HRE E-Bulletin October 2011

8/3/2019 HRE E-Bulletin October 2011

1/6

1

Human Rights Education

E-BulletinOctober 2011

Temne Soweis, recognizable by their red and white head scarves, join in a farewell dance following their participation

in a Dialogue Session which used participatory methodologies and techniques to engage people on the issue of

prohibition of underage initiation, Sierra Leone, 2009. Photo: E.Vermeulen

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the October issue of the HRE

E-Bulletin! In this months E-Bulletin,

we have news of AI Malaysias YouthAmbassadors and their cross-countryroad trips, reports from the Educationfor Human Dignity EvaluationWorkshop and the Human RightsFriendly Schools Partner Meeting, aswell as an update on the ParticipatoryMethodologies and Techniques Toolkit.

This past 10October was the World DayAgainst the Death Penalty, and various

Sections produced very useful materials

on this human rights issue. We include

them here, and encourage you all to

share your own new HRE resources with

the Network by letting us know; we will

upload your resources the new OnlineHuman Rights Education ResourceCentre which will go live to the publiclater this year!

Finally, it would be great to hear your

feedback on the HRE E-Bulletin. Do you

find it relevant? Is there too much/not

enough information? Would you prefer to

receive it once every two months or more

frequently? Do let us know your thoughts this is your resource and we aim to

make it as useful as possible to you in

your work. Please let us know yourcomments by 21 November as we will

be integrating your ideas into our plans

for supporting communication and

sharing good practice amongst

members of the AI HRE Network from

2012.

With best wishes,

Sneh

Sneh Aurora, International HumanRights Project Manager, IS HRE Team

[email protected]

In this issue:

AI Malaysia Youth Ambassadors: On a Cross-CountryMission!

Human Rights Friendly Schools Six New Partnersjoin the Project!

Monitoring and Evaluating the Education for HumanDignity Project

We Need Your Input! Developing the Toolkit onParticipatory Methodologies and Techniques

Spotlight on the Death Penalty: New HRE Resources Demand Dignity Resource Pack/Other Resources A Farewell from Vibeke Eikas, AI Norway

AI HRE Calendar: Upcoming Dates for your Diary


2/6

2

To celebrate 50 years of Amnesty International, staff at AI

Malaysia recently went on a hunt to find 50 young people

with a passion for human rights who could represent the

Section as Youth Ambassadors. Once chosen, the

Ambassadors underwent an intense three-day HRE

programme, and were presented to the media and general

public during AI Malaysias Anniversary celebration on 28

May 2011. With the toasts and cheers behind them, the

Youth Ambassadors then set off around on a nationwide

trip, implementing activities and engaging with local youth

in five states around Malaysia. So far, Ambassadors havevisited three states; Johor to look at issues of poverty and

to hold a street photography competition; Pahang to work

on childrens rights and hold activities with children and youth, and Selangor to work on the right to education and conduct activities with

refugee children. Two further states remain to be visited and then the Ambassadors will meet with Parliamentarians to share experiences

gained on the ground.

All of the programmes are jointly run and planned by AI Malaysia and the

Youth Ambassadors. This approach gives the young people a stake in their

activities and by involving them in the decision-making processes a new

generation of human rights activists is fostered. Despite heavy censorship in

Malaysian media - especially on human rights issues the initiative

received plenty of press coverage, focusing on the youth activities.

The Director of AI Malaysia, Nora Murat, was also interviewed in Malaysias

leading English newspaper, where she highlighted the work of the Youth

Ambassadors in encouraging young people to take on a more active role in

bringing about change. As she explained, Its stressful banging your head

against the structure, but engaging with youths is refreshing. The way they

see things is different and the ways they tackle the issues are different. They

have a more interactive approach and are in to multimedia.

More information: Davina Isaac, Project Coordinator, AI Malaysia,

[email protected]

AI Mala sia Youth Ambassadors: On a Cross-Countr Mission!

Top to bottom: An exhibition of street photography in Johor; children show off their submissions to a drawing competition organised by AI Malaysia and the Youth

Ambassadors in Pahang; Singing for human rights


3/6

3

As the Human Rights Friendly Schools Project moves out of its pilot phase, six

new sections have come on board: AI Chile, AI Croatia, AI Czech Republic, AIHungary, AI Kenya and AI South Africa! In order to induct the new Sectionsand teachers to the project, the IS HRE Team hosted a meeting for the new

partners and selected existing partners between 16-18 September 2011 in

London.

During the meeting, AI representatives and teachers from the partner schools

were introduced to the principles and objectives of the project via sessions on

how to make their school human rights friendly. The new sections brought

energy and life to the discussions, providing ideas on how to incorporate

monitoring and evaluation into the project as well as predicting potential

challenges and even coming up with solutions to these, before they launch the

project.Please join us in welcoming the new additions to the team as Human Rights Friendly Schools Projects are launched in 7 new

schools across the globe, building on the excellent work towards a global culture of human rights! The work towards

transforming communities through a holistic approach to HRE goes on!

