Compasito seeks to develop in children the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes they need to participate in their society, knowing and protecting their rights and the rights of others. In this way, children can actively contribute to building a culture of human rights.
start from what children already know as a basis for exploring new ideas and perspectives
encourage children to participate actively in discussion and to learn from each other as much as possible
inspire and enable children to put their learning into simple but meaningful and appropriate action in support of justice, equality and human rights
reflect the core values of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and encourage a culture of human rights among children.
Attitudes and values related to communication, critical thinking, advocacy, responsibility, tolerance and respect for others cannot be taught; they must be learned through experience. For this reason, the activities in Compasito promote co-operation, participation and active learning. They aim at a holistic engagement of the child’s head, heart and hands. Only a child who understands that human rights evolve from basic human needs and feels empathy for other human beings will take personal responsibility to protect the human rights of others. This is also reflected in an open-ended learning approach whereby participants are not steered towards one “right” answer, because ambiguity is a fact of the world we live in. Open-ended learning encourages self-confidence to express opinions and critical thinking. This is essential in human rights education because human rights issues are bound to result in different opinions and understandings; it is therefore important for the learners to learn together but still be free to disagree or come to opposite conclusions or points of view.
