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Learning About Human Rights

9 January 2016

In 2008, the United Nations initiated a year of human rights learning to mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In the UK, UNA-UK teamed up with UNESCO Associated Schools to produce materials to help secondary school teachers and students explore human rights together.

The resource, now posted to the web as a series of pdfs, contains a teacher’s handbook with slide presentations and corresponding factsheets for students. The five topics covered are:

– the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights
– the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
– child rights and armed conflict
– child rights and climate change
– human rights and international development

Peace Education Handbook for Educators

9 January 2016

The International Falcon Movement – Socialist Educational International (IFM-SEI) celebrated 2015 as their Peace Education Year. IFM-SEI is an international educational movement working to empower children and young people to take an active role in society and fight for their rights. They are an umbrella organisation for child and youth-led movements all over the world, educating on the basis of values of equality, democracy, peace, co-operation and friendship. At the end of their Peace Education Year, IFM-SEI published a handbook of educational activities based around peace education for use in member organisations.

The 87-page handbook includes sections on “Understanding conflict”, “Transforming conflict” and “Making Peace” with activities for all different ages, and that can be used on group nights, on camps or seminars, as an experienced group leader, peer educator, or someone who is running a workshop for the first time.

Learning to Live Together: An intercultural and interfaith programme for ethics education

24 October 2014

Learning to Live Together is an interfaith and intercultural programme for Ethics Education that contributes to nurturing ethical values in children and young people. The programme was developed by the Interfaith Council on Ethics Education for Children in close collaboration with UNESCO and UNICEF and tested through the Global Network of Religions for Children to contribute to the realization of the Right of the Child to full and healthy physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development, and to education as set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), in article 26.1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), in the World Declaration on Education for all and in the Millennium Development Goals.

Learning to Live Together is a programme for educators (teachers, youth leaders, social workers) to nurture ethical values and spirituality in children and youth that will help them strengthen their identity and critical thinking, ability to make well grounded decisions, respect and work with people of other cultures and religions, and foster their individual and collective responsibilities in a global community.

Learning to Live Together is built in two modules, “Understanding Self and Others” and “Transforming the World together”. It is based on four ethical values: respect, empathy, responsibility and reconciliation. The learning process focuses on methodologies based on experience, cooperation, problem solving, discussions and introspection.

Additional materials and versions in other languages are available at http://www.ethicseducationforchildren.org

Youth and Conflict: Best Practices and Lessons Learned

5 June 2014

Mercy Corps, as an international NGO focused on “saving and improving lives in the world’s toughest places” believes youth are a force for positive change — the generation that can help transition their countries into productive and secure nations. However, youth are the primary participants in conflict today. The reasons they participate in conflict are multi-dimensional – they lack economic opportunities, political voice and a sense of belonging or connection to their communities. Often the only way young people can imagine changing their predicament is through violence. In Mercy Corps programs the focus is on catalyzing youth’s desire for change into positive outlets.

This 11-page pdf publication is a sample of Youth and Conflict Best Practices and Lessons Learned drawn from Mercy Corps’ programs, other agencies, donors, think tanks and researchers. It is divided into six sections:
* General Program Design and Implementation. This section includes advice on training, as it is a central part of many of our youth programs.
* Economic Engagement
* Political Participation
* Youth-to-Community Connections
* Youth-to-Youth Connections
* Addendum: Lessons from Our Colleagues

IREX Conflict Prevention and Peer Mediation Toolkit

28 January 2014

The Conflict Prevention and Peer Mediation Toolkit provides the training notes, handouts, sample agendas, and resource templates needed to initiate a peer mediation program for youth. IREX and partner organization Foundation for Tolerance International (FTI) created the Conflict Prevention and Peer Mediation Toolkit to support the creation of peer mediation programs at schools in Kyrgyzstan as part of the Youth Leadership for Peace Project funded by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP). After receiving training on conflict prevention, peer mediation, and use of the Toolkit, teachers and youth from the Batken and Chui regions of Kyrgyzstan initiated peer mediation programs at 16 schools. From January – June 2013, peer mediators held more than 60 mediations, with 90% of mediations resulting in a signed mediation agreement.

Peaceful Conflict Resolution Guide for Primary and Secondary Schools (Croatia)

26 December 2013

This training guide for schools consists of three primary modules:
1. damiri/ice – Conflict and Communication
2. spajalice – Peer Mediation
3. kazimiri/ice – Peer Education

The guide is the result of the work on the project Peaceful Problem Solving in Schools and Trauma Alleviation, Youth for Youth – Peer Mediation, initiated and supported by UNICEF Office for Croatia in co-operation with Croatian Ministry of Education and Sports. The Project was carried out by NGO “Mali korak” – Centre for Culture of Peace and Non-violence Zagreb.

In the school year of 1999/2000 it was implemented in 52 primary schools, most of which were schools of special social care in previous war affected areas. The purpose of this program model was to change attitudes, behaviors and experiences related to conflict and violence: improve coping with problem and conflict situations, develop awareness of prejudice, of one’s own rights as well as the rights of others both in those who participate in the program (students) and those who deliver it (teachers).

Human Total: A Violence Prevention Learning Resource

12 November 2013

Human Total is a 303-page pdf manual created by Human Rights Education Association (HREA), the International Center for Alcohol Policies (ICAP) and the Instituto Mexicano de Investigación Familia y de Población (IMIFAP).

Targeted towards young people between the ages of 10 and 14, the manual helps learners understand attitudes that promote violent behavior (often brought about by the misuse of alcohol) by males and cultivates methods to minimise these behaviors’ harms and prevent their perpetuation.

