Summer Institute for Climate Change Education 

The Summer Institute for Climate Change Education returns virtually July 17–21 for a week of professional development around climate change education. We already have climate justice leaders planning workshops around storytelling and the intersection of Indigenous ecological knowledge and climate science. Registration is open now, with scholarships available to support educators needing financial assistance to attend.

Date: Three days during the week of July 17-21, 2023
Times: 10am CT to 6pm CT on July 17 & 18, may vary by cohort
Location: Virtual, may vary by cohort — more information about cohort day schedules available on the registration page.
Cost: $250 (may vary by cohort)
Attendees may apply for up to 20 continuing education credits.

LEARN MORE AND REGISTER

Bonus: Minnesota teachers are invited to participate in one of three TeachScience workshops happening this summer in the Twin Cities, Mankato, and Grand Rapids. Gain resources for teaching climate change, network with other educators and green career professionals in their community, and experience place-based learning practices that support new MN science standards. Learn more and register!

Human Rights Cities Leadership Summit

Human Rights Cities Alliance, Southern Center for Human Rights, Southern Poverty Law Center, Organization for Human Rights and Democracy, American Friends Service Committee-South Region

The Human Rights Cities Leadership Summit will take place in downtown Atlanta Georgia from May 18-21. Following the city’s recent passage of a resolution naming Atlanta the newest U.S. Human Rights City, Atlanta civil society and partners, along with supportive City Council members invite community activists, policy practitioners, legal experts, youth, and municipal leaders to come together to share ideas, lessons, and tools for promoting human rights in cities and communities. Now more than ever, cities need innovative ideas and strategies to address problems of affordable housing, community safety, climate change, racial and gender inequities, and reparatory justice. Learn how cities around the world are using international human rights law and institutions to shape local policies, with powerful impacts at the local level. Plenaries and breakout sessions will provide opportunities to learn, exchange and network. 

May 18-21, 2023, Atlanta, Georgia

>> Register

The UN Human Rights Council Training Programme is open for applications

The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) is now offering the June and September editions of the Human Rights Council Training Programme. This course will run online, in parallel with the official UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The deadline to apply for the June Edition is 1st June 2023, and for the September Edition, it is 7th September. For more information, please visit UNITAR’s official website.

>> Learn more

NEA: The State of Educator Pay in America

Annual reports from NEA examine educator pay and school funding from pre-K through college. They reveal an alarming trend of decreased educator pay and inadequate investment in public schools and universities as teacher turnover has hit historic highs.

The reports, released by the National Education Association, show a perfect storm brewing as educator shortages continue to grip schools nationwide. >> Access resource

Building Hopes: Engaged Educators Change the World Podcast

Announcing the new podcast “Building Hopes: Engaged Educators Change the World,” hosted by Teresa Cappiali and co-created with Francesca Cerri! 

Inspired by the work of Paulo Freire, the podcast engages with some of the most innovative educators, human rights advocates, and community leaders using critical and transformative pedagogy in their work. Together with our guests, we explore how they use this approach to promote human rights and social justice by empowering individuals and communities. 
With this podcast, listeners will learn more about the work by Paulo Freire and how leaders and communities use and reinvent critical pedagogy to change the world.

The first episode is titled Empowering Through Creative Arts-making, and it is dedicated to the incredible work by André de Quadros, a music educator from Boston University (USA). The second episode in two weeks is dedicated to Jeffrey Duncan-Andrade, the co-founder of the famous School Lab Roses in Concrete.  

You can find the information concerning the episode and the speaker on the main page of the podcast, hosted by Raoul Wallenberg Institute for Human Rights (RWI), and on Spotify and Soundcloud: 

>> RWI
>> Spotify
>> SoundCloud

Erasmus+ Traineeship Application: Vienna Master of Applied Human Rights

The Vienna Master of Arts in Applied Human Rights at the University of Applied Arts Vienna (Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien) was established in spring 2020. The Vienna Master of Arts in Applied Human Rights offers students an in-depth interdisciplinary education in the history, philosophy, politics, as well as legal dimension of the international human rights standards and their protection mechanisms by international organizations. The program also offers practical applicability of artistic and cultural work in creating opportunities for promoting, protecting and implementing human rights.

The Vienna Master of Arts in Applied Human Rights offers Program Assistants (i.e., Erasmus+ Trainees) a unique opportunity to work within an educational framework that applies an interdisciplinary approach to combining human rights and arts. They will gain knowledge and practical skills in the application of human rights education, entry level office work, leadership and project management, and more.

Dates of Traineeship: 7 August 2023 – 9 February 2024
Location: Vienna, Austria

Applications due Sunday, May 7, 2023

>> Learn more

Two new episodes with Marissa Gutiérrez-Vicario on Human Rights Education NOW!

We are pleased to announce the availability of our third installment of podcast episodes in Human Rights Education NOW!. These two episodes feature conversations with Marissa Gutiérrez-Vicario, the Founder and Executive Director of Art and Resistance Through Education (ARTE), based out of New York City. Marissa is a committed human rights activist, artist, educator, and advocate for youth, and currently, serves as an Adjunct Lecturer at the City College of New York in the Art Education Department. Marissa sits on the Steering Committee at HRE USA, and is working toward her doctorate at Teachers College Columbia University.

Full topic listing available for PDF download HERE. Listen on our Buzzsprout podcast website HERE.

Episode 5: Marissa Gutiérrez-Vicario Part One

Marissa Gutiérrez-Vicario discusses her background and work in human rights activism, particularly in the context of her organization ArteJustice. She talks about her Chicana heritage and the activists who inspired her, as well as the connections between human rights and activism. She explains the development of ArteJustice and the importance of using visual arts to promote activism about human rights issues.

Topics discussed:

  • Art and Resistance Through Education (ARTE)
  • Chicana heritage and inspiring HRE activist
  • Connections between human rights and activism 
  • Development of ArteJustice
  • Importance of visual arts in promoting activism and human rights



Episode 6: Marissa Gutiérrez-Vicario Part Two

In this second half of our podcast installment with Marissa Gutiérrez, she discusses her spiritual journey and its connections to her work in human rights, particularly in the area of racial justice. She talks about the significance of partnerships in advancing social justice work and the role of the federal government in promoting human rights in the US. Lastly, Marissa shares insights on the critical changes necessary to accelerate HRE in the USA, including using language to empower and train young people. Topics discussed:

  • Spiritual journeys and the connection to human rights
  • Human rights and racial justice
  • The importance of partnerships in advancing social justice work
  • The role of the federal government in advancing human rights in the U.S.
  • Insights on the critical changes necessary to advance HRE in the U.S.
  • Language as empowerment and training for young people

Livestream from Minneapolis: The International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in the context of Law Enforcement (EMLER)

Date & Time: May 2, 9am – 12pm CT

Livestream the event here: https://umn.zoom.us/j/94155044128

What: The United Nations is coming to Minneapolis! During this meeting with civil society on May 2, they will hear from Black directly impacted community members regarding police violence and systemic racism against people of African descent. The UN will also, separately, meet with government officials and other stakeholders.

Themes: Youth, Solitary Confinement and the School-to-Prison Pipeline, Families of Victims of Police Violence.

MINNEAPOLIS UN VISIT ORGANIZED BY:

Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence, Atlas of Blackness, Urban League Twin Cities/Minneapolis, RFK Human Rights, University of Minnesota, Center for Victims of Torture, Advocates for Human Rights, and UN Antiracism Coalition (UNARC).

*Please note that all testimonies have already been selected by community members, so there is no opportunity to testify during the event.

The International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in the context of Law Enforcement (EMLER) will visit the United States of America from April 24 – May 5, 2023. During the mission, the Expert Mechanism will travel to different cities around the country to meet with national stakeholders, including government officials, law enforcement authorities, civil society organisations, United Nations representatives, academics, lawyers, survivors of police violence and families of victims.

Background: After the killing of George Floyd, advocates (including the families of those killed by police and George Floyd’s brother) went to the UN Human Rights Council to ask for an investigation into the killing of Black people in the U.S. by law enforcement and the targeting of protestors. At the time, advocates did not get what they wanted, but UNARC founding members strategized and pressured the UN to create a mechanism to specifically address this issue and also to include the root causes (colonialism and the Transatlantic slave trade). As a result of this advocacy, EMLER was created.

United States: Now, nearly three years after advocates, alongside George Floyd’s brother and many of the victim’s families, pleaded for the UN to come to the U.S., EMLER is conducting an in-person country visit to the United States (April 24-May 5, 2023).

  • The experts will visit Washington, DC, New York City, Atlanta, Chicago, Minnesota and Los Angeles.
  • Meet the United Nations Antiracism Coalition (UNARC) team here.
  • Meet the Experts here.

Resources for World Press Freedom Day – May 3

May 3rd is World Press Freedom Day. The proliferation of independent media in many countries and the rise of digital technologies have enabled the free flow of information. However, media freedom, safety of journalists and freedom of expression are increasingly under attack, which impacts the fulfillment of other human rights. 
 In order to remind the global community of the importance of an independent press and freedom of expression, a special event is taking place at UN Headquarters in NYC. On this webpage you can register for the live streaming of events. You can also register any events you are organizing to mark this occasion. 

HREA’s Online Resource Center contains numerous resources for teaching about freedom of expression. 

>> Access resource