Presentation and Objectives of the Working Group

Working Group Metting - Istanbul 2008

The human rights framework of this project is to ensure the dissemination of human rights values to new generations in the EuroMed region through educational activities

The general objective is to strengthen human rights NGO networking in the field of education and to promote the role of young people within the mainstream human rights movement.
The short term objectives are to:

- Organise annual Summer Schools on educational methodologies aimed at human.
- rights teaching and training for young human rights activists as a joint project of NGOs working on human rights education.
- Increase networking among young people dealing with human rights.
- Increase networking among human rights NGOs dealing with HRE in the Euro-Mediterranean region.
- engage a dialogue and exchange between educationalists and activists.
- dealing with HRE in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

Working Group background paper on HRE

- The growth of the ideas and the struggles that have shaped and modeled the international human rights movement;
- An understanding of the existing international human rights regime, its institutions, standards, laws, obligation and actors;
- Linkages between the international and domestic human rights regimes.

Background

There is no genuine human rights respect and no democracy without the dissemination of a human rights culture. Today much is left to do in the region as a whole in order to develop a genuine human rights culture due to oppressive political and cultural environment. This situation of the region in relation to human rights is in general conducive to severe restrictions on what can actually be undertaken and what specific topics and issues can be addressed within human rights education. There are many educators in the region who emphasise the importance of HRE not only for disseminating human rights culture in general but also in the context of current political and cultural reform as well as social advancement.

A recent survey, commissioned by the EMHRN, reports about a number of good practices among NGOs engaged in HRE. However it also shows a widespread lack of consistency and sustainability in the work being done.
Many NGOs do not have a clear vision of their work or feasible, practical strategies. Only few organisations display a high degree of professionalism (in for example integrating educational methodologies into their work) while the majority is weak, under-qualified and under-resourced with regard to human rights education.

History of the Working Group (2000-2006)
Current Human rights Education and Youth Working Group member

Activities

Istanbul Summer School 2008
Cyprus Summer School 2007
Meeting of Working Group, Malta , 23-25 February 2007
Meeting of Working Group, Ankara, 26-28 October 2007
Meeting of Working Group, Istanbul, 1-2 March 2008
Publications and working documents