hreusa

From the Zinn Education Project

As the U.S. COVID-19 death toll breaks worldwide records and passes 250,000, how are you teaching about the coronavirus? D.C. teacher Caneisha Mills wrote, “Who’s to Blame? A People’s Tribunal on the Coronavirus Pandemic,” a lesson to help her students grapple with the forces that have drastically changed and threaten their lives.
 
Modeled after the popular People vs. Columbus, et al. and other trial role plays at the Zinn Education Project website, this people’s tribunal begins with the premise that a heinous crime is being committed as millions of people’s lives are in danger due to the spread of COVID-19. But who — and/or what — is responsible for this crime? Who should be held accountable for its devastating effects?

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HRE USA member and filmmaker, Adam Stone has created and released for free a short 5-minute film entitled Declarations. Inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and the art and writing of feminist painter Saribenne Evesong (1931-2009), Declarations uses art, and the art of movement, to examine empathy as a facilitator of sustainable love, peace, and justice.

The film has been made available for public viewing with the hope that it can be used by educators and advocates as an informative and inspirational catalyst for discussion around the UDHR and such issues as human rights, social justice, empathy, and peace.  

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This holiday season, consider giving the gift of human rights education with The Human Rights Game© by The Brainary.  Built around the foundation of the 30 Articles of the UDHR, and the three pillars of the United Nations Freedom, Equity, and Dignity, The Human Rights Game aimsis to make a positive difference by teaching children and teens about the rights, freedoms, and responsibilities.

Through the game, players are challenged to make better choices, based on the UDHR, in a rapidly changing world whereby customs, ethics, and values are learned from non-traditional sources often with materialistic and prejudiced underpinnings. Much of the learning takes place through discussion, short storytelling, and problem-solving. Players are also encouraged to develop an understanding that freedom and rights also come with responsibilities, and learn the importance and relevance of healthy rules and regulations in life.

As an added bonus, 45% of the proceeds from the purchase of every game will go to support Human Rights Educators USA and our mission to promote human dignity, justice, and peace through a vibrant base of support for human rights education (HRE) within the United States.

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Every year on December 10th the world celebrates Human Rights Day – the day on which the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

A milestone document in the global history of human rights, the UDHR is infused with values and ideals drawn from the world over. Drafted by UN representatives from diverse cultural and technical backgrounds, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. The UDHR – the most translated document in the world, available in more than 500 languages — is as relevant today as it was on the day that it was proclaimed.

HRE USA has put together an online resource kit to help you celebrate the gift of the UDHR in your classroom and re-affirm the enduring human rights principles and standards that it helped establish.

Be sure to also check out our UDHR posters and our  Human Rights booklets on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.

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Columbia University is offering a free online course on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In this course, you will learn about the achievements, challenges, and potential of the dynamic interface between the Indigenous People’s movement and the international community including the UN system. You will explore how Indigenous Peoples have challenged social norms and institutions in recent decades and how they shaped the decolonization of various systems at the global, regional, and national levels.

>> Learn more and register