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HRE USA

A network dedicated to building a culture of human rights

Category: News and Updates

The HRE USA 2023 Edmonds Fellowship application process opens today, March 3, 2023

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This year, the Edmonds Fellowship Committee has selected a theme, Protecting Democracy, Promoting Human Rights, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recognize the necessity of protecting a democratic and civil society. The Committee is excited about the wonderful project proposals it received and appreciates members submissions.

Fellows will commit 100 hours over roughly 10 weeks to address the topic identified in your proposal. 

The fellowship submission deadline will be March 24, 2023. 

>> About the Edmonds Fellowship

Online Workshop: Toward Right Relationship with Native Peoples

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NEW! Call for educators who are willing to participate in an HRE USA Teacher Feedback session three-days following the March 12th workshop on March 15th at 7pm MST. Interested teachers should contact Kristi Rudelius-Palmer at kristi@hreusa.org to join this session.

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Would you like to have a better grounding in Native American history? An opportunity to offer dynamic interactive workshops about Indigenous peoples’ rights in your classrooms? On Sunday March 12, 2-4 pm MOUNTAIN time, Toward Right Relationship with Native Peoples is offering its online workshop, “Roots of Injustice, Seeds of Change: Toward Right Relationship with Native Peoples.” Register here.

During this 2-hour participatory workshop,we experience the history of the colonization of Turtle Island, the land that is now known as the United States. The story is told through the words of Indigenous leaders, European/American leaders, and Western historians. We engage with this history through experiential exercises and small group discussions. And we consider how we can build relationships with Indigenous peoples based on truth, justice, and an understanding of Indigenous peoples’ collective human rights. 

This workshop is presented by Native and non-Native facilitators working together. It is appropriate for high school students and adults. Register here for the next online workshop, or contact co-director Paula Palmer (paulaRpalmer@gmail.com) for more information.

Some sample responses to recent Toward Right Relationship workshops:

From Native participants: 

“Everything that went into this experience and the presentation is so deeply meaningful.” 

“This workshop is the tool I’ve been searching for to begin imagining a new way forward.”  

“This workshop is an innovative and impactful step towards healing.”

From non-Native participants:

“This is a wonderful model for fostering conversations that lead to more understanding among peoples.”    

“I am thankful for the discomfort and what it opened up.”  

“Wow – that was an excellent workshop.  Best zoom educational experience I have had!”  

“I’ve known and thought about indigenous peoples’ history for a long time. Now what I can do is much more in the forefront of my mind.”

Introducing the Human Rights Education Now! Podcast

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The Human Rights Education Now! podcast is now live! This podcast serves as a platform for leaders in the human rights education (HRE) field to share their stories, practices, resources, reflections, and other foundational knowledge about their involvement in HRE in the U.S. 
For this month, we have two episodes featuring Nancy Flowers. You can listen to the episodes on HRE USA website and our personalized Buzzsprout podcast website. Stay tuned for two more episodes which we will release in April!

Tune in to listen to conversations about:

  • The development and evolution of HRE
  • Allies and efforts in the HRE field
  • Contextualizing the local within a global
  • Transnational solidarity building
  • Challenging mainstream narratives as pathways for HRE
  • and much more!

We look forward to sharing this space with you. In an effort to increase accessibility, we are working to make transcripts available in the future.

We want to hear from you. Your comments are welcome.
Follow @human_rights_educators_usa or email us at info@hreusa.org 

Human Rights Education Now! Podcast will launch in March, 2023

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Launching on March 1, 2023—HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION NOW!, a new podcast from Human Rights Educators USA featuring conversations with scholars, activists, teachers, and others involved in the worldwide movement to advance human rights learning. This monthly podcast seeks to raise the level of awareness and understanding about human rights education in the USA, while promoting its inclusion as a central element in K-university.

Each podcast will be available on our website, Spotify, YouTube, Soundcloud, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also download each episode as an MP3 file. 

HRE USA at Civic Learning Week 2023

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Protecting Democracy through Civic Learning & Human Rights Education

Educator Voices on the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

Date: March 8, 2023
Time: 3pm PT/6pm ET – 4pm PT/7pm ET

This webinar features educators from across the United States who are successfully integrating human rights education (HRE) into the civic learning experiences of students at diverse grade levels.  They will share their experiences of using HRE concepts and instructional practices to help students connect with the skills, values and practices that are essential for participants in an inclusive, democratic society. Strategies for engaging youth participation and fostering youth leadership are a particular theme of the webinar.

Resources for Civic Education & HRE

Key questions addressed:

  • What are democratic civic values and behaviors?
  • What is human rights education and how does it support the understanding and practice of democratic civic values and behaviors?
  • How can HRE be effectively integrated into an overall program of civic education at all grade levels?
  • What are some strategies for engaging youth participation and fostering youth leadership in building a human rights supportive civil society?

