Description
Seeking to increase the level of literacy of the young with respect to Justice and Human Rights, the project endeavours to promote democratic values among young people (aged 12 to 25), focusing in particular on disadvantaged youths and risk groups, through awareness-raising and dissemination actