DJS/EYCB/HRE Forum/2010/018 Budapest, 31 March 2010 Forum on Human Rights Education with Young People Living, Learning, Acting for Human Rights European Youth Centre Budapest, 14-18 October 2009 Conclusions and Follow-up of the forum
The Forum on Human Rights Education with and by Young People Living, Learning, Acting for Human Rights - was held on 15-17 October 2009 at the European Youth Centre Budapest. It brought together some 200 participants of which up to 50 youth leaders, activists and experts from Hungary. A parallel event brought together 30 local youth workers and youth leaders at the European Youth Centre in Strasbourg. The forum aimed 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 The forum issued a message to the Council of Europe in which the participants voice their expectations on the Council of Europe s role in relation to human rights, youth policy and human rights education. The message was submitted to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which took note of it and invited the member states to disseminate it. In various working groups and workshops, the participants elaborated also proposals and recommendations aimed at consolidating and developing human rights education with and by young people. These recommendations cover a variety of issues and areas such as usage of e- learning, support to networks for human rights education or integrating gender perspectives in human rights education. An Evaluation and Follow-up Meeting of the Forum was held on 10-11 February 2010 at the European Youth Centre Budapest. The meeting had triple purpose: To sharing impressions about the forum (evaluation) To discuss the conclusions and recommendations To organise the follow-up and conclusions. The conclusions and recommendations of this meeting were submitted to the Joint Council on Youth which adopted the proposals at its 22 nd meeting in March 2010, paving the way for their implementation in the programme of activities in 2010 and beyond. The Joint Council: 1. Took note of the Message to the Council of Europe by the participants of the forum; 2. Congratulated the (secretariat and the) preparatory group of the forum for the efficient organisation and for the follow-up to the forum s Message by the Committee of Ministers; 3. Took note of the report of the evaluation and follow-up meeting of the forum [DJS/EYCB/HRE Forum/2010/011], and: a. Instructed the secretariat to prepare the follow-up and implementation of the forum s conclusions as proposed by the evaluation and follow-up meeting: b. Agreed on the setting up of an informal Consultative Group on Human Rights Education to support and advise on the follow-up of the forum; c. Invited the European Steering Committee on Youth and the Advisory Council on Youth to consider implementation of follow-up proposals within their field of competence; d. Asked the secretariat for a progress report on this matter at its meeting in Spring 2011within process of implementation of the Agenda 2020.
Follow-up and implementation of the results: The recommendations of the forum are organised in eight categories: Principles of action Using the (future) Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education Mainstreaming human rights education in youth policy Revising and updating Compass Education and Training activities Networks and networking for human rights education E-participation and e-learning Support and monitoring Their implementation will contribute to the reaching of the objectives of the Agenda 2020 in relation to human rights and democracy and also, to a large extent in the social cohesion, intercultural dialogue and youth policy areas. The timing and rhythm of their implementation are left, of course, for decision by the Joint Council on Youth. Most recommendations and proposals could be implemented in the next three years. 1. General principles The implementation should be carried out according to the principles and approaches that have been applied so far and which have been stressed or highlighted by the forum participants (see also the forum s Message) and which include: a) Securing adequate levels of multiplication and relaying through projects and partners at national and local levels and developing optimal communication between the European, the national and the local levels of action; b) Seeking alliances between formal and non-formal education actors, and with human rights institutions, for setting up national human rights education programmes; c) Developing the capacity of non-governmental partners while seeking greater involvement of the governmental youth partners; d) Supporting trans-national cooperation and networks for human rights education; e) Deepening specific human rights issues affecting young people (e.g. violence, exclusion); f) Emphasising holistic approaches to human rights education (learning about, learning for and learning though human rights), based on the principles of universal and indivisible human rights that include a gender awareness perspective and an intercultural dimension that are inherent to the concept of equality in human dignity; g) Closely linking human rights education activities with the realities of young people, youth work, youth policy and non-formal learning; h) Implementing the activities according to the criteria in place; i) Seeking cooperation across different sectors and institutions in the Council of Europe and with other governmental and non-governmental partners in Europe and beyond; j) Considering the necessary overlapping and complementarity of the human rights education with children and with youth k) Considering human rights education as a human right and raise awareness about this;