The presenters and facilitator will share resources for putting HRE/democratic infused civics lessons into their programs with attenders. The webinar will be presented via Zoom and will be recorded so it can be shared with those who sign up for the webinar. There will be an opportunity for attendees to dialogue with the panel.  

This presentation is part of Human Rights Educators USA’s year of Human Rights, honoring the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights  with the theme Protecting Democracy, Promoting Human Rights.

Panelists

  • Rosemary Blanchard, founding member of Human Rights Educators USA (hreusa.org) and the Human Rights Education Community of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)
  • Sandy Sohcot, founding director of The World As It Could Be Human Rights Education Program (TWAICB)
  • Natalia Anciso, visual artist and educator in Oakland, CA
  • Jessica Terbrueggen, international education specialist with over fifteen years of experience working globally with diverse populations in the United States, China, Ecuador, and South Korea at the intersection of human rights and the literary arts
  • John Terry, Supervisor of Social Studies for the Bernards Township School District in Basking Ridge, N.

Special thanks to University of San Francisco and the Department of International & Multicultural Education for Co-Sponsoring and providing the webinar platform.

Read More “HRE USA at Civic Learning Week 2023”

February 21st is International Mother Tongue Day! 

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To learn more about this topic and possibly incorporate it into your learning program, we have selected one practical guide for you to consult:

The Language Rights of Linguistic Minorities: A Practical Guide for Implementation (2017), by the UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues

This guide aims to assist efforts to achieve the necessary balance between a state’s official language or languages, and its obligations to use or respect the language preferences of linguistic minorities. Protection and promotion of language rights can also help to preserve the world’s linguistic diversity.

HREA’s Online Resource Center contains this guide, and many other HRE resources that may be useful for your work. Visit: https://hrea.org/resource-center-search/

Happy Black History Month!

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“We are going back to that beautiful history and it is going to inspire us to greater achievements.”–Carter G. Woodson(Founder of Black History Month)

We hope that this month you feel held, you are celebrating and you find joy!
History is alive all the time, all around us. This month in particular provides so many doors to open, through which we discover and reflect upon our experiences and knowledge. At the same time, we know that African American history is being hotly contested and muddled into a divisive issue. This month, let us resist this erasure and wrap our arms around each other and all the things we have yet to learn and to teach. Let us fill the corners of our social media and our conversations with our learnings and yearnings for liberation.
Watch the ritual film “between starshine and clay” by Lead to Life produced with community members across California who have been impacted by policy brutality and gun violence.
Sign up for a Black History Month festival virtual event held by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). You can also read ASALH’s compelling statement of Florida’s rejection of the AP African American History course. Plus, check out the plethora of reading hosted by the School for Black Feminist Politics.
Need some activities for your workplace to talk about anti-Blackness? Check out this Dismantling Anti-Blackness in Democratic Workplaces toolkit from AORTA. You can also watch this excellent primer on the history of race with historical case studies: Challenging Anti-Blackness for Collective Liberation. Read through the Movement for Black Lives’ visionary policy platform for critical info on areas for policy and action.
Find Black owned businesses here. Or check out:Celebrate black history month by supporting these Black-owned businessesWe Back Black Businesses13 ways to support Black-owned businesses and organizations

Resources on Racism, Police Violence, and BLM at School

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We join so many others in demanding, again, an end to police violence and the systems that sustain white supremacy, as well as increased investment in public education and social services.

For educators looking for support on these issues, VOW recommends Zinn Education Project’s materials on the history of policing and Learning for Justice’s resources for facilitating learning about systemic racism.

Additionally, the Black Lives Matter At School Week of Action begins on Monday and is an opportunity to examine curricula and policies in order to promote equity and center Black voices and joy in classrooms across the country.
Take Action
 

Talking to Children About the History of Slavery in the United States: A Resource for Parents and Caregivers

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Parents and caregivers are children’s first teachers and play a powerful role in determining what children learn about history and in shaping children’s perspectives and our shared future. Discussing the history of slavery in age-appropriate ways can help children understand how that history influences life today. 

To connect with the arrival of The 1619 Project series on Hulu this Black History Month, this new Learning for Justice article compiles a list of recommendations for talking about slavery and race with children. The guide also provides age-appropriate information to emphasize in conversations, as well as related LFJ resources.

We are grateful for the generous support of our members, individual donors, and The Puffin Foundation Ltd
The core values of HRE USA and its partner organizations include transparency and critical thinking skills. We believe that human rights--and human rights education--belong to everyone, and that the full realization of human rights means that access to human rights education materials must never be conditioned upon the subscription to any particular religious faith, ideology, political affiliation, or membership in any particular organization and that any organizational connections should be openly acknowledged.