Partners in Human Rights Education

FIRST STEPS:

A Manual for Starting Human Rights Education


This manual is for teachers and others who work with young people
and who want to introduce human rights in their educational practices.
It is designed to be a basic introduction, with age-specific activities for
younger and older children. There is also advice on methodology, and help
for those who want to go further into this subject. The approach stresses
the practical rather than theoretical.

The manual was written in response to a need expressed by Amnesty International
members and other Human Rights Education activists in the region of Central and
Eastern Europe. The material has therefore been adapted or specially written for this
region. Please bear this in mind if you use the activities in another region.

It could not have been written and produced without the hard work of
Nick Wilson and Branka Emer i .

Valuable comments were made by Felisa Tibbitts, Nancy Flowers, Hugh Starkey,
Jana Kvie inska, Corina Leca and Jana Ondra kova. Kerry Howard, Ulrike
Zimmermann and Anna Henry typed much of the text. Special thanks are due for
some activities to the Citizenship Foundation, William Kriedler and Thomas Lickona.

You are encouraged to photocopy, translate and adapt this text for your own use.
If you live in Europe, please check with the Amnesty International Europe
Program Regional Development Team at the address below before translating passages
which might already be available in your language, and send a copy of your
completed translation/adaptation to the Team, who can also supply you with more
copies in English.

Enquiries about the content of the manual and its use outside Europe
should be addressed to:

Human Rights Education Team
mnesty International International Secretariat
1 Easton St, London WC1X 8DJ
United Kingdom


London, August 1996

Amnesty International Index Number: POL 32/04/95


* Part One: First Steps



This part contains:

What are human rights? Page 2
What is Human Rights Education? Page 5
Common questions about Human Rights Education Page 8

* Part Two: Tools



This part contains:

Exploring the human rights environment in the school Page 12
How can human rights be part of the curriculum? Page 20
Useful teaching methods Page 24
How to design your own human rights teaching activities Page 38
Evaluating your human rights teaching activities Page 41

* Part Three: Younger Children



This part contains:

Starting up - introductory activities Page 46
You and me - activities about diversity Page 50
Who, me? - activities about responsibility Page 65
Rights for Life - activities about the universality of rights Page 71
What"s fair? - activities about justice Page 79
My rights / Your rights - activities about situations where rights conflict Page 85
Action! - taking human rights beyond the classroom Page 91

* Part Four: Older Children



This part contains:

Starting up - introductory activities Page 96
Living together - activities about respect Page 102
Who, me? - activities about responsibility Page 109
Rights for Life - activities about the universality of rights Page 122
What's fair? - activities about justice Page 131
My rights / Your rights - activities about situations where rights conflict Page 138
Action! - taking human rights beyond the classroom Page 151

* Part Five: Human Rights Documents



This part contains:

Universal Declaration of Human Rights Page 157
Simplified Version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Page 163
Simplified Version of the Convention on the Rights of the Child Page 166
Summary of Rights from the Convention on the Rights of the Child Page 171

* Part Six: Next Steps



This part contains:

Building a Human Rights Education Network Page 173
Organizing a Human Rights Education Workshop Page 175
Example of a Human Rights Education Workshop Page 178
Evaluating your Human Rights Education Workshop Page 183
Useful Organizations Page 186
Possible Funders Page 189
Useful Books Page 191