More information: Julie Mehigan, Interim International HRE Adviser, IS, [email protected]

On the 24 and 25 September 2011, the Education for Human Dignity

Project partners from AI Italy, AI Slovenia and AI Poland came together

with the IS and the International Human Rights Education Centre in

Palermo, Italy, with the aim of developing tools to monitor and evaluate

the project,

Participants used the HRE Monitoring and Evaluation Toolkit Learning

from Our Experienceto adapt and develop project-specific tools to help

them to evaluate and evidence human rights change. The tools

developed include online surveys, self-evaluation forms for multipliers to use pre-and

post trainings, questionnaires for young people, and feedback forms to assess the

educational materials. Participants all agreed that capturing the real-life successes of

the project through Stories of Change is vital: simple stories can be very valuable for any

critical review of impact and as a way to reflect on what can often be complex change

processes. More information: Melody Ross, Project Coordinator, IS,

[email protected]

Project partners reflect on the project so far

Human Rights Friendly Schools Six New Partners Join the Project!

Monitorin and Evaluatin the Education for Human Di nit Pro ect

What happened next?

I used some simple methods of monitoring before, duringand after the training [of multipliers]. It was interesting to seein the self-evaluation [before the training] that all participants

marked their knowledge about AI, human rights, and their

relationship to poverty at the highest level. My colleagues were

worried that we couldnt offer any new knowledge, but it was

interesting to see the mid and final evaluation: all of [the

participants] gained new knowledge.

We also did some simple Stories of Change. They are very

powerful. I think we can get the real evaluation through these

stories. Also, my AI colleagues are surprised about impact and

the whole process.

- Simona Kemperle, HRE Coordinator, AI Slovenia, on her

positive experience using the tools developed in Palermo.

L-R: Workshop participants get involved in monitoring and evaluating the project


4/6

4

We need your input! Developing the

Toolkit on Participatory

Methodologies and Techniques

As some of you may know, as part of the Human Rights

Education for Empowerment and Action project, the IS HRE

team is developing a Toolkit on ParticipatoryMethodologies and Techniques. The Toolkit aims to assist

AI staff, volunteers and key partners in integrating

participatory methodologies and techniques in their workin order to enable rights holders to understand their rights

and to empower them to actively engage in decision

making processes that affect their lives.

As participatory methodologies are traditionally used in

human rights education activities - particularly in the non-

formal sector with groups and communities at the grass

roots level - we are counting on you for input into thedevelopment of the Toolkit!

If you have not already received a template to facilitate

sharing your experiences, get in touch! To give you an idea

of what we are looking for, take a look at the Case Study on

the right from Special Programme in Africa

We look forward to hearing from you!

More information: Moisa Saidu [email protected] Aurelia Donnard [email protected]

Case Study: Sowei Exchange Meetings

In February 2009, partners working with AIs Special Programme onAfrica used Exchange Meetings in Sierra Leone as a participatorymethod to convince Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) practitioners -

Soweis - to abandon the girl child initiation process which leads to FGM,

in the context of a new law adopted to protect girls under 18 from FGM.

Soweis who were already aware of human rights issues related to FGM

came along to talk to other Soweis from different parts of the country.

Method:Exchange Meeting: Soweis who were already convinced of the need

to abandon the practice exchange their views with those not yet on

board. The discussion on childrens rights and womens rights was

facilitated by one of the partners.

Analysis: The specific problems affecting women in theircommunities were identified.

What worked?The dialogue approachA peer to peer approach helped to break down the barriers by using

the same language. As Soweis are very much respected within the

communities, they can be influential in changing attitudes.

Collectiveness' in working on abandonment of FGM. The group as awhole has to support FGM abandonment, as individual

abandonment will lead to ostracism and isolation.

Lessons learnt:The focus of the Exchange Meeting was been on the law; focus

should be also on the physical and psychological consequences of

FGM.

Offering alternative sources of income to the Soweis, i.e. throughmicro-financing projects, does not necessarily counter-balance the

importance of their religious reasons for practising FGM.

There is a possibility that FGM of under 18s is going 'underground',or has moved to areas where human rights people and

organizations are less present.

Success of the method: That Soweis and women leaders are sharing

their views on FGM and openly disagreeing with one another marks a

positive trend for opening the discussion around FGM at community

levels. Interestingly, women leaders considered FGM a 'human rights

abuse', while Soweis generally understand FGM as 'a way of life'.

Sharing and discussing contrasting views does work as an eye opener in

areas where FGM is never discussed openly.

Impact of the meetings:Many Soweis claim to no longer practice girl child initiation, but it

is difficult to determine.Peoples thinking around FGM is definitely changing in thecommunit : FGM is o enl discussed.

