Award for Individual Achievement: Dr. Pedro Jose Gonzalez Corona
Committed to educating his students both in and out of the classroom. Dr. Gonzalez is an emerging leader of a new generation of human rights educators and scholars. His research examines human rights, genocide, and state-sponsored violence in Latin America. He is a part of a cohort of scholars focusing on the Yaqui people’s history and trauma, mainly during the era of war and deportation. He is also currently writing a book on the Mexican crisis of disappearances, referencing the thousands of people who have been forcibly disappeared and most likely buried in clandestine mass graves. Dr. Gonzalez’s teaching approach includes the creation of faculty led programs and photographic exhibits in which students research human rights topics.
One of his recommenders says of him, “Dr. Gonzalez has never wavered in his full commitment to human rights, human dignity, justice… He is well aware of the fundamental truth of human rights, namely, that there is no such thing as a lesser person.”
For more information:
NAU-MSI The Power of Blood: Mexico’s Casta Paintings
https://www.knau.org/community-calendar/event/the-power-of-blood-mexicos-casta-paintings-13-02-2025-18-04-36
The NAU-MSI Disappeared: Portraits of Absence
https://www.aprilonline.org/disappeared-portraits-of-absence/
Award for Organizational Achievement: The World as It Could Be
Since 2006 The World As It Could Be Human Rights Education Program (TWAICB) has inspired people of all ages to take actions that lead to equality, justice, and dignity for all. These initiatives use the creative arts to deepen learning about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and its continuing relevance as a vehicle to further equality, equity, justice and dignity for all. TWAICB’s unique curriculum culminates in a Rite-of-Passage-like presentation for participants’ school or organization and its extended community that expresses their ideas about the significance of the UDHR and its connection to their lives,
Founded and developed by Sandy Sohcot in San Francisco Bay Area schools, TWAICB is now under the leadership of Yvonne Vissing, founding director of the Center for Childhood & Youth Studies at Salem State University, where she is a Professor of Healthcare Studies. Together they seek to make TWAICB’s resources more available and accessible to a global audience and to emphasize children’s human rights and how communities can support young people’s well-being.
HRE USA is proud to honor The World As It Could Be Human Rights Education Program for its commitment and service to human rights education in the United States.
For more information:
The Salem State University Center for Childhood and Youth Studies (CCYS)
https://www.salemstate.edu/ccys
TWAICB’s resources and examples of student presentations
https://www.theworldasitcouldbe.org/topics/posts/materials/
The Initiative for Civility in Everyday Life
https://civic-infrastructure.org/support/
HRE USA 