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Description
The project aims at contributing to education in democracy and human rights among young people by developing innovative learning practices. The results of the activities will include the following: 1) video labs for young people organized in the selected cities; a developed guide for video training of facilitators; 12 youth video films created about problems in the community; 2) a developed methodology for having a dialogue about human rights; 2 training workshops organized for students and educators; a series of 8 public fora organized and titled Dialogues for the Rights; 3) a digital exhibition titled Human Rights through the Lens prepared and presented; a campaign held for the protection of vulnerable groups; a photo album published reflecting youth opinions about rights; 4) recommendations made about improving the policy on human rights education; 5) a conference held. These outcomes of the activity transferred from the practice of the project partner, the Human Rights Academy in Norway, will help teachers enrich their methods of teaching students and will help public institutions such as schools, municipalities and museums transfer the Norwegian experience of successful intersectoral cooperation for human rights education of young people. In the short term, the project will benefit the direct project users, namely school students and members of school councils from Varshets, Montana, Blagoevgrad and Gotse Delchev, helping them acquire knowledge and skills to apply the human rights protection approach in the analysis of social evets and record instances of the reality by confronting discriminatory practices against vulnerable groups. In the long term, the project will help strengthen the institutional capacity of schools and other educational institutions by proposing ideas for changes in human rights education and specific practices for their implementation.
Summary of project results
According to numerous international studies, the knowledge of human rights among students and young people is insufficient. The aim of the project is to contribute to education in democracy and human rights among young people by developing innovative teaching practices designed for educators, youth facilitators, and education experts.
The project developed an interactive methodology for human rights education with 11 modules. Human rights video laboratories were conducted, during which young people created videos and photographs in their communities to draw attention to significant issues. The digital exhibition and published photo album serve as educational resources covering various human rights topics. Additionally, the "Dialogues for Rights" handbook was created and published for teachers and youth facilitators.
A crucial aspect of the project methodology was mobilizing the local community, with various institutions supporting the training and activities of young people – including schools, municipalities, museums, youth centers, galleries, and libraries. Public human rights dialogues were held in 8 cities, involving young people, teachers, and local communities. Recommendations for modernizing civic education in schools were also developed.
The project contributed to the participants, young people, increasing their democratic culture by adopting a human rights approach in reflecting (through photos and videos) on various issues and discussing them (during public dialogues). Teachers and facilitators were trained in an innovative methodology and provided with resources for classroom and extracurricular activities. Their experience in the project included a model of collaboration between local community institutions in support of the education of young people. All project participants and stakeholders rallied around the formulated Recommendations for improving human rights education.
The photo album and digital exhibition were showcased at the "Voice It" event in November 2023, with the participation of over 250 young people (an event from another project supported by ACF).
All activities were consulted with the project partner, Menneskerettighetsakademiet (Human Rights Academy, Norway). They contributed to the writing of the "Dialogues for Rights" handbook and participated in the final conference with a presentation on human rights education in Norway.
Significant know-how was transferred through this partnership in organizing a photo exhibition on human rights themes by young people; regarding interactive forms of education jointly described by the partners in the program modules, as well as in engaging local institutions in democratic education for young people.
Summary of bilateral results
All activities were consulted with the project partner, Menneskerettighetsakademiet (Human Rights Academy, Norway). They contributed to the writing of the "Dialogues for Rights" handbook and participated in the final conference with a presentation on human rights education in Norway.