North-South Centre

LISBON FORUM 2009

Creating a culture of human rights through education

The Lisbon Forum is a platform for dialogue and for sharing experiences, expertise and good practices between Europe and the other continents, especially the Middle East, Africa and the countries on the south side of the Mediterranean. The Forum has been held by the North-South Centre since 1994. It focuses on issues at the heart of the mandate and actions of the Council of Europe: human rights, democracy, the rule of law and intercultural dialogue. It has been enriched since 2006 by partnerships with the Council of Europe’s Commission for Democracy through Law – also known as the Venice Commission - and the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights and, most recently, with the Alliance of Civilisations, operating under the aegis of the United Nations.

During the 2008 session, a new process was launched devoted to a particularly topical issue, the principle of universality of human rights and its implementation at international and regional level. On 10-11 November 2008, the participants carried out a general analysis of the situation 60 years after the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948. On the basis of this analysis, a work programme was adopted for the upcoming years, focussing on the promotion, understanding and strengthening of human rights, as well as on present and future challenges in this field.

The following subjects were selected:

· the impact of globalisation on human rights
· the principle of equality between women and men
· freedom of expression, conscience and religion
· human rights as a basis for the integration of cultural diversity
· security and freedom
· creating a culture of human rights through education
· the abolition of the death penalty.

Among these themes, the one chosen by the statutory bodies of the North-South Centre for the 2009 Lisbon Forum is “Creating a Culture of Human Rights through Education”.

Aim and Objectives

The overall aim of the Lisbon Forum 2009 is to promote the creation of a culture of human rights, through “quadrilogue” action, i.e. governments, parliamentarians, local and regional authorities and civil society.

The objectives are as follows:

· promote dialogue on human rights education and explore different understandings of human rights education;
· reinforce co-operation between international and regional organisations on the issue of human rights education;
· sharing of experiences, expertise and good practices between Europe and the other continents and identifying challenges that human rights education faces and elaborate joint action on how to meet these challenges;
· to explore ways to promote human rights education with young people and through youth organisations and to discuss strategies and approaches to human rights education in youth work;
· contribute to the ongoing consultation process that should lead to the adoption of a Recommendation by the Committee of Ministers supporting global education in the member States of the Council of Europe.

Place and Date

The 2009 edition of the Lisbon Forum took place on:
13-14 November 2009 at the Ismaili Centre in Lisbon, Portugal.

Organisation and Working Methods

The organisers of the 2009 Lisbon Forum are the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe and the Alliance of Civilisations, in partnership with the Aga Khan Development Network. Key note speeches, shorter interventions and discussions were held in English, French and Poruguese and simultaneous interpretation to/from these three languages was available during the conference.

In parallel to the Lisbon Forum, a fair with stands was set up for human rights organisations, education professionals and practitioners to display their work in the field of human rights education and to allow for an exchange of experiences on tools, methods, projects etc. The fair continued in the afternoon on the second day, after the closing session.

Programme Elements

· Opening session
· Introductory session by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights
· Working session I, with key note speeches regarding global strategies for strengthening human rights education
· Working session II, which includes key note speakers representing the different regions, followed by a plenary discussion on regional approaches to human rights education, in both formal and non-formal education, with contributions from pre-identified discussants.
· Working session III, with contributions from key note speakers focusing on youth as agents of change in human rights education
· Closing session

After the closing of the first day of the Forum on 13 November, a reception hosted by the City of Lisbon took place.

Participants

· Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe
· High Representative of the United Nations for the Alliance of Civilisations
· President of the European Commission (video message)
· Director Research and Right to Development Division, Bureau of the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights
· Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights
· High-level representatives from the Portuguese Government
· High-level representatives from regional structures such as ALECSO, ASEAN and other international organisations with which the Council of Europe has signed a Co-operation Agreement and whose field of action is relevant to the NSC, e.g. UNESCO, OSCE, Anna Lindh Foundation, among others.
· Human Rights Education Experts from Africa, Asia, America, Europe and the Middle East
· Representatives from current (Slovenia) and upcoming (Switzerland) Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and the Swedish Presidency of the European Union
· Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament
· Members of the Executive Council of the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe
· Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe
· Committee of Regions of the European Union
· Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe
· Representatives from international and regional youth organisations
· Representatives from the City of Lisbon
· Representatives of the Aga Khan Development Network
· Members of the diplomatic corps in Lisbon.