Description
The main purpose of the project is to strengthen the presence of education for human rights at national level, significantly extending the range of active stakeholders and promoting a better cooperation between the higher education system and NGOs. The project will focus on creating formal, working partnerships to build a network of active cooperation in Portugal, working towards capacity building on human rights. Primarily targeting young adults, students and NGOs, the project shall invest in teaching tools that educate on human rights. It should be noted that the project will introduce in Portugal the "Compass" manual, for education on human rights, produced by the Council of Europe. This work will be complemented with awareness raising actions targeting the school community – namely the teachers – and NGOs. It will also feature a conference on education for human rights.
Summary of project results
There is a general lack of Human Rights culture in Portugal. The learning opportunities in the field of HR for young people and students focus on knowledge and do not create spaces for the development of capacities and attitudes. This failure leads to the acceptance and perpetuation of Human Rights violations. Regarding organisations, the opportunities for professionals to develop skills are limited to international offerings (Council of Europe). Education on Human Rights in Portugal lacks tools in the Portuguese language and spaces for debate and networking between NGOs and other actors, including public entities and education institutions. As for youths at risk, they are mostly targeted for welfare and leisure activities, with very limited opportunities for capacity building on social transformation. This project was a milestone for Human Rights Education in Portugal. Firstly through the publication of the Portuguese edition of the Council of Europe’s “Compass” manual, but also regarding learning opportunities: the project allowed the training of Educators for Human Rights, which involved 24 participants from all over the country and has formed a new group of trained professionals. The First National Conference for HR Education involved more than 120 people from 70 organisations, serving as launch event for the Portuguese Compass edition. The project sessions with the youths involved more than 290 people counting with the collaboration of 9 organisations. The diversity of the participants, the relevance of the interventions and its link with the Movement against the Hate Speech was noteworthy. The project has also made it possible to develop the NGO expertise in this area and to make it a reference NGO on Human Rights Education at national and international levels. Because of this project, Education on Human Rights is starting to be included in public programmes in Portugal. The project opened a participatory process which created, in 2016, the Network of Educators for Human Rights and a more extensive implementation of the Charter of the Council of Europe on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Education for Human Rights. The project has surpassed its ambitions: 24 youth workers were trained for Education on HR, 294 young people were trained by the youth workers and 71 NGOs became informed and aware of good practices in the area of Education on Human Rights. It has since became recognised by the Council of Europe as a good practice.
Summary of bilateral results
The partner support contributed to strengthen the relations between the promoter and the Council of Europe. The partnership was essential in the implementation and support of the educational HR sessions. It also provided international visibility and contrasted the Portuguese HR education systems with European practice. No Bilateral Cooperation Initiatives were carried out in connection to this project.