hreusa

HRE USA member Mischa Geracoulis has just come out with a new book, published by Routledge!

Analyzing media coverage in cases where cultural heritage sites have been destroyed during conflict, occupation, and war, this book highlights the important role media play in the preservation of cultural heritage when states or other combatants engage in human rights violations.

Author Mischa Geracoulis discusses how the role of journalism and the media during times of conflict is to report information from the front lines and war zones with integrity, and report accurately when states or other combatants engage in human rights violations. This book examines the media coverage, language, and discourse surrounding two key situations—the destruction of Armenian cultural heritage in Artsakh/Nagorno‑Karabakh and that of Palestinian cultural heritage in Gaza—and explores the ways media coverage has succeeded or failed in accurately illustrating the destruction of cultural heritage as a human rights violation. Geracoulis emphasizes the importance of factual, ethical reporting and sufficient coverage, underlining professional journalistic standards and best practices for the future to ensure similar destruction is not only understood but responded to within a human rights framework.

This book will be of interest to students and scholars of media, journalism, and cultural studies, as well as media professionals interested in the role and influence of media framing and narratives on war, conflict, human rights, and humanitarian response.

>> Learn more 

Which social problem moves you? At the 2025 Theater and Human Rights Institute, teachers will learn how they and their students can use theater to reflect, learn, speak up, and share stories to bring about change.

This professional development workshop introduces human rights education frameworks and theater-based learning techniques as an effective method for engaging students with human rights issues. Co-hosted by Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and Educators for Excellence, this three-day event will be held in person in New York City from June 13 to June 15.

The institute will provide guidance on researching and writing dramatic monologues based on the lives of both global and local human rights defenders, aligning these narratives with various subject areas such as social sciences, language arts, and environmental studies. During the event, attendees will learn how to facilitate project-based learning opportunities for students, including participation in the Speak Truth to Power video contest and the staging of performances featuring defender monologues. Educators will also learn how to incorporate the Human Rights Temperature of Your School assessment tool to measure students’ understanding of human rights and social-emotional learning competencies, ensuring the program’s impact is both measurable and meaningful.

Friday, June 13 – Sunday, June 15, 2025, 9 am–4 pm, New York City

>> Learn more

Thank you to The Brainary for its generous contribution to HRE USA of 1,300 copies of The Human Rights Game! All proceeds for the games—currently 1/2 price from $50 to $25—through our Online Shop will support HRE USA Regional Chapters throughout the United States.

HRE USA wants to extend a BIG SHOUT OUT thanks to HRE USA’s Regional Charter Representatives who are serving as our four region distributors for HRE training and outreach support with the Human Rights Games:

• Julie Rinker (Texas Rep. – South)
• Maddy Wegner (Minnesota Rep. – Midwest)
• Jess Westhoff (Idaho Rep. – West)
• Yvonne Vissing (New Hampshire – East)

Please contact Kristi Rudelius-Palmer at kristi@hreusa.org if you have forthcoming trainings where The Human Rights Game may be showcased at conferences where you can help to sell them to sustain our local human rights education efforts.

>> See The Human Rights Game (50% off!) in our shop

The Zinn Education Project, in conjunction with more than 80 prominent racial and social justice organizations, will hold a national briefing on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, to discuss the growing chorus of diverse voices speaking out against the state and federal attack on students’ freedom to learn and educators’ freedom to teach.

For the past four summers, educators, students, parents, and allies have joined across the country to speak out against politicians attempting to restrict the freedoms of educators and students. This year, from Puerto Rico to Alaska, and many towns and cities in between, organizers will host more than 160 events on Saturday, June 7 and beyond. The goal is to raise awareness about how anti-history education laws and book bans — and their chilling effect — threaten any chance of an informed and engaged democracy. View a list of locations and activities.

What: Day of Action to Teach the Truth Briefing, June 3 (The Day of Action is on June 7.)

When: Tuesday, June 3, 2025, 1:00 pm – 1:50 pm EST

Where: Via Zoom.  

Why:  To draw attention to the chilling effects the restrictive laws introduced or passed that restrict, ban, or censor what educators can teach and what their students can learn about history, LGBTQ+ rights, race, and gender, among other topics.

>> Learn more and RSVP

We are pleased to announce the availability of our latest installment of podcast episodes in Human Rights Education NOW! Episodes 56 & 57 feature conversations with Loretta J. Ross.

Loretta J. Ross is a Professor at Smith College in the Program for the Study of Women and Gender, where she teaches courses on white supremacy, human rights, and calling in the calling-out culture. A lifelong activist and scholar, she co-created the theory of Reproductive Justice and has led national movements for over five decades, including organizing the 2004 March for Women’s Lives and serving as the director of SisterSong from 2005 to 2012. Loretta has held leadership roles in organizations such as the National Black Women’s Health Project and the D.C. Rape Crisis Center, where she was one of the first African American women to serve as director. She is a MacArthur Fellow (Class of 2022), a 2024 National Women’s Hall of Fame inductee, and the author of multiple books on reproductive justice and social change, including Calling In. A survivor of rape, incest, and sterilization abuse, Loretta continues to inspire through her resilience, scholarship, and commitment to justice. She is also a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.

Thank you for supporting the Human Rights Education NOW! podcast!

Join this collaborative webinar from the Center for Civic Education and History UnErased to explore how experiential civic learning and case studies can equip students with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to advocate for issues they care about. This session features practical tools and lessons from Project Citizen and the primary source-based teaching materials from History UnErased’s Intersections & Connections US History, Civics, and Social Studies supplemental curriculum to help you guide your students in developing and presenting policy proposals and historical insights in public forums.

June 3, 2025, 7:00-8:30 pm EST, virtual

>> Register

Visit this page to get up to date on the latest HRE USA news.

See past issues of the newsletter here.

The Secretariat Universities Network For Children in Armed (UNETCHAC) will be holding its Advanced Training Course on International Criminal Jurisdiction and Children in Armed Conflict. The course will take place both in person at the University Niccolò Cusano in Rome and online, from 9 to 13 June 2025. This intensive five-day program offers a multidisciplinary perspective on the protection of children in armed conflict and the role of international justice in addressing grave violations.

Sessions will be conducted in English, June 9–13, 2025 from 9:30 am to 1:00 pm CET.

In addition, two interactive afternoon sessions from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm CET will be dedicated to two thematic workshops.

Participants will receive a certificate of attendance upon completion.

Here is the link to the application form that can be filled out online: Application Form

Full details on the course structureand registration proceduresare available at: https://www.uninetworkforchildren.org/advanced-training-course-2025

If you want more the course email address: unetchacadvancedcourse@gmail.com