Category: Events

The world can be a challenging place for children. This conference will celebrate the courageous efforts that are occurring around the world to improve the provisions, protections, and participation of young people. You will be introduced to people whose work gives us hope.  They shine light the way ahead during these times of despair. We hear plenty about despair and not enough about hope and the wonderful things people are doing to make the lives of young people better.

This is a free, open to the public virtual conference. CEUs are available upon request.

This conference is an educational opportunity provided by the SSU Center for Childhood & Youth Studies.

April 5, 2024 – Starts at 8:30 am ET, virtual

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Around the world, young scholars are focusing their work on research that is designed to change the world for the better. The Fellow at Salem State University Center for Childhood and Youth Studies will share their cutting-edge ideas! This conference focuses on diversity and inclusion, particularly in families, schools, education, criminal justice, and in the challenges that refugee children face.

This is a free, open to the public virtual conference. CEUs are available upon request.

This conference is an educational opportunity provided by the SSU Center for Childhood & Youth Studies.

March 29, 2024 – 8:30 am – 4 pm (ET), virtual

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Monday, March 25, 7pm ET

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Summary
The right to vote as established in Article 21 of the UDHR is the bedrock of democracy and essential to the fulfillment of other rights. Yet this fundamental right is under attack. This module is designed to address the problem of voter suppression and voter apathy by engaging participants in ways they can promote voting and voting rights in their own communities and classrooms

Objectives

• Establish the importance of voting and civic engagement to human rights and democracy
• Discuss modern day voter suppression and voter apathy
• Develop ways to promote the vote and combat voter suppression in one’s own community

March 28, 6-8pm

How does viewing abortion through a human rights lens shift our analysis, understanding, and approach to this highly contested issue? What is the relationship between human rights and reproductive justice, and how can these approaches help bridge the diversity of viewpoints about abortion? How might embedding abortion in the human rights framework contribute to the global fight against authoritarianism and in defense of democracy more broadly?

These and other questions will be considered by a panel of national leaders in the reproductive justice, racial justice, and human rights movements at “Abortion as a Human Right: A Dialogue.” This event will take place on Thursday, March 28, 2024, 6-8 p.m. in the Carroll Room, Julia McWilliams Child ’34 Campus Center, Smith College, and will feature:

• Byllye Y. Avery, Founder, Black Women’s Health Imperative
• Amy Hagstrom Miller, Founder, Whole Woman’s Health abortion clinics 
• Regina Davis Moss, Executive Director, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda
• Rosalind Petchesky ’64, Distinguished Professor Emerita, Hunter College, and Founder, International Reproductive Rights Research Action Group 
• Loretta Ross, Associate Professor of the Study of Women & Gender, Smith College and Co-creator of Reproductive Justice Theory

Marlene Gerber Fried, Professor Emerita of Philosophy at Hampshire College and the Founder of Collective Power for Reproductive Justice, will moderate the panel.

This event is organized by fellows in the 2023-24 Kahn Institute long-term project, (Re)visioning Human Rights, Democracy and the Liberal Arts, which serves as an unbounded space for developing new research, teaching, and practice models at the intersection of liberal arts education, human rights, and the future of democracies.

Sponsored by the Smith College Kahn Institute for Liberal Arts, Smith College Special Collections, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Free and open to the public. All viewpoints are welcome. Light refreshments will be available following the panel.

For disability access information or accommodation requests, please call 413-585-2407. To request a sign language interpreter, email ods@smith.edu at least ten days before the event.

We are excited to invite you to an inspiring and empowering Human Rights Education USA Training As Action Series (TAAS) event focused on promoting gender equality through youth-led initiatives. 

HRE USA TAAS Special Global Screening & Conversation

Saturday, March 16th from 8:00  – 9:30 am PT / 11:00 am – 12:30 pm ET

Register in advance

This HRE USA TAAS Special Global Screening, co-sponsored by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Amnesty International (AI), and Soka Gakkai International (SGI), is centered around the multimedia resource “Changemakers: Stories of Young Human Rights Educators.” Launched in December 2023 by AI, SGI, and the OHCHR, this resource aims to inspire and empower young people to advocate for human rights causes.

Summary and what to expect:

• Screening: Be captivated by the stories of three remarkable young human rights educators whose lives have been transformed by their commitment to human rights education.
• Interactive Discussion: Engage in a thought-provoking dialogue on the role of youth in promoting gender equality through human rights education.
• Q&A Session: Hear directly from three inspiring individuals featured in the multimedia resource
  • Ms. Dejana Stosic from Serbia (gender equality and gender-based violence)
  • Mr. Soufiane Hennani from Morocco (gender diversity and equality)
  • Ms. Aizat Ruslanova from Kyrgyzstan (women’s human rights)

Objectives:

• Present stories of youth empowerment through human rights education, as documented in the multimedia resource.
• Provide a space for dialogue on human rights education for, with and by youth as a tool to promote human rights, including gender equality.
• Discuss ideas on how to utilize the multimedia resource as well as other innovative formats to strengthen human rights education for youth in formal and non-formal contexts.

The event is designed for young individuals and anyone in the general public passionate about advancing human rights and gender equality. Let’s unite to empower youth as effective advocates for gender equality and human rights.

