April 17, 2026
8:30 am – 2:30 pm
The Center for Childhood & Youth Studies is hosting a free virtual conference that shares the Global Wisdom of 10 Scholars who are part of its international Fellows Program. Research and recommendations on how to improve children and youth wellbeing will be shared by scholars from England, China, India, Pakistan, and the USA.
HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.
Please join us as we wrap up our Democracy Dialogues and plan next steps!
We deeply apologize for the unexpected cancellation of our culminating Democracy Dialogue on March 27th. All team members hosting had unexpected circumstances arise and the ball was dropped. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused to our participants.
We hope that you will join us this Friday, April 10th, for our rescheduled dialogue. If you can’t join us, or if you haven’t yet joined us, please stay tuned for next steps and future dialogue opportunities.
We hope that you will join us this Friday, April 10th, for our rescheduled dialogue. If you can’t join us, or if you haven’t yet joined us, please stay tuned for next steps and future dialogue opportunities.
FINAL SESSION April 10
8am – 9:30am Pacific Time
Oct 24 Connection building
Nov 21 Democracy and Polarization
Dec 19: Loneliness and Democracy
Jan 23: Freedom of Speech
Feb 27 Civil Disobedience
> April 10: Action and Concluding Dialogue <
All are welcome! Register in Advance
HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.
Wednesday April 8, 6:00-7:15PM Eastern/ 3:00PM Pacific
Today in the United States we face a human rights emergency. The deployment of National Guard and ICE agents in major cities usurps the basic rights of residents as well as local authority. Rights to free speech and assembly are under attack, and courts are failing to hold leaders accountable to the law. The international human rights system can provide a court of appeal for situations like this. This panel of legal experts, advocates, and scholars will discuss how international human rights can be a tool for cities and local movements serving as the front line defenders of human rights.
Panelists: Lisa Borden, Deputy Federal Policy Director, Southern Poverty Law Center; Jamil Dakwar, Director, Human Rights Program, American Civil Liberties Union; Amy Berquist, Associate Program Director, International Justice Program, The Advocates for Human Rights (Minneapolis)
Facilitator: Manisha Desai, Director, Center for Changing Systems of Power at Stony Brook University & Board member, Human Rights Cities Alliance
Co-sponsored by the Human Rights Cities Alliance, US Human Rights Network, and Center for Changing Systems of Power at Stony Brook UniversityFor more information see human-rights-cities.org
Email: info@humanrightscities.mayfirst.org
HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.
The Center for Civic Education has released a new fifth edition of its flagship textbook, We the People: The Citizen & the Constitution, Level 3, for high school students. Beyond teaching facts about the Constitution and the fundamental principles of American government, this inquiry-based curriculum transforms classrooms into forums for civil discourse. The revised edition contains six units and 36 lessons, a trusted format that has been updated with the latest developments in American constitutional governance.
New in this edition are Archive Investigations, where students use primary sources to deepen their understanding of constitutional issues; Beyond the Basics sidebars that spur students to ask deeper questions about the topics covered in the lessons; Stop and Reflect prompts that challenge students to extend their thinking and make connections between the text and other concepts and ideas; and Collaborate Together questions that drive civil dialogue and critical thinking in teams to extend learning and consider different perspectives. Order from Gibbs Smith Education or learn more below. Available in print and digital editions.
HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.
Teaching for Change’s work began decades ago with teacher committees in solidarity with Central America. We developed lessons and workshops to address the scarcity of resources in the K–12 curriculum. Those resources are now available online at our Teaching Central America site for year round access. To focus attention on the region during Latinx Heritage Month, we host Teach Central America Week (first week of October.)
We are delighted to share updates on our program and also invaluable new resources from our colleagues, including a 14-minute film on El Salvador by Pablo Leon, story maps on contemporary topics such as the Afro-Indigenous Garifuna people and the truth about President Bukele, and new books for middle school to adult.
In this award-winning, classroom-friendly, 14-minute animated film by Pablo Leon, a journalist documents the experiences of three people who lived through the tragic 12-year-long Salvadoran Civil War in the 1980s.
The film explores themes of childhood loss and violence against women and the Indigenous population. Storytelling and memory offer hope for the future. View Film
HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.
Applications are now open for the UN Nairobi Immersion Programme, a 5-day field visit to Nairobi organized by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) in 2026. Scholarships are available.
Enhance your expertise in diplomacy and gain direct access to the United Nations with this immersive training programme, including gaining a deeper understanding of UN career pathways and networking with UN staff.
