Bed Prasad Bhattarai inaugurating a two-day workshop in Dhulikhel today.
Malala Yousafzai, the teenager shot by the Taliban after speaking out for girls' rights to education in Pakistan, declared that pens and books were weapons to defeat terrorism as she officially opened a new £188m civic library in her adopted home city of Birmingham.
New ILO tool steps up fight against child labour: The ILO presents a training guide to help its constituents tackle the worst forms of child labor. It defines the worst forms of child labor, presents key strategies for their elimination, outlines recommended actions for governments, employers’, workers’ and other civil society organizations and addresses monitoring and evaluation as an essential feature of successful action plans.
Distance Learning Programme: HREA offers e-learning courses for human rights defenders and educators, development workers, and staff members of social justice organisations, international and inter-governmental organisations. In 2013 new e-learning courses will be offered on Children's Rights (Foundation Course), Gender and Human Rights (Foundation Course), Gender-based Violence, EU Migration and Asylum Law and Policies, Migration and Asylum (Foundation Course) and Psychosocial Consequences of Migration and Asylum.
Anne Frank Center USA offers a variety of professional development workshops for teachers and educators at all levels. The workshops provide teachers with the opportunity to examine the life and times of Anne Frank through her diary, family photographs, and documentary images as portrayed a permanent exhibit. Workshops can take place at The Anne Frank Center, at your school, community center, or other public space. They can also bring educational performances such as “Conversations with Anne: Letters from Anne and Martin” to your school or community. In this presentation, professional actors bring the texts of Anne Frank and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to life, and encourage the audience to join in an interactive discussion.
The Raoul Wallenberg Institute currently, and until the end of 2013, has a fellowship opportunity available regarding human rights education in higher education in relation to its international cooperation programmes in Belarus and Turkey. The aim of the fellowship is to contribute to the implementation of the Institute’s and its cooperation partners’ joint programmes in Belarus and Turkey, and their results, in the areas of human rights education and research. See the full information and program here
Human Rights Toolkits: Most Americans have heard of human rights abuses occurring in other countries around the world, but many do not realize that human rights are being violated in the U.S. as well. In an effort to increase awareness of human rights in the U.S., The Advocates for Human Rights has created a series of toolkits that examine important human rights issues and that offer tools to help Americans advocate for positive social change. Get the toolkits here
The Advocates for Human Rights offers a variety of publications to help researchers, educators, students, community organizations, and the general public gain a better understanding of human rights. We encourage you to look through our reports and fact sheets to learn more about human rights issues that are important to you. Then download some of our lesson plans or action guides to help spread the word about human rights! See the publications here
Trinity College provides a listing of other colleges and universities with human rights curriculums. Access the site here
Welcome to the US Human Rights Network's national conference - ADVANCING HUMAN RIGHTS 2013: Dignity. Justice. Action. USHRN’s biannual human rights conference is the primary national gathering for human rights and social justice activists, advocates, practitioners, and supporters dedicated to strengthening a human rights agenda and culture in the U.S. and demanding the United States government fulfill its human rights obligations in the U.S. See the event site here
Podcast: Engaging Civil and Political Rights in the U.S. The US Human Rights Network is working to promote full implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) by educating the public about the U.S. Government obligations under the treaty and by engaging community groups in the effective use of the treaty to promote human rights at home. Listen to it here
Human Rights Here and Now: Celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This book is a tool for bringing the UDHR into the lives of people in the United States: kindergartens and unions, Scout troops and senior citizens centers, religious organizations and prison programs. It provides background information, ideas for taking action, and interactive exercises to help people learn about human rights. Get the curriculum here
Curriculum resources from the United Nations Cyberschoolbus. - Go to the site
What is Human Rights Education?
Simply put, human rights education is all learning that develops the knowledge, skills, and values of human rights.
The United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education (1995-2004) has defined Human Rights Education as "training, dissemination, and information efforts aimed at the building of a universal culture of human rights through the imparting of knowledge and skills and the molding of attitudes which are directed to:
(a) The strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms;
(b) The full development of the human personality and the sense of its dignity;
(c) The promotion of understanding, respect, gender equality, and friendship among all nations, indigenous peoples and racial, national, ethnic, religious and linguistic groups;
(d) The enabling of all persons to participate effectively in a free society;
(e) The furtherance of the activities of the United Nations for the Maintenance of Peace." (Adapted from the Plan of Action of the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education (1995-2004), paragraph 2)
During this Decade, the UN is urging and supporting all member states to make knowledge about human rights available to everyone through both the formal school system and through popular and adult education.
The film is a collaborative effort between Human Rights Education Associates, Sokka Gakkai International and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.A Path to Dignity: The Power of Human Rights Education is a 28 minute long documentary which demonstrates the impact of human rights education. Successful practices and projects in India, Australia and Turkey illustrate the power of human rights education in transforming people's lives and empowering individuals to make a difference in their communities.
The Human Rights Education (HRE) Library contains over 3,000 full-text guides, curricula, textbooks and other documents for both formal and non-formal education in human rights.
Cambridge – HREA announces the release of Human Total: A Violence Prevention Learning Resource, a new manual created by HREA, the International Center for Alcohol Policies (ICAP) and the Instituto Mexicano de Investigación Familia y de Población (IMIFAP)
"Adolescence is an ideal time to promote attitudes and behaviours that prevent interpersonal violence. Human Total is the first resource to blend life skills with human rights education" says HREA's Founder and Senior Advisor, Felisa Tibbitts, who helped prepare the pilot draft of the manual.
Human Total will be a vital resource for students, educators and parents. Targeted towards young people between the ages of 10 and 14, the manual helps learners understand attitudes that promote violent behaviour (often brought about by the misuse of alcohol) by males and cultivates methods to minimise these behaviours’ harms and prevent their perpetuation.
Human Total contains 32 adaptable lesson plans, including ways to recognise and understand violence in social contexts and techniques for minimising violence through education about human rights and active participation in the community. The manual also features a note for facilitators on how to use it, tools for outreach to parents and guardians, recommendations for additional resources, and eight annexes with supplemental information. The resource was piloted in El Salvador and Kenya.