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FORUM ON HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION with and by Young People

European Youth Centre Budapest
14-18 October 2009

The Human Rights Education Youth Programme: Bringing human rights education into the mainstream of youth work and youth policy
The 2009 Forum: Consolidating human rights education in the Agenda 2020
Aims and objectives of the forum
Possible outcomes of the forum
Dates and venue
Participants
All participants should:
Working languages
Draft Programme
Preparation
Other activities of the Directorate of Youth and Sport

The Human Rights Education Youth Programme: Bringing human rights education into the mainstream of youth work and youth policy

In the year 2000, the Directorate of Youth and Sport of the Council of Europe organised the first Human Rights Education Forum at the European Youth Centre in Budapest. The forum built on the action month, ‘Europe – Youth – Human Rights’ organised in Budapest to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Council of Europe in 1999.

The first Forum on Human Rights Education gathered activists and multipliers in youth and human rights organisations who, together with representatives of institutions and experts, mapped the needs and opportunities for human rights education with young people across Europe.

The forum’s most important and visible outcome has been the shaping of the Human Rights Education Youth Programme. This programme has been running since 2001 and has embodied the work of the Directorate of Youth and Sport in relation to the promotion of the core mission and values of the Council of Europe related to human rights and democracy.

The Human Rights Education Youth Programme has been established in order to “bring human rights education into the mainstream of youth work and youth policy”. In other words, the programme has built on the potential of youth work and non-formal learning to strengthen human rights, while human rights education has contributed to anchor youth work and non-formal education within the human rights ethical, political and normative framework.

The programme was centred initially on the development of educational resources that would facilitate the access to human rights education methodologies by youth workers, occasional trainers and facilitators. ‘Compass - a manual on human rights education with young people’ was developed for this purpose, providing background information on key human rights issues as well as practical activities to bring human rights issues closer to young people and to motivate young people to be active for human rights.

With ‘Compass’ at its centre, the programme has quickly developed in ways that have made it one of the most successful initiatives of the Council of Europe’s youth sector in recent years:

The training of trainers and multipliers in human rights education who have, as a consequence, acted as advocates and resource people for human rights education at national and local level
The translation and publication of Compass into 25 languages (more are in progress), effectively making it accessible and usable by human rights educators in the formal and non-formal education sector
The support for key regional and national training activities for teacher and youth worker trainers in the member states, organised in cooperation with national organisations and institutions
Support to local initiatives and pilot projects carried out by young people by the European Youth Foundation
The development of formal and informal networks of organisations and educators for human rights education through non-formal learning approaches at European and national levels
The mainstreaming of human rights education approaches and methods in the overall programme of activities of the Directorate of Youth and Sport
The development of innovative training and learning approaches and quality standards for human rights education and non-formal learning, such as the introduction of e-learning by the Advanced Compass Training in Human Rights Education
Providing the educational approaches and resources for the ‘All Different – All Equal’ European youth campaign for Diversity, Human Rights and Participation
The dissemination of the Living Library as a methodology for intercultural learning, combating stereotypes and prejudices
The provision of the political and educational framework for intercultural dialogue activities, such as those run in the context of Euro-Mediterranean, Euro-Arab and Asia-Europe youth projects, as well as those run within the Youth Partnership between the European Commission and the Council of Europe
The launching of the process leading to the adoption of common standards and objectives for human rights education and education for democratic citizenship by the member states in the form of a Charter or similar policy instrument, in cooperation with the Steering Committee on Education.

In addition to Compass, the Human Rights Education Programme has also provided the context for the development of other resources for human rights education in general or for specific issues related to the “promotion of equality in dignity” – the purpose of human rights education, as adopted in the programme:

Compasito - manual for human rights education with children
Gender Matters – manual on gender-based violence affecting young people
Companion, A campaign guide about education and learning for change in Diversity, Human Rights and Participation
Don’t judge a book by its cover - The Living Library organisers’ guide
The revised versions of the Education Pack ‘All Different – All Equal’ and of DOmino, educational manuals against racism, antisemitism, xenophobia and intolerance
Mosaic – the T-Kit for Euro-Mediterranean youth work
An online human rights education resource centre making these materials accessible to a wide audience and allowing for interaction among users (www.coe.int/compass).

The 2009 Forum: Consolidating human rights education in the Agenda 2020

The Agenda 2020 – adopted by the 8th Conference of Youth Ministers in Kyiv in October 2008 and confirmed by the Committee of Ministers in the Resolution CM/Res(2008)23 on the youth policy of the Council of Europe – recognises the important contribution of the Human Rights Education Youth Programme to the mission of the Council of Europe and, in particular, its youth sector, and confirms the commitment of young people for human rights as a centre-piece of the Agenda 2020. The work priority Human Rights and Democracy includes, thus, the following objectives:

“ensuring young people’s full enjoyment of human rights and human dignity, and encouraging their commitment in this regard;
promoting young people’s active participation in democratic processes and structures;
promoting equal opportunities for the participation of all young people in all aspects of their everyday lives;
effectively implementing gender equality and preventing all forms of gender-based violence;
promoting awareness education and action among young people on environment and sustainable development;
facilitating the access of all young people to information and counselling services.”