Human Total contains 32 adaptable lesson plans, including ways to recognise and understand violence in social contexts and techniques for minimising violence through education about human rights and active participation in the community. The manual also features a note for facilitators on how to use it, tools for outreach to parents and guardians, recommendations for additional resources, and eight annexes with supplemental information. The resource was piloted in El Salvador and Kenya.

Human Total: A Violence Prevention Learning Resource is currently (July 2013) available in English and will soon be available in Spanish.

Peace Education Online Learning Module – UNESCO Education Server

2 September 2012

This modular online learning unit on Peace Education is available via the international UNESCO education server D@dalos dedicated to civic and peace education. The content was developed by the Institute for Peace Education in Tübingen, Germany. Main sections include: What is Peace Education?; What does Peace mean?; Why do we need Peace Education?; What do Peace Educators do?; and Peace Education and Fair Play. Includes a section on conflict analysis that provides 10 models for how to approach this task.

Youth Leadership Development Module on Conflict Management

2 September 2012

This 38-page pdf on conflict management strategies for youth leaders was provided as a handout for a May 2008 training for youth in Namibia. The event was sponsored by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and facilitated by C.T. Bayer & B.T. Schernick. The materials include several creative visualizations of conflict resolution concepts.

The Role of Education in Peacebuilding: A synthesis report of findings

17 August 2012

This 40-page report by UNICEF provides evidence that education can be a catalyst for peace and highlights the need for education sectors to integrate a peacebuilding perspective. The report has 2 main parts: a literature review, and three case studies focusing on Lebanon, Nepal and Sierra Leone. The report is part of the knowledge generation component of the Education and Emergencies and Post-Crisis Transition (EEPCT) programme – a partnership between UNICEF, the Government of the Netherlands and the European Commission.

Speak Truth to Power: Human Rights Defenders Who are Changing Our World

14 August 2012

The Speak Truth To Power curriculum (296 page PDF) introduces general human rights issues through the stories of some remarkable people working in the field, and urges students to become personally involved in the protection of human rights. The curriculum is based on a book written by Kerry Kennedy that lead to a dramatic production by Ariel Dorfman (the play script is included in the curriculum). It is illustrated with a series of photographic portraits of human rights defenders by the late Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Eddie Adams. Various editions of Speak Truth to Power have been produced, with this one drawing input from the Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Teachers Union. Also available are Cambodian, Italian, and South African editions, and an edition developed in New York State.

The focus of the learning activities varies based on the age-group of students you are working with. In pre-kindergarten through grade 3, human rights learning focuses on respect for self, parents, teachers and others. In grades 4–6 the focus moves to social responsibility, citizenship, and distinguishing wants and needs from rights. For grades 7 and 8, the focus shifts to introducing and enhancing specific human rights. At the high school level, grades 9–12, the focus expands to include human rights as universal standards, integration of human rights into personal awareness, and behavior.

Learn Peace : How students can rid the world of nuclear weapons

13 July 2012

Produced by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, this colorfully illustrated 43-page pdf provides a collection of 18 disarmament education activities for use by young people. It is written in a voice that speaks directly to youth, encouraging them to learn more and take action to call for the elimination of nuclear weapons.

The activity titles are as follows: Have a classroom debate; Organize a writing competition; Write a letter to the editor; Make up your mind; Design a peace symbol; Role-play a nuclear crisis; Transform a nuclear bomb ; Honour the victims; Run a United Nations debate; Fold paper cranes for peace; Celebrate the victories; Write to your leaders; Promote abolition online; Hold a trivia night; Describe a nuclear blast; Conduct an opinion poll; Meet with your mayor; Plant sunflowers for peace.

Gandhi’s Nonviolent Values and Skills

6 June 2012

This 295-page guidebook, subtitled “A Violence Prevention Guidebook for High Schools”, is available online as a series of pdfs. It provides a basic methodology for proceeding from “awareness” through “concern” to “action” building on the ideas of nonviolent activist Mohandas Gandhi. The units in the Guidebook are designed to help teachers nurture in their youth and in themselves: 1) a disciplined mind – awareness – there are other ways of thinking and acting, you can control your feelings and thoughts, you have an important role to play in the world; 2) a compassionate heart – concern – becoming empathetic and deepening the desire to act on behalf of others; 3) a courageous hand – action – putting compassion into practice by standing with others in service and against the forces and forms of oppression/domination (social change); 4) a committed will – perseverance – pledging to be a doer of peace and a teacher of peace. It provides a pledge of nonviolence as a key element of the program that can be used in various settings.
The units include the following:
Unit 1: Introducing Gandhi and His Principles
Unit 2: Respect
Unit 3: Anger
Unit 4: Nonviolent Problem-Solving & Nonviolent Resistance
Unit 5: Making Amends & Forgiveness
Unit 6: Our Oneness with the Earth & Challenging Materialism
Unit 7: Courage & Solidarity: Overcoming Our Fears & Standing with Others Who Are Treated Unfairly
Unit 8: Courage: Challenging the -ISMS: Sexism, Racism, Nationalism & War

Pioneer Peace Pack

5 June 2012

This resource collection includes information and activities for groups of 10 – 12 year olds who are participating in the U.K.-based outdoor education group known as the Woodcraft Folk. The resource includes instructor overviews and associated handouts and reading materials for activities focused on the following themes: Bullying, Conflict Resolution, War Toys, War Detectives, Child Soldiers and Positive About Peace. The Conflict Resolution module alone includes 6 separate activities.

The Woodcraft Folk group describes their goals as follows: “Our aim is to have great fun, but also to try and develop children’s self-confidence and build their awareness of society around them. Through our activities, outings and camps we help our members understand important issues like the environment, world debt and global conflict and, in recent years, we have focused on sustainable development. By encouraging children to think, we hope they will help build a peaceful, fairer world.”