The United Nations Nairobi Immersion Programme (1st June – 5th June 2026) includes expert lecturers, training workshops, conferences and guided tours through UN premises. Participants will also have the chance to participate in career development sessions on how to advance their professional careers and find a solid footing in the world of international organizations.
HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.
Mischa Geracoulis is Outreach and Engagement Officer at Project Censored and Production Lead at The Censored Press. She contributes to the State of the Free Press yearbook, serves as a Project Judge, and authored Media Framing and the Destruction of Cultural Heritage (Routledge, 2025).Mischa is also a Global Press Freedom Expert and Index Respondent with Reporters Without Borders. Her work focuses on human rights, journalistic ethics, press freedom, and the preservation of cultural heritage. She holds an M.A. in Education and Media Studies and a B.A. in International Development with a concentration on the Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) region. Her journalistic portfolio can be found at: https://muckrack.com/mischa-geracoulis/portfolio.
In this episode of Human Rights Education Now!, Mischa Geracoulis examines how human rights, journalism, and the preservation of cultural heritage intersect, focusing on the legacy of the Armenian genocide. She discusses how cultural erasure and historical silences cause ongoing human rights violations and how journalism documents these histories to resist erasure.
The conversation centers on cultural heritage as a human rights issue, focusing on Rafael Lemkin’s work and media narratives. Mischa’s discussion of “change-centered” journalism and the role of microhistories in amplifying marginalized voices links to Edward Said’s Orientalism and critiques of media and power.
Mischa describes her work with Project Censored, focusing on promoting critical media literacy and defending freedom of expression under Articles 19 and 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The episode centers on contemporary censorship, particularly political pressures on academic and journalistic freedom, and how media institutions shape or suppress truth.
The discussion concludes with a global perspective on the destruction of cultural heritage, including the case of Nagorno-Karabakh, and a call for educators to integrate critical media literacy and cultural heritage into human rights education. Mischa emphasizes that empowering individuals to critically analyze media and recognize whose voices are included or excluded is essential for advancing human rights in the modern world.
· Origins of Mischa Geracoulis’ work in human rights and journalism
· Armenian genocide and cultural erasure
· Journalism’s role in documenting human rights abuses
· Cultural heritage as a human rights issue
· Microhistories and change-centered journalism
· Edward Said’s Orientalism and media analysis
· Project Censored and media accountability
· Critical media literacy in human rights education
· Censorship, propaganda, and academic freedom
· Cultural destruction in Nagorno-Karabakh
· Educators’ role in preserving cultural heritage
Human rights; Human rights education; Cultural heritage; Armenian genocide; Microhistories; Rafael Lemkin; Change-centered journalism; Edward Said; Orientalism; Project Censored; Critical media literacy; Armenian SSR; Nagorno-Karabakh; Journalism education; Daniel Ellsberg; Ben Bagdikian; Nelson Mandela; Gandhi
Full topic listing available for PDF download HERE.
Listen on our Buzzsprout podcast website HERE.
Buzzsprout, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Deezer, PlayerFM, Pocket Casts, and the HRE USA website,
Thank you for supporting the Human Rights Education NOW! podcast!
HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.
The Master of Science in Human Rights at Binghamton University offers human rights approaches to a variety of issues including education, health, violence, children, family, poverty, incarceration, immigration, and the political economy.Students will develop competencies in community organizing, social innovation and program evaluation as well as professional skills for working in human rights organizations at the local, regional, national and international levels.
HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.
Are you a youth advocate or a frontline journalist? Do you know someone with the drive and gifts to make a difference?
The HART Prize for Human Rights celebrates diverse voices and perspectives. With your creativity and sensitivity, we want to bring human rights into the light. The competition is free to enter, and runs from March 16th to May 15th.
Youth
The creative and essay categories are open to 11-25 year olds. The brief is simple: we’re looking for clear and thoughtful submissions about a forgotten conflict or human rights issue that does not have mainstream attention. Find out more.
Journalism
We’re thrilled to launch a new category spotlighting frontline journalists living and working in Nigeria. If you’re a journalist working under extreme pressure who reports with precision, courage, and care, we want to hear from you. Submit an article or blog about a hidden crisis or human rights abuse, or nominate a colleague. We maintain an urgent focus on the Middle Belt. Find out more.
HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.
In honor of Women’s History Month, each day Social Justice Books features a children’s book we recommend to highlight grassroots women’s history in the United States. See our post online and follow Social Justice Books on Instagram to follow each day.
HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.
HRE USA 