Human rights aim to protect the inherent dignity of the human being and to develop understanding, tolerance and respect for others. All rights bring with them responsibilities – to us, our families, our friends, and, further on, to those we do not know and will never meet. If these are some of the aims of human rights, then the role of education in protecting these rights, and identifying those responsibilities, must be to teach about the world in which we live and the people with whom we share that world.
Creating a context in which human rights are not only respected but also positively promoted requires action and intervention on a variety of levels – legal, political, social, cultural, economic and, of course, educational. This is true for all societies and regions regardless of tradition or culture – it is required just as much in societies where human rights and democracy have taken root, as it is where this has yet to happen to any appreciable degree.
The international community has increasingly expressed consensus on the fundamental contribution of human rights education to the realisation of human rights. Human rights education aims at developing an understanding of our common responsibility to make human rights a reality in every community and in society at large. In this sense, it contributes to the long-term prevention of human rights abuses and violent conflicts, the promotion of equality and sustainable development and the enhancement of people’s participation in decision-making processes within a democratic system, as stated in the Commission on Human Rights resolution 2004/71.
Since the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education (1995-2004) and the adoption of the Plan of Action for the first phase (2005-2009) of the World Program for Human Rights Education , education and training in human rights has expanded significantly in the formal structures and settings of schools and universities, in the context of youth and adult education, as well as at the level of the community.
In keeping with many other regions around the world, human rights education (HRE) in such contexts continues to grow in importance in the Euro-Mediterranean region. For instance, as regards to informal HRE, there has been a noticeable increase of HRE activities. Human rights, women’s rights, child rights and development NGOs have initiated HRE activities with a wide range of groups. In addition, there have been support initiatives for HRE in the formal sector undertaken by the civil society including lobbying, awareness raising, informal co-operation and partnership in addition to significant publications about human rights and gender equality.
The purpose of this resource is to capture some of the work being undertaken in this context by member organisations of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) and related partners. The activities described stem largely from the Summer School organised by the Network in Cyprus in July 2007; these methodologies have been tested by member organisations and are included here as a means of sharing ideas and methodologies – one of the key objectives established by the Network for the Summer Schools. Included are sample activities of methodologies as diverse as art, film, debate, peer learning and the training of trainers.