We look forward to your participation!

The HRE USA TAAS Team

Kara Anderson, HRE USA Edmonds Fellow (‘23), Albion College Student

Justine Ho, HRE USA Intern, Rutgers University Student

Meredith Hood, HRE USA Edmonds Fellow (‘23)

Annika Malholtra, HRE USA Intern, Rutgers University Student

Hallie McRae, HRE USA Steering Committee, University of California, Berkeley Student

Kristi Rudelius-Palmer, HRE USA Steering Committee

Elizabeth Schwab, HRE USA Steering Committee & Boston College Student

Jess Terbrueggen, HREUSA Steering Committee

Maddy Wegner, HRE USA Steering Committee

Adrianna Zhang, HRE USA Steering Committee, Stanford University Student

Monday, February 26, 2024 – 7-9 pm ET

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Human Rights Educators USA’s annual Training as Action Series (TAAS) is a virtual training series focused on bridging personal and collective action on some of the most critical human rights issues of today. TAAS creates an educational space to connect and collaborate with others in human rights education and training. It also gives participants the skills and information needed to take action on rights issues in their communities. The 2023-2024 training series will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and center on the theme, “Protecting Democracy, Promoting Human Rights.” Sessions will discuss topics such as voting rights, facilitating difficult conversations, organizing an advocacy campaign, communicating with decision makers, protesting, and mental wellness.

Summary
Human rights work often takes an emotional toll on its practitioners, but there are ways to mitigate this toll and find joy and solidarity in the work. This final module aims to explore how to integrate wellness strategies into the various actions discussed throughout the training series, and to establish the importance of self-care in order to care for others.

Objectives

• Understand the importance of maintaining mental wellness during human rights work
• Discuss ways to find joy and solidarity
• Explore how to integrate mental wellness strategies when organizing advocacy campaigns, protests/demonstrations, and other human rights initiatives

Tuesday, March 12, 2024 | George Washington University and National Archives, Washington D.C.

2024 and Beyond: Civic Learning as a Unifying Force

Register to Attend    Register to Watch

U.S. Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Amy Coney Barrett will join the Civic Learning Week National Forum on March 12, 2024, livestreamed from Washington, D.C. Showcasing the Justices’ shared commitment to high-quality civic education, the featured conversation will be moderated by Eric Liu, co-founder and CEO of Citizen University, and address student questions about the judicial system and civic engagement, as well as the Justices’ legal career paths. The discussion will highlight the civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions gained through civic education, and why civics is essential to sustaining and strengthening constitutional democracy in the United States.

The forum will also include panel discussions and research presentations on Information Literacy, Bridging the Divide, and Elections as a Teachable Moment, concluding with a Fireside Chat between Archivist of the United States Colleen Shogan and Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona (tentative). View full schedule and ticketing options.

We’re pleased to announce that HRE USA will be presenting at the 2024 IAHRE Conference: Extending Human Rights Education in London, April 19, 2024!

The HRE USA Podcast Team’s poster session is titled, “Human Rights Education Now! Podcast: Building a Space for Critical Human Rights Education Discussions in the U.S.”

HRE USA has become a member of this global network, our members are encouraged to attend!

>> IAHRE conference information and registration
>> IAHRE website

Tuesday, March 12, 2024 | George Washington University and National Archives, Washington D.C.

2024 and Beyond: Civic Learning as a Unifying Force

Register to Attend    Register to Watch

U.S. Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Amy Coney Barrett will join the Civic Learning Week National Forum on March 12, 2024, livestreamed from Washington, D.C. Showcasing the Justices’ shared commitment to high-quality civic education, the featured conversation will be moderated by Eric Liu, co-founder and CEO of Citizen University, and address student questions about the judicial system and civic engagement, as well as the Justices’ legal career paths. The discussion will highlight the civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions gained through civic education, and why civics is essential to sustaining and strengthening constitutional democracy in the United States.

The forum will also include panel discussions and research presentations on Information Literacy, Bridging the Divide, and Elections as a Teachable Moment, concluding with a Fireside Chat between Archivist of the United States Colleen Shogan and Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona (tentative). View full schedule and ticketing options.

On Monday, February 5, 2024, policy advocate Heather McGhee will discuss The Sum of Us: How Racism Hurts Everyone, the young readers’ edition of her bestselling book and the podcast companion series.

Heather McGhee is distinguished lecturer of urban studies at CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies. In addition to testifying before Congress, drafting legislation, and developing strategies for organizations and campaigns, McGhee is chair of the board of Color of Change.

McGhee will be in conversation with Jesse Hagopian and Cierra Kaler-Jones. Jesse teaches Ethnic Studies and is the co-adviser to the Black Student Union at Garfield High School in Seattle. He is an editor for Rethinking Schools, the co-editor of Teaching for Black Lives, editor of More Than a Score: The New Uprising Against High-Stakes Testing, and on the leadership team of the Zinn Education Project. Cierra serves as the executive director of Rethinking Schools. Cierra is also on the leadership team of the Zinn Education Project, and is a teacher, a dancer, a writer, and a researcher. She previously served as director of storytelling at the Communities for Just Schools Fund.

Monday, February 5, 2024 at 4pm (PT)/7pm (ET), virtual

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