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High-level panel discussion on the fifteenth anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training: good practices, challenges and the way forward

by hreusaAugust 22, 2026Leave a comment

15 September 2026

Human Rights Council – 63rd session

10:00 AM – 12:00 PM (Europe/Zurich)

Assembly Hall, Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland

The panel discussion will take place on 15 September 2026, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., in the Assembly Hall of the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, and will be broadcast live and archived on UN Web TV.

To create synergies with the ongoing fifth phase (2025–2029) of the World Programme for Human Rights Education, the panel discussion will focus on human rights education for children and youth.

The panel discussion will provide an opportunity to take stock of progress in implementing the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training, share different approaches and good practices, and explore how Governments, national human rights institutions and civil society can further collaborate to advance human rights education.

The high-level panel discussion is convened pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 57/10. Following the discussion, OHCHR will prepare a summary report for submission to the Human Rights Council at its sixty-fourth session.

HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.

IAHRE Conference 2027: Call for Papers

by hreusaAugust 21, 2026Leave a comment

The International Association for Human Rights Education (IAHRE) was established in 2023 at the 15^th International Conference for Education and Democratic Citizenship (ICEDC) hosted by Sutherland School of Law at University College Dublin, Ireland. IAHRE exists to support the development of human rights education research, scholarship and practice. It has been awarded charitable status in recognition of its efforts to promote the public good. IAHRE’s scholarly journal is the award-winning Human Rights Education Review (HRER) founded in 2018 and published by Taylor & Francis.

The IAHRE Conference is a meeting place for scholars, researchers, graduate students, education policymakers, and civil society activists from across Europe and internationally. It builds on the work of the WERA International Research Network on Human Rights Education, coordinated by Professors Audrey Osler and Hugh Starkey. It provides a unique opportunity to present and discuss current research and policy relating to human rights education and questions of human rights within education. There is an expectation that presenters accepted for IAHRE 2027 will submit their final revised conference papers to Human Rights Education Review shortly after the conference.

Call for papers

We invite papers for the 2027 IAHRE Conference Interdisciplinarity in Human Rights Education. IAHRE 2027 aims to build on the vast array of disciplines that contribute to human rights education, and we welcome scholars from sociology, education, law, history, politics, geography and other relevant disciplines, as well as those specialising in regional studies. Papers should review and critically reflect on human rights education policy and practice, child rights education and the wider area of education and human rights. We are interested in research that addresses HRE across formal education, from early years through to higher education, as well as community-focused and community-led initiatives designed to enhance and strengthen human rights understanding. Papers reflecting the work of those aiming to enhance human rights understanding in professional education, in diverse fields, including teacher education, medicine, nursing and social care also welcome.

Colleagues working in NGOs and international organisations who have campaign case studies are likewise invited. We welcome contributions from researchers at all stages of their careers.

At IAHRE 2027 we aim to build upon the contributions at IAHRE 2026 Re-imagining Human Rights Education in a Turbulent World that recognised how human rights education is taking place in an increasingly unstable world with growing authoritarianism and challenges to human rights and democratic values in all regions and where climate change, disinformation, terrorism, war and conflict, hate speech and xenophobia confront us in the starkest terms. Given these challenges we remain mindful of both the challenges and the opportunities that educators in varied contexts face.

Human rights education (HRE) supports UN Sustainable Development Goal 4. HRE has a vital role in maintaining hope and enabling people of all ages to reimagine a positive future. Children and young people experience barriers to democratic participation since they are not only excluded from formal political mechanisms and decision-making processes but have been the subject of government-led social media bans that threaten access to communication and information.

Any vision of a sustainable future necessarily includes ‘sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development’ (SDG 4.7). IAHRE 2027 invites contributions that build on and extend the focus of past conferences and on the fast-expanding HRE literature, both in HRER and other journals and books. IAHRE 2027 includes but is not limited to papers addressing:

Human rights curricula
Education for peace
Global citizenship education
Climate, environment and sustainable development
Migration, citizenship and rights
Children’s digital worlds
Human rights, intercultural and language learning
Worldviews and religion
Decolonising learning
Professional education and training
Children’s rights and child friendly schools

This call for papers invites both individual papers and proposals for symposia.

Individual paper requirements

Prepare an abstract of no more than 300 words, including paper title, your name(s), institutional affiliation(s) and contact email(s). Please indicate whether you would prefer to give an oral or a poster presentation. Abstracts should be sent, no later than Monday 19 October 2026 to: Professor Hugh Starkey h.starkey@ucl.ac.uk.

More information

HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.

Join the National Table for Human Rights Strategy

by hreusaAugust 20, 2026Leave a comment

The University of Dayton Human Rights Center has launched the National Table for Human Rights Strategy (NTHRSt), a new participatory initiative to reinvigorate international human rights organizing, education, and advocacy in the United States. The initiative strives to use the international human rights framework to build a popular culture in the US centered on dignity, equality, and solidarity. NTHRSt seeks to contribute to building powerful human rights movements in community around basic principles common to all. Learn more about NTHRSt and become a partner for change.

HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.

Book recommendations from Read Across America

by hreusaAugust 19, 2026Leave a comment

It’s the time of year when educators are decorating classrooms, preparing lessons, and stocking bookshelves.

If you’re looking for stories that will help your students build a greater understanding about themselves and the world around them, check out the new 2026-27 Read Across America calendar.

HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.

Woven Teaching: Human Rights Education Implementation Toolkit

by hreusaAugust 18, 2026Leave a comment

Responding to recent threats and uncertainty about the future of democratic institutions and non-profits in the U.S. and globally, Woven Teaching is currently focusing on the dissemination and implementation of our human rights education materials across a wide network of educators.

