Kompas je postao referentni priručnik za mnoge koji učestvuju u radu sa mladima zasnovanom na vrednostima i u neformalnom obrazovanju. Priručnik je trenutno dostupan na više od 30 jezika, od arapskog i japanskog do islandskog i baskijskog. U nekim državama postao je deo resursa za obrazovanje o pravima u školama, dok u drugim državama nije moguće njegovo korišćenje u školama. Avanture u koje se Kompas otisnuo širom Evrope često odražavaju suprotstavljenu realnost obrazovanja o ljudskim pravima: na jednoj strani ga promovišu, a na drugoj se bore protiv njega; neki ga hvale, a drugi preziru.

Uspešan put koji je utro Kompas prati njegov mlađi brat Kompasito – priručnik za obrazovanje dece o ljudskim pravima. Obe publikacije podržavaju sprovođenje Povelje Saveta Evrope o obrazovanju za demokratsko građanstvo i obrazovanju za ljudska prava.

Kompas i njegovo objavljivanje na različitim jezicima predstavljaju sredstvo kojim je pitanje obrazovanja o ljudskim pravima stavljeno na dnevni red rada sa mladima i u plan i program brojnih obrazovnih ustanova. Nacionalne mreže za obrazovanje o ljudskim pravima uspostavljene su u nekoliko država u kojima jačaju aktivnosti organizacija za zaštitu ljudskih prava i zaposlenih u obrazovanju kako bi pravo na obrazovanje o ljudskim pravima postalo realnost za što veći broj dece i mladih širom Evrope. Forum za obrazovanje mladih o ljudskim pravima pod naslovom ,,Život, učenje i borba za ljudska prava'' održan u Budimpešti 2009. godine naglasio je značaj obrazovanja o ljudskim pravima u današnje vreme[i]:

Ljudska prava se ne mogu braniti i promovisati samo pravnim instrumentima. Obrazovanje o ljudskim pravima – učenje o ljudskim pravima, kroz ljudska prava i za ljudska prava – od suštinskog je značaja kako bi se obezbedilo opšte razumevanje, poštovanje i promovisanje ljudskih prava.

Aktivnosti koje preduzimaju mladi i koje se preduzimaju za mlade kroz Kompas – priručnik za obrazovanje mladih o ljudskim pravima, jasno pokazuje da Savet Evrope može da se osloni na velikodušnost, strast i kompetencije mladih kako bi se obrazovanje o ljudskim pravima pretvorilo u realnost za mnoge mlade ljude. […] Iskustva stečena kroz rad sa mladima i neformalno učenje uspešno su stavljena u službu projekata za obrazovanje o ljudskim pravima za sve uključene, uključujući i komplementarnost formalnog i neformalnog učenja.

Obrazovanje o ljudskim pravima ne može da predstavlja isključivu odgovornost nevladinih organizacija i organizacija za mlade. Takođe, ovim pitanjem ne mogu da se bave isključivo volonteri. Države imaju veliku odgovornost za sprovođenje obrazovanja o ljudskim pravima. One moraju da ga prigrle, podrže i održe na način koji predviđa ulogu formalnih i neformalnih obrazovnih sektora.

Za mnoge praktičare koji se bave obrazovanjem o ljudskim pravima, Kompas je postao sinonim za obrazovanje o ljudskim pravima. Međutim, obrazovanje o ljudskim pravima prevazilazi ono što donosi Kompas. Kompas ukazuje na putanje i predlaže načine za realizaciju obrazovanja o ljudskim pravima, ali prepušta izbor putanje i načina realizacije facilitatoru i na kraju samim učenicima.

Kompas nije ljudsko pravo; obrazovanje o ljudskim pravima jeste.

Staranje da Kompas bude relevantan u drugoj deceniji 21. veka

In the first ten years of its life, Compass was confronted with a rapid development of issues and challenges to human rights and human rights education. Among these were the acceleration of the globalisation processes, an increase in terrorism and the response of a global war on terrorism, the global financial crisis, the effects of human-induced climate change, the various flower revolutions in Georgia, Ukraine and several Arab countries, the expansion of the Internet, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the tsunami and nuclear disaster in Fukushima, and more. Compass was now desperately pointing from one crisis to another, and was also outdated in some areas. As a result, a revised and updated version - the 2012 edition - was published.

Our primary concern was to make Compass 2012 relevant for the second decade of the 21st century. We took into account the evaluations of users – online and off-line – and also the “acceleration of history”; not all that had been important in 2002 was still equally important ten years later and many other issues were gaining prominence. The resulting 2012 edition of Compass was a development out of what had gone before, a mixture of the old and the new. Readers and human rights practitioners found information and activities that embraced current concerns and that discussion of controversial issues was still foreseen, learner-centredness was still there and taking action still expected.

What's different in this reprint?

In this 2015 reprint you will find chapters 1-4 exactly as they are in the 2012 edition. What is different is that the extensive background information of chapter 5 is missing. This is not to imply that the background information is unimportant; it is indeed very important! The detailed information about the nineteen themes is available online at www.coe.int/compass where it can more easily be kept updated. In this 2015 reprint you will find a shorter chapter 5 containing summaries of the themes and an invitation to help keep the background material up to date and relevant through providing feedback.

Our intention is that this 2015 reprint will fulfil practitioners' needs for a hands-on manual for human rights education that is sufficient and practical. Having the background information on the Council of Europe website ensures that the information can be kept up to date. Furthermore, by not printing the 160 pages of background information we have produced a manual that is lighter in weight, cheaper and helps protect the environment by saving on paper.

The core values and approaches underlying Compass remain fully valid. Compass should be:

Sufficient: Users will find everything they need to introduce and explore human rights education with young people.

Ready to use: The proposed activities do not require additional resources or lengthy preparation.

Up-to-date with young people: The activities and human rights issues are easy to connect to the concerns and points of view of adolescents and young adults.

Practical and experiential: All the activities include suggestions for putting what has been learned into action, thus involving the participants in more than simply cognitive processes.

Suitable for formal and non-formal education: Although the activities have been developed for non-formal educational settings almost all can be run in school classrooms with some adaptation, for instance in relation to duration.

Adaptable: All the activities can be adapted to the context, group and society in which they are “played”. Suggestions for variations help the facilitator to create their own adaptations.

A starting point: Interested facilitators and educators will find plenty of suggestions and resources for going deeper into specific issues or learning more about human rights.

Generic and holistic: Compass can be used for any human rights issue and any level of learner knowledge. It is based on an inclusive and holistic approach to learning that integrates values, attitudes, skills and knowledge.

Get started!

Compass is written for everybody with an interest in human rights who wishes to engage in HRE. First-time users of Compass should know that we have made no assumptions about prior knowledge about human rights and human rights education nor about the themes we have chosen to work with. Neither have we made any assumptions about people's prior experience of teaching or leading activities. Extensive support is given on how to run the activities and on how to adapt and develop them according to the needs of the learners and the practical circumstances. There is a special section on tips for teachers. For some, 'taking action' may at first sight be problematical which is why we deal extensively with the concept and explain its role in the educational process in chapter 3.

Compass is a resource of information, tools and tips for HRE. Consequently it can be used in many different ways and there is no particular starting point. However, we suggest you begin by looking at the table of contents on the previous pages, dip into the manual and familiarise yourself with its general structure and content. Many people are initially most interested in the activities. This is fine, but we do recommend that you at least read chapter 1.3, 'Using Compass for Human Rights Education' before running any of the activities.

We hope you enjoy using this 2015 edition of Compass. Let us know if we have succeeded in giving you the information and tools you need, and help us to improve through posting your feedback at www.coe.int/compass.