Category: Events

Human Rights 75 Youth Dialogue: Amplifying the HR75 initiative among young people

More information here!

The Youth Dialogue organized on the margins of the Human Rights 75 High-level event is aimed to ensure that young people play an active role in the HR75 initiative and in shaping human rights commitments for the future.

The event will allow young people to express their concerns and expectations about the future of human rights and share their vision of what States, the UN and young people should do to strengthen human rights in the coming years.

The Youth Dialogue will involve the discussion of the Human Rights 75 Youth Declaration, the presentation of the Youth Rights Advocacy Toolkit, and the launch of the OHCHR documentary “Changemakers: Stories of young human rights educators”.

Co-hosted by Amnesty International Nashville and Human Rights Educators USA

November 30, 2023, 8-10 pm

Location: Omni Nashville Hotel (Legends Ballroom E)

Please join us for an evening of music and celebration with inspiring Nashville musicians!  Together, we will honor the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the many educators, artists, and activists working to promote and protect human rights and the right to education.

Register at https://lnkd.in/egWHb8Zp to join Felisa Tibbitts (she/her) and André Keet on November 20 at 11 am ET as they discuss their new book, “Emancipatory Human Rights and the University.”

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
This module is designed so that participants can better understand the purpose and importance of protest, symbolic action, and creative means in promoting a human rights message while developing the necessary knowledge and skills to participate in and organize these actions.

Objectives

• Discuss the importance of the right to protest and freedom of expression to human rights and democracy
• Identify the purpose(s) of protest and symbolic action
• Understand how to safely attend a protest
• Examine how to organize a protest
• Explore other ways to make a statement such as through art, music, poetry, demonstration, and performance

TAAS Sessions:

• Protest and Beyond: Powerful Ways to Promote Your Message (Thursday, November 9th, 7-9 pm ET)
• Finding Joy: Integrating Mental Wellness into Your Advocacy Strategies (Thursday, November 16th, 7-9 pm ET)

>> Learn more

>> Register

Extending human rights education  

Friday 19 April 2024

9.30 – 17.00 

 Venue: IOE UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL, UK 

 Background 

The International Association for Human Rights Education (IAHRE) was established in June 2023 at the 15^th International Conference for Education and Democratic Citizenship (ICEDC) held at University College Dublin. Its goal is to support the development of human rights education research, scholarship and practice internationally. IAHRE has its own scholarly journal, the award-winning Human Rights Education Review, founded in 2018.   

The ICEDC annual conference was set up as a meeting place for scholars, researchers, graduate students, education policymakers, and civil society activists from across Europe and internationally. Since 2019, it has been complemented by the WERA International Research Network on Human Rights Education, coordinated by Professors Audrey Osler and Hugh Starkey which in collaboration with Human Rights Education Review has run an international webinar series. The IAHRE International Conference aims to build on this experience, providing all with a unique opportunity to present and discuss current research and policy relating to human rights education and to questions of human rights within education.  

Keynote speakers  

Our two keynote speakers are:  

Professor Sonia Livingstone Department of Media and Communications, LSE, whose research focuses on children’s rights in the digital age 

Professor Farzana Shain Geroge Wood Professor, Goldsmiths, University of London whose interests include educational inequalities, education policy, politics and human rights.   

Call for papers 

We invite scholars to submit papers to this first IAHRE International Conference Extending human rights education. We welcome contributions that review and critically reflect on human rights education, child rights education and the wider area of education and human rights from a range of perspectives, including sociology, education, law, history, politics, geography and other relevant disciplines. Papers concerned with analyses of policy and case studies of campaigns are likewise invited. We welcome contributions from researchers at all stages of their careers.  

While we invite research addressing education at all levels, we are conscious that in most societies children and young people struggle to make their voices heard since they are excluded from formal political mechanisms and frequently regarded as lacking the competence to contribute to decision-making processes. Young people also face a world of political and social uncertainties in which information sources are not always reliable. Climate change, terrorism, conflict, hate speech and xenophobia confront them in the starkest terms. Intergenerational justice is the aim of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Sustainable development includes ‘sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development’ (SDG 4). Our conference will consider how education policy and practice and education professionals, including teachers. can respond to these challenges. 

The following are indicative themes: 

• Children’s digital worlds, intergenerational justice and human rights   
• Human rights education and curriculum development  
• Critical approaches to global citizenship education 
• Migration, citizenship and rights education  
• Teacher education and human rights  
• Human rights education and language learning 
• Worldviews education and human rights 
• History education, decolonisation and human rights    

Abstracts of no more than 300 words including name, institutional affiliation and contact email should be sent, no later than Thursday 7 December 2023 to: Professor Hugh Starkey h.starkey@ucl.ac.uk. All abstracts will be peer reviewed by members of the IAHRE Conference Steering Group. Please indicate whether you would prefer to give an oral or a poster presentation. Applicants will be informed of the outcome of the review by Wednesday 20 December 2023. Selected papers will be considered for publication in our peer-reviewed journal Human Rights Education Review.

Registration will open in January 2024. IAHRE members are eligible for a discount. Membership categories are as follows:  

Ordinary annual member: £50 

Supporting annual member: £100+ 

Life membership: £800 

Institutional annual membership: £250 (with membership benefits for up to 6 named individuals)    

Conference registration fees (to include conference pack, lunch and all refreshments)

Early bird fees will apply to all bookings made by 4 March 2024.  