We believe strongly that community power and education are the best tools available to promote and protect human rights. Because of this, we have created a Human Rights Education Implementation Toolkit. The goal of this is to be able to quickly provide schools and organizations with the resources, tools, and support needed to implement Woven Teaching’s resources–curricula, trainings, and other materials–in order to meet the needs of their communities. Download the HRE Implementation Toolkit >

HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.

OHCHR Indigenous Fellowship Programme 2027: Fully Funded UN Human Rights Fellowship in Geneva

by hreusaAugust 17, 2026Leave a comment

Applications are now open for the OHCHR Indigenous Fellowship Programme 2027! This prestigious fully funded United Nations fellowship equips indigenous leaders with knowledge of international human rights, UN mechanisms, and advocacy skills while providing an opportunity to participate in UN discussions in Geneva, Switzerland.

🔗 Apply here: https://wp.me/p23f03-as5

🎓 Benefits include:

✅ Return airfare

✅ Living expenses

✅ Basic health insurance

✅ 4-week training in Geneva

✅ Networking with indigenous leaders and UN experts

📌 Eligibility:

🌍 Indigenous persons nominated by an indigenous organization or community

🎓 No formal educational qualifications required

👩🏽🤝👩🏿 Indigenous women, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

⏰ Deadline: 6 September 2026 (23:59 Geneva time)

🔗 Apply here: https://wp.me/p23f03-as5

💡 Pro Tip: Take time to prepare a strong recommendation letter from your indigenous organization or community. Clearly demonstrate your commitment to promoting indigenous rights and explain how you will share the knowledge gained with your community after completing the fellowship.

HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.

Call for input for the report on international solidarity and faith-based and humanist organizations

by hreusaAugust 14, 2026Leave a comment

The UN OHCHR is calling for inputs to inform the Independent Expert’s report on human rights, international solidarity and faith-based organizations to be presented to the 65th session of the UN Human Rights Council in June 2027.

The report will set out to understand the role of these communities and organizations in promoting mutual respect, peace, social cohesion, social capital, and common understanding across diverse societies. The report seeks to identify the risks they face, as well as best practices, and aims to provide recommendations to open spaces for further international solidarity actions.

Inputs will be accepted in English, French, and Spanish and should be submitted by 16 October to hrc-ie-solidarity@un.org.

Click here for more details.

HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.

2026-27 Webinar Series: Fourteenth Amendment, Section Two: Representation, Voting Rights, and Constitutional Enforcement.

by hreusaAugust 13, 2026Leave a comment

The Fourteenth Amendment contains a safeguard for voting rights that has remained largely dormant for more than 150 years.

What happens when a constitutional protection exists on paper, but is rarely enforced?

Join the Center for Civic Education on Tuesday, Aug. 18, at 7 p.m. ET for the first webinar of the 2026-27 series, Fourteenth Amendment, Section Two: Representation, Voting Rights, and Constitutional Enforcement.

Section Two of the Fourteenth Amendment was designed to protect representative government by reducing a state’s representation in Congress if it denied eligible citizens the right to vote. Yet despite its sweeping implications, the provision has largely gone unused.

Filmmaker Todd Drezner and attorney Jared Pettinato will explore this often-overlooked section of the Constitution and discuss Fourteen Section Two, a documentary-in-progress following an effort to revive its enforcement.

Together, we’ll examine the history behind Section Two, its relationship to voting rights and congressional representation, and a larger question at the heart of constitutional democracy: What happens when constitutional safeguards are ignored or left unenforced?

For teachers, the conversation doesn’t end with constitutional history. The webinar will also feature a classroom-ready Civic Inquiry lesson examining the expansion of voting rights and the continuing effort to ensure equal participation in representative government.

Participants will leave with practical strategies for helping students investigate constitutional change, democratic inclusion, and the ongoing work of making constitutional principles meaningful in practice.

RSVP for the webinar

HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.

Amnesty International’s Freedom Pages Art and Literature Competition

by hreusaAugust 13, 2026Leave a comment

As part of Amnesty International’s 2026 Banned Books Week Action, we invite you to help spread the word about our Youth Art & Literature Competition, an opportunity for young people to explore human rights and freedom of expression through creative expression.

Each year during Banned Books Week, Amnesty International highlights the stories of individuals around the world who have been threatened, imprisoned, disappeared, or otherwise targeted because of their writing, art, journalism, advocacy, or other forms of creative expression. This year, we are spotlighting individuals from Algeria, Mali, Iran, Russia, the Philippines, the United States, and Palestine who have faced human rights violations for speaking out.

To engage youth in these important issues, we are inviting them to create and submit an original work of art or piece of literature inspired by one of the creative prompts featured on our submission form. Through this project, young people can examine themes of freedom of expression, censorship, and human rights while raising awareness about the experiences of individuals at risk and the importance of defending the right to speak, create, and share ideas freely.

We would greatly appreciate your help in sharing this opportunity with your networks, especially students, educators, libraries, youth groups, after-school programs, and community organizations.

Learn more and submit an entry here!

HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.

Native Knowledge 360° Teach-In

by hreusaAugust 11, 2026Leave a comment

Saturday, September 26

Washington, D.C. and New York City

The tenth annual Native Knowledge 360° (NK360°) Teach-In offers interactive workshops on lessons for K–12 students that center on Native voices and histories. Participants will learn how to bring the museum’s exhibitions and the resource-rich NK360° education initiative into their teaching practices.

Join us in person on Saturday, September 26:National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. National Museum of the American Indian in New York City

We will also host an ONLINE teach-in on Saturday, November 7.

HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.