Senior and junior (to be) Soweis take part in a Sowei Dialogue Session

discussing the Child Rights Act (2007) in Binkolo, Bombali District,

Northern Sierra Leone. Girls as young as those seen in the centre of

the picture could be destined to become a Sowei, as the tradition is

often passed on from mother to daughter. Photo: E.Vermeulen


5/6

5

Spotlight on the Death Penalty: New HRE Resources!

This past 10 October was the World Day against the Death Penalty and around the world supporters of abolition held events,rallies, demonstrations and took actions. Several AI Sections produced timely resources around this theme. In North America,

AI USA capitalised on the surge of support for abolition following the tragic execution of Troy Davis, and produced a fantastic

Teach-in Kit on the Death Penalty through the lens of the Davis case and that of Reggie Clemmons, another Death Rowinmate whose case is marked by overwhelming doubt. The Kit includes

facilitation tips, materials for a presentation and action opportunities.Download the teach-in kit here for valuable information and tips:http://bit.ly/tY24NL

AI France has also produced a series of educational materials for to coincide

with the 30th anniversary of the abolition of the death penalty in France. The

materials are aimed at teachers and activists and focus on five key issuesrelated to the death penalty (juvenile offenders, deterrence, etc.). A general

reference document titled An Overview of the Death Penalty will bepublished in mid-November 2011. Click here to see all the materials:http://bit.ly/txiFkvIn order to further engage young people on what can be a difficult topic and as

a way of stimulating reflections and action, the AI France HRE Team is

launching a Poster Competition. Young people will be invited to createposters on the theme of the struggle for universal abolition and events will be

organized around online and offline exhibitions of the posters. More details

coming in early 2012! In addition to these specific educational materials, there

are several thematic brochures on the Death Penalty Base camp space.

Demand Dignity Resource PackThis educational pack, based on resources produced in 2009 by AI Belgium

(Francophone), has been adapted by AI France for use in formal and non-

formal contexts and focuses on the issues relating to Slums and the quest for

Dignity. It includes materials to support activists in their educational work,

such as theoretical information, case studies and activities for students.

More information:

Brian Evans, Campaigner, Death Penalty Abolition Campaigns, AI USA,

[email protected]

Odile de Courcy, HRE Action Support, AI France, [email protected] /

[email protected]

Other new resources!

International Organization of Francophone HRE - Understanding how to work together: http://bit.ly/vRcfXR

Focus On Educational Packs: This kit of eight thematic worksheets aims to support teachers and activists in their HREwork in schools or informal settings. Themes include Discrimination, Torture and Impunity: http://bit.ly/vFfezc


6/6

6

A Farewell from Vibeke EiksDear colleagues and friends,On 10 November I will retire after 15 years of HRE work for AI.* During these years I

have had the privilege of working directly with a large number of HRE Networkmembers and visiting most of them, and meeting many more through international

events.

It has inspired and motivated me to see and follow the great and varied HRE work

that you all do, to experience the commitment and competence of HRE multipliers

and facilitators, and their trust in the importance and potentials of HRE. Coming

from a big and strong section, I have been impressed by the way small sections

and structures meet their challenges, and the extent and impact of the HRE work

they do.

I have met hospitality and friendliness everywhere. HRE coordinators and educators

are a fantastic group of people! So, it is with a bit of a sad heart that I leave, but I

hope not to lose contact with HRE people completely. If you should want to stay in

touch, please email me on [email protected].

All the best to all of you!

Warm regards from Vibeke

*Annette Schneider will be taking over from Vibeke as Manager of the International Human Rights Education Centre in Oslo, andas Facilitator of the HRE Monitoring and Evaluation Working Group.

AI HRE CALENDAR:Upcoming Dates for your Diary

29 October - 5 November: AI Active Participation Workshop, Kenya

12-20 November: Global Education Week http://bit.ly/ohGVN0 22-24 November: AI Active Participation in Human Rights Education Workshop, Denmark 29-30 November: Participatory Approaches in Practice Workshop, UK http://bit.ly/tBiTQY 5-9 December: AI Africa HRE Project: Annual National Coordinators Review, Training and Planning

Meeting, Senegal

Vibeke Eiks, Manager,International HRE Centre, AI Norway

The Human Rights Education E-Bulletin is regularly produced to inform the AI Human Rights Education Network

bout international human rights education activities and to share news within the HRE Network and the global HREmovement. It is available in English, French and Spanish on the AI HRE Network website: http://hre.amnesty.org/

f you have news or resources for the Amnesty International HRE Network, please contact Louisa Anderson, HRETeam Assistant in the IS HRE Team by the 15th of every month:[email protected]

HRE E-Bulletin October 2011

Documents

Transcript of HRE E-Bulletin October 2011