Early bird (member): £195 

Early bird (non-member): £210 

Standard (member): £220 

Standard (non-member) £230     

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
Communicating with decision makers such as elected officials is key to enacting change. This module will explore the different ways to contact those in positions of power and equip participants with the skills needed to do so effectively.

Objectives

• Identify the role of communicating with decision makers in a democracy and its importance for protecting rights
• Discuss the primary ways to contact decision makers: letters/emails, phone calls, and meetings
• Develop the knowledge and skills needed to communicate with decision makers
• Explore how to use collective action when contacting decision makers, such as through letter writing campaigns, and how these actions can be incorporated into a classroom/educational environment
• Role play advocacy meetings and the Dos and Don’ts of an advocacy meeting

TAAS Sessions:

• Communicating with Decision Makers: How to Contact Influential Figures (Thursday, November 2nd, 7-9 pm ET)
• Protest and Beyond: Powerful Ways to Promote Your Message(Thursday, November 9th, 7-9 pm ET)
• Finding Joy: Integrating Mental Wellness into Your Advocacy Strategies (Thursday, November 16th, 7-9 pm ET)

>> Learn more

>> Register

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
Advocacy campaigns have the power to enact monumental human rights change. This module will help participants better understand the core elements of successful advocacy campaigns and better prepare them to start their own campaigns.

Objectives

• Explore the role of advocacy campaigns in democracy and promoting human rights
• Examine what an advocacy campaign is and prominent examples
• Understand the key components of a successful advocacy campaign
• Draft a bare-bones campaign plan on a chosen advocacy issue

TAAS Sessions:

• Human Rights in Action: Organizing an Advocacy Campaign (Thursday, October 26th, 7-9 pm ET)
• Communicating with Decision Makers: How to Contact Influential Figures (Thursday, November 2nd, 7-9 pm ET)
• Protest and Beyond: Powerful Ways to Promote Your Message(Thursday, November 9th, 7-9 pm ET)
• Finding Joy: Integrating Mental Wellness into Your Advocacy Strategies (Thursday, November 16th, 7-9 pm ET)

>> Learn more

>> Register

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
The ability to navigate and facilitate difficult conversations is essential for discussing human rights issues and protecting rights and democracy. This module will prepare participants to engage in difficult conversations by addressing conflict management and inquiry based questioning strategies, role-playing dialogues, and exploring the importance of calling in in order to create a brave space for discussion.

Objectives

• Understand the importance of creating a brave space for conversation in order to protect human rights and democracy
• Introduce best practices for successfully moderating difficult conversations
• Discuss when and how it is appropriate to call people in and out
• Explore conflict management and inquiry-based questioning strategiesRole-play facilitating human rights based dialogues on current events
• Role-play facilitating human rights based dialogues on current events

TAAS Sessions:

• Calling In: Facilitating Difficult Conversations (Thursday, October 19th, 7-9 pm ET)
• Human Rights in Action: Organizing an Advocacy Campaign (Thursday, October 26th, 7-9 pm ET)
• Communicating with Decision Makers: How to Contact Influential Figures (Thursday, November 2nd, 7-9 pm ET)
• Protest and Beyond: Powerful Ways to Promote Your Message(Thursday, November 9th, 7-9 pm ET)
• Finding Joy: Integrating Mental Wellness into Your Advocacy Strategies (Thursday, November 16th, 7-9 pm ET)

>> Learn more

>> Register

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
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
• Explore how to integrate voting education and action into classroom curriculum

TAAS Sessions:

• Voting Rights: What You Can Do to Combat Voter Suppression(Thursday, October 12th, 7-9 pm ET)
• Calling In: Facilitating Difficult Conversations (Thursday, October 19th, 7-9 pm ET)
• Human Rights in Action: Organizing an Advocacy Campaign (Thursday, October 26th, 7-9 pm ET)
• Communicating with Decision Makers: How to Contact Influential Figures (Thursday, November 2nd, 7-9 pm ET)
• Protest and Beyond: Powerful Ways to Promote Your Message(Thursday, November 9th, 7-9 pm ET)
• Finding Joy: Integrating Mental Wellness into Your Advocacy Strategies (Thursday, November 16th, 7-9 pm ET)

>> Learn more

>> Register

Session flyer

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.

Sessions:

• Protecting Democracy, Promoting Human Rights (Thursday, October 5th, 7-8:30 pm ET)
• Voting Rights: What You Can Do to Combat Voter Suppression(Thursday, October 12th, 7-9 pm ET)
• Calling In: Facilitating Difficult Conversations (Thursday, October 19th, 7-9 pm ET)
• Human Rights in Action: Organizing an Advocacy Campaign (Thursday, October 26th, 7-9 pm ET)
• Communicating with Decision Makers: How to Contact Influential Figures (Thursday, November 2nd, 7-9 pm ET)
• Protest and Beyond: Powerful Ways to Promote Your Message(Thursday, November 9th, 7-9 pm ET)
• Finding Joy: Integrating Mental Wellness into Your Advocacy Strategies (Thursday, November 16th, 7-9 pm ET)

>> Learn more

>> Register