This renewed agenda for human rights education calls for a review of the achievements reached so far, as well as for a strategic reflection on how to consolidate and develop them further so as to take into account the realities of young people, human rights and non-formal education today.
The Second Forum on Human Rights Education with and by Young People is organized with this mission which, symbolically, is made more important by the celebrations of the 60th Anniversary of the Council of Europe in 2009.

The forum should, among others, discuss and provide guidelines about the objectives, approaches and methods to be pursued in the coming decade by the Directorate of Youth and Sport of the Council of Europe and its non-governmental and governmental partners, including, for example:

The possible adoption of a framework policy document on human rights education and education for democratic citizenship and the monitoring of its implementation, especially in relation to non-formal education;
The need to place greater emphasis on the access and enjoyment of all human rights by all young people, in particular their access to social and economic rights;
The need to increase synergies between human rights education and education for sustainable development;
The process of revising and updating ‘Compass’;
The role of pilot projects and the need to take stock and learn from the actions of young people at local level;
The consolidation and development of national and European networks for human rights education with and by young people;
The overlapping agendas of human rights education and the participation of children;
The recognition and quality development of training for human rights education;
Issues and dilemmas related to gender equality;
The development of intercultural dialogue and updating of intercultural learning approaches and practices in European youth work;
Linking with other regional and international initiatives (such as the Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union and the World Programme for Human Rights Education of the United Nations).

Aims and objectives of the forum

The forum aims to promote, consolidate and develop human rights education with and by young people within the Council of Europe’s mission and framework, and:

To associate young people with the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the Council of Europe
To share/exchange achievements and challenges regarding the implementation of the Human Rights Education Youth Programme at a local, regional, national and international level
To voice young people’s commitments to the core values of the Council of Europe and their expectations towards the organisation
To discuss strategies and approaches to human rights education in Europe through non-formal learning and youth work (including the definitions and key concepts in human rights education)
To explore ways and develop guidelines to promote and advance human rights education with young people as an integral part of the implementation of the Agenda 2020
To link the Human Rights Education Youth Programme with other regional and international initiatives for human rights education
To present and reflect on the draft charter on human rights education and democratic citizenship as well as its role in supporting the recognition of human rights education in the member states
To consolidate and connect national and European networks for human rights education.
To support the development of human rights education in Hungary.

Possible outcomes of the forum

A message from the participants to the Committee of Ministers on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Council of Europe
Guidelines for the implementation of the Agenda 2020 in relation to human rights and democracy
A general report
Documentation, printed and online
Video clips from young people about the Council of Europe and Human Rights
New partners for the Human Rights Education Youth Programme
Further visibility to human rights education networks.

Dates and venue

The forum will be held from 15 to 17 October 2009 at the European Youth Centre Budapest. The participants should plan to arrive on 14 October and to depart on 18 October.

Participants

The forum will bring together some 200 participants, of which up to 50 youth leaders, activists and experts will be from Hungary. The participants will be:

Governmental representatives or experts active in youth policy, youth work, education or human rights;
Representatives and activists of and within non-governmental organisations, including leaders of youth organisations, youth workers, trainers and facilitators of human rights education with young people;
Youth researchers experienced or interested in human rights education;
Organisers of pilot projects and national and regional training courses in human rights education supported by the Council of Europe’s Directorate of Youth and Sport over the past eight years (including those supported by the European Youth Foundation);
Representatives of organisations responsible for the translations and publications of Compass;
Experts from human rights organisations and institutions (ombudsman offices, international organisations, etc.) concerned with human rights education.

All participants should:

Be motivated and interested in furthering human rights education with young people.
Be available for the full duration of the forum;
Be able to work in English, French or Russian;
Be resident in one of the parties to the European Cultural Convention; only a very limited number of places is foreseen for participants from other continents.

Working languages

The forum will be held in English, French and Russian with simultaneous interpretation. Hungarian may be used for selected programme elements and some formal sessions.

Draft Programme

Link to the Draft programme (as revised on the 12^th October 2009)

Preparation

The forum is being prepared by a Preparatory Group which brings together experts from the youth and human rights education fields, and benefits from the system of co-management of the Council of Europe youth sector. The Preparatory Group includes notably representatives of:

The Advisory Council on Youth
The European Steering Committee on Youth
The European Youth Forum
The Human Rights Education Youth Network
The Youth Human Rights Movement
Secretariat of the Directorate of Education
Secretariat of the Directorate of Youth and Sport
The Hungarian Youth Service ’Mobilitás’

Other activities of the Directorate of Youth and Sport

If you are interested in other activities related to international youth work, but your profile does not fully correspond with the requirements of the forum, please note that the Directorate of Youth and Sport organises several other activities, including study sessions and training courses for youth workers, youth leaders and trainers. Some of these offers are run within a Partnership on Youth, jointly run with the European Commission.

Further information about the courses can be obtained from the Directorate of Youth and Sport and the Partnership sites: http://www.coe.int/youth and http://www.youth-partnership.net

European Youth Centre Budapest
Zivatar utca 1-3, H-1024 BUDAPEST, Hungary
Fax: + 36 1 212 40 76 Tel: + 36 1 438 1030
Email: eycb.secretariat@coe.int