l) Taking into account the protection of the freedom and security of human rights activists and educators m) Mainstreaming minority issues, including gender, ethnicity, religion or belief, ability and sexual-orientation issues n) Supporting the active participation and ownership of young people and children in educational processes; o) Raising awareness of the responsibility of states and public authorities in promoting and supporting human rights education in the formal and non-formal education fields. 2. Using the (future) Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education a) Make available regular information about the process of the charter s adoption b) Plan joint meetings of the statutory bodies of the Directorate of youth and Sport and the Directorate of Education and Languages for example at the level of their respective bureaux - to discuss common approaches for the charter s implementation and possible evaluation mechanisms c) To place the charter in the agenda of the Joint Council on Youth d) To produce a youth-friendly version of the Charter e) Include the charter as learning content in future European and national training courses on human rights education; f) Develop tools on how the charter can be used by youth organisations (this could be linked to the pack that the Directorate of Education and Languages is preparing for its project Learning Democracy and Human Rights. g) Devote the CDEJ summer university to the charter or to specific human rights education issues, such as gender equality. A critical look at the charter is also important (e.g. to see what the charter does not provide or seeing the charter as a minimum common denominator). 3. Mainstreaming human rights education in youth policy a) Call for and promote national action plans on gender issues (e.g. through the youth policy reviews) b) Devote the next CDEJ summer university on Agenda 2020 in regards to minorities in a human rights (education) framework c) Integrate equality and human rights education in the work on youth rights d) Funding for traineeships in the Council of Europe for young people from disadvantaged groups at least in the Directorate of Youth and Sport (perhaps co-sponsored by CDEJ partners?). e) Organise a similar large scale event about children rights and human rights education with children in 2011, in cooperation with the Directorate of Education and Languages and with the project Building Europe for and With Children f) Develop cooperation with agencies specialized on human rights education with children g) Activate cooperation with UNICEF, OSCE (among others) as a general approach h) Initiate a national accreditation system for NGOs to deliver HRE with children
4. Revising and updating Compass a) Include Disabilism, Migration, Religion and Remembrance as new global human rights issues; b) Secure accessibility of the future revised Compass site (and the other Internet sites of the Directorate of Youth and Sport) for people with visual impairments or disabilities c) Translate Compass (and/or Compasito) into Romani language d) Interlink the specific working groups of the forum with the Compass revision group to feedback on the sections of Compass about disability and gender 5. Education and Training activities a) Introduce new long-term courses with mentoring as a feature b) To develop training modules on advocacy for usage in educational and training activities of the Directorate of Youth and Sport. c) To organize a training course for trainers on gender equality d) To organize a training course for Roma youth, in cooperation with the Roma Division of the Council of Europe e) To encourage the participation of Roma in training activities, particularly training courses for trainers. f) To organize a 50-50 training course on the rights of disabled young people in cooperation with the Directorate General for Social Cohesion g) To increase the number of trainers with disabilities well in the trainers pool h) To make application for activities accessible to people with special needs or disabilities i) Initiate a T-kit or a resource book on environment and sustainable development j) To organize a seminar on use of arts in HRE k) To emphasise intercultural learning as a powerful tool in reconciliation processes 6. Networks and networking for human rights education a) To organise regular meetings between the sectors of youth, education (and other stakeholders) to discuss possible joint work b) To set up a data base of experts in HRE both for formal and non formal fields this could be done in cooperation with the European Wergeland Centre c) A particular attention should be paid to address difficult conditions in regards to HRE (due to national, political or institutional context post conflict situations, etc.) and how to translate them into the priorities for financial support by the European Youth Foundation. d) To improve regular and clear communication with all partners. The Internet site should be regularly updated and an electronic newsletter should be sent two or three times a year. 7. E-participation and e-learning a) To organise a seminar for trainers on e-learning in HRE in 2011 or 2012 b) To organise a seminar on best practices in e-learning in youth work so as to make the experiences of the HRE work available to other work priorities c) To make available e-learning versions of popular HRE materials
d) To take into account e-learning when developing standards for HRE e) To keep the current e-learning platform (http://act-hre.coe.int) open and usable. 8. Support and monitoring: Consultative Group on Human Rights Education A group of experts should be set up to advise the secretariat on the implementation of the recommendations. This group should: Propose standards (approaches, core principles, general approaches, indicators ) for human rights education through non-formal learning and youth work Liaise with other sectors of the Council of Europe active in human rights education in view of developing synergies, common approaches and avoiding duplication; Provide expert advise on the implementation of specific activities projects and tools; Support the process of streamlining human rights education with children and with young people in the work of the Directorate of Youth and Sport; Make proposals for gender mainstreaming in all the human rights education activities and for the inclusion an intercultural learning perspective; Support the process of implementation and evaluation of the Agenda 2020 in relation to human rights education. The group could be an informal working group bringing together members of the statutory bodies and experts from other Council of Europe sectors (and other partners, if interested). Suggested composition of the group: Two members of the Advisory Council on Youth Two members of the European Steering Committee on Youth A representative of the European Youth Forum Representatives of the European networks for human rights education with children or young people (maximum two per meeting) A member of the Advisory Group of the project Learning Democracy and Human Rights of the Directorate of Education and Languages (to be set up in 2010) Representatives of other international organisations or partners interested in the work of the group.