1. Conference News: “Intercultural Dialogue - Challenge for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education” (Vienna, 14-16 November 2008)

Dear colleagues in EDC and HRE,

we are very pleased to inform you that DARE received almost 300 applications to the Vienna conference: “Intercultural Dialogue - Challenge for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education”. About 130 practitioners from 32 countries will participate. This European conference aims at providing a forum for practitioners in formal and non-formal education, academia and activists, political scientists, educators in Human Rights Education and Education for Democratic Citizenship (HRE/EDC), and policy makers from various levels. Among them are members of the European Parliament, representatives of the Council of Europe and the European Commission, staffers and volunteers of various European HRE and EDC networks, activists of minority organisations, researchers and policy workers, educators in EDC/HRE and many, many more.

The conference offers networking opportunities, hands-on training and an exchange of best practices. The findings and results developed during the conference will be published and used for the preparation of a hearing on EDC/HRE in the European Parliament in spring 2009.

Please download the detailed conference program at: www.dare-network.eu.

On the day before the conference (Nov 13, 3-7 pm) the Special Interest Groups within the current DARE project will meet. We will also have the DARE general assembly at this occasion. The invitation and the program will be sent soon to all DARE members.

See you soon in Vienna,

Your conference team: Reinhard Eckert, Georg Pirker and Anne Stalfort

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 2. Synchronised Action Days 2008

With the Synchronised Action Days we reconnect our work from the grassroots level to the level of policy making. We show the initiatives and give an impression what work in EDC/ HRE is being done by our organisations and partners on local, regional and national and European level. Synchronised Action Days are a dissemination tool for our activities and they have a clear function to lobby for our work, by showing what is been done.

Therefore we decided to collect all EDC/HRE activities undertaken by our organisations and partner organisations in the period covered 20.11.2008 until 10.12.2008.

These activities will be collected, published with a link to your activity on DAREs Web and put in a brochure, which will be sent to all relevant stakeholders on national and European level (MEPs, MPs, MEC etc) in order to give an impression what activities related to EDC/HRE happen in this period.

It is absolutely necessary to collect as much activities as possible, because it only can be used as a lobby tool if we collect an impressive number of activities. (for example: if every partner manages to present 10 own activities we already have 160 activities only from our partner organisations, if every partner furthermore can motivate also other organisations the number will be quite impressive).

You are free to use the logo of the synchronised action days 2008 on your web/programme/materials of your organisations and reconnect it also to the DARE webpage. The SAD - LOGO does not mention DARE as organisation behind it, to give also non-dare members from all over Europe the possibility to participate in the activity.

We therefore ask you to fill every single EDC/HRE- activity your organisation or some of your partner organisations undertakes in the period from 20.11.2008 - 10.12.2008 to the form which you can download here.

What you have to do to do?

1. Fill in the required information to every field that is being asked.

2. For every activity please copy the table and repeat it until you have filled every single EDC/HRE- activity your organisations (or partner organisations) undertakes in the period from 20.11.2008-10.12.2008.

3. Send the form until 10th October 2008 via email to Anne Stalfort

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 3. Sustainability and Human Rights - Raising awareness for issues like sustainable transportation, consumption, event management etc. within the DARE network

At its recent working meeting the DARE special interest group “Action and Research” used the 'Community of Enquiry' approach to explore the connection between sustainability and human rights. This connection is based on the assumption, that a healthy and safe environment and access to resources like energy, drinking water, secure food supply and sanitation are basic human rights. Climate change threatens progress in achieving these basic rights for all. The high consumption of individuals and organizations (including the DARE network) in developed countries adds to the climate change threat.

Areas to be reviewed include:

• the balance of face-to-face meetings and other forms of communications, e.g. Skype, e-mail

• consumption minimizing on conference, working meeting and other events

• encouragement to compare the CO2 footprint of all possible means of transportation

This session also served as a basis for the afternoon discussion on how sustainability could become a stronger element within the DARE network. SIG 3 will prepare suggestions for the forthcoming DARE General Assembly in order to raise awareness for issues like sustainable transportation, consumption, event management etc. within the DARE network.

We invite your feedback, comments, support or protest on this important issue. Please write to Mick Bradley.

Mick Bradley, Centre for Global Education (York, UK)

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 4. Dignity and justice for all of us - Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

On 10 December 2007, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon launched a year-long global awareness campaign to mark the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The UDHR arose as a means of safeguarding the rights of individuals in the wake of the atrocities committed in World War 2. The initial document was taken up at the very first session of the UN General Assembly in 1946, and it took a further two years for the Commission on Human Rights, chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, to present an advanced draft to member states. Over 50 states then participated in the final drafting, and when the Declaration was adopted by the General Assembly on 10 December 1948 there were no dissenting votes.

The UDHR was initially adopted as “a common standard of achievement for all people and nations”, but it has also laid the foundation for international human rights law, a benchmark for what we know as right and wrong. The Declaration has inspired more than 80 international human rights treaties and declarations, while its principles are enshrined in legally binding international covenants. All UN member states have ratified at least one of the 9 core international covenants emanating from it, and 80 percent have ratified four or more, reflecting the true universal nature of the Universal Declaration.

Translated into over 360 languages, the UDHR holds the world record for the most translated document. It remains universally recognised, transcending cultures and traditions, uniting the world in its pursuit of human dignity, equality, fairness and non-discrimination. In commemoration of the Declaration's 60th Anniversary, events will be held at the Temple of Peace later in 2008.

The following human rights related materials are available from the WCIA:

• Bilingual booklet - Universal Declaration of Human Rights - 25p*

• Bilingual Poster - Children's rights - 25p*

• Welsh Language Poster - Datganiad Cyffredinol o Hawliau Dynol - 25p*
  
  *Plus postage and packaging

Ona Flindall, Programme Co-ordinator, Welsh Centre for International Affairs, Wales/UK

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 5. 60 suggestions for working on human rights and children's rights in the (Belgian) Flemish Schools

The 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights creates an opportunity to introduce or stenghten human rights education in schools and outside the school system. VORMEN, the Belgian Flemish organisation for human rights education, recently launched an appeal to schools, teacher training institutes, parent organisations and local authorities staff training responsibles to take human rights and children's rights education initiatives, supplying them therefore with a broad variety of suggestions. These 60 suggestions for the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights can be found at a webpage: www.vormen.org/60tips (in Dutch!). This webpage allows to open 6 different webpages (for 6 different target groups), each with 10 suggestions.

Wim Taelman, VORMEN vzw (Belgium)

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 6. Appeals for common projects

Here you find a short description of a series of initiatives and opportunities for common initiatives.

a) SIG 2 Initiative: Audiovisual Materials for HRE/EDC Practitioners

During the Rome meeting of SIG 2 (DARE's Special Interest Group on common projects) it became evident that part of the DARE members showed interest in usage of audiovisual materials (human rights documentaries, animation, etc.) and development of new methods on how to combine audiovisual materials with other teaching methods in HRE/EDC.

Thus a decision was made to explore this field in more detail and develop a common project. LCHR, the leading member of this initiative, will organize a human rights film festival "Ad Hoc: Inconvenient Films" in October, 23-30 in Vilnius. SIG 2 decided that this might be an opportunity for DARE members, who would like to get involved in the development of this common project, to meet and discuss possible activites, contribute as well as gain experience from people who are using human rights films in HRE/EDC.

So far a few ideas of possible project acitivities have been raised:

• Preparation of a tool kit for HRE/EDC practitioners and multipliers, where pre-selected films on various HR aspects and topics could be listed, providing additional information on how to use these films, where to obtain them, etc.

• Development of new methods on how to use audiovisual materials in HRE/EDC, combine them with other tools, etc.

• Sharing experience among DARE members who use human rights films in their practical work.

More information...


b) Call for Project Partners: Tolerance Education in Multicultural Society

Description of the project

Tolerance education in multicultural society (TEMS) is a framework training programme for student-teachers, in-service-training teachers and all others who work in NGOs, particularly with minorities, immigrants, asylum seekers. It prepares them to work with children in a multicultural environment giving them knowledge and experience of minority cultures presented in the CR, particularly Romany. It is a multidisciplinary programme whose major innovation is to bring together themes (HRE and Education for Citizenship among them) which are rarely touched upon in teachers training . TEMS is a mix of cognitive and participative teaching methods aimed at changing teachers' and students' attitudes, making them more open-minded and tolerant.

More information...

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 7. Human Rights Training for Adults: What Twenty-Six Evaluation Studies Say About Design, Implementation and Follow-Up

The first issue in HREA's Research in Human Rights Education Papers has appeared. The paper is a comparative study on models of human rights training. "Human Rights Training for Adults: What Twenty-six Evaluation Studies Say About Design, Implementation and Follow-Up" examines trainings for human rights defenders, police officers, government officials and the general public.

Among its main recommendations are: 1) programmes need to more consistently deliver the interactive, experiential and transformative adult education methodologies that they all agree are essential to effective human rights training; 2) programmes need to emphasise comprehensive mechanisms to follow-up with participants after the formal training programme is complete; and 3) programmes should explore how they might carry out reliable and comprehensive research and documentation of their work as the HRE field as a whole lacks solid longitudinal evaluation data on the long-term impact of human rights trainings on participants.

The Research in Human Rights Education Paper Series intends to foster and disseminate research and evaluation in the practice of human rights education, training and learning. Through the Research in Human Rights Education Papers HREA hopes to encourage more research on the impact of human rights education and make the results available to practitioners, to academics and to funders.

Human Rights Training for Adults: What Twenty-Six Evaluation Studies Say About Design, Implementation and Follow-Up (PDF file), Katharine Teleki, August 2007 (Issue no. 1), 35 pages

Frank Elbers, Human Rights Education Associates (HREA)

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 8. Norwegian Helsinki Committee

The Norvegian Helsinki Committee has been involved in human rights education since the beginning of the 1990s. The aim of our work is to transmit knowledge about human rights, multi-cultural understanding and peaceful conflict resolution, in order to create a “human rights culture”. In this way, we wish to encourage people to be involved in society and to meet other groups of people with an open and positive attitude. The objectives of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee’s human rights education are: to transmit knowledge about and understanding of human rights, multi-cultural understanding and peaceful conflict resolution, as well as the institutions that develop, promote and protect these values; to transmit knowledge about the relationship between human rights and the individual person; to create understanding of how the human rights can contribute to improved relations between people, a fairer society, and conditions for individuals to live a full life; to create a meeting place for dialogue between people with different backgrounds.

We arrange Human Rights Schools in regions such as the Balkans, Russia, Norway and other regions. A Human Rights School is a 9 day course in human rights, multi-cultural understanding and peaceful conflict resolution. The main focus of our educational work are the youth, but we also organize schools and courses for teachers, journalists, public administration officials, refugees, policeforce and prison employees and others.

For more information about the Norwegian Helsinki Committee and our work in human rights education www.nhc.no.

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 9. Call for proposals from the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency

The European Union Fundamental Rights Agency has launched an Open Call for Tender for a project on “The role of commemoration sites, original sites and historical museums in Holocaust education and Human Rights education in the EU”.

You can find all documents related to the call on the FRA Webpage.

If you wish to submit an offer and you have any questions related to the tender procedure, please contact the procurement section via email, fax (+43-1-58030-691) or telephone (+43-1-58030-649). Deadline for dispatching of offers is 17 October 2008.

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 10. New publications and materials

a. Buitengewoon recht (in Dutch)

A resource with suggestions for working in special education schools with 12-14 year olds on human rights and children's rights. In Dutch. More information and downloads...

b. Kinderrechten uit de kinderschoenen (in Dutch)

An informational brochure on children's rights for civil servants in local administrations. And a manual with suggestions for training methods to be used in training initiatives with this target group. More information and downloads…

c. Rechten in vrijheid (in Dutch)

A small resource with suggestions for teachers in organising 'guided autonomous learning' on children's rights and human rights with 16-18 year olds. More information and downloads…

d. Rechten proeven (in Dutch)

A small resource with suggestions for teachers in primary and secondary education on the use of different forms of 'dramatic expression' in working on children's rights and human rights. More information and downloads…

e. Thuis in kinderrechten (in Dutch)

An informational brochure on children's rights for parents of primary school children . And a manual with suggestions for training methods to be used in training initiatives with this target group. More information and downloads…

Wim Taelman, VORMEN vzw (Belgium)

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 11. DARE Discussion Paper: Teaching Politics in a Globalized World

As part of the work of SIG 3 (Special Interest Group "Research and Action"), Ragnar Müller from Pharos Stuttgart/Sarajevo published a discussion paper on teaching politics in a world of multi-level governance. He presents a new approach called "Policy-Approach" [discussion paper, pdf, 216 kb].
The paper builds upon a Ph. D. thesis on teaching complex topics such as globalization and European integration which is available online (in German language).

Ragnar Müller, Pharos Stuttgart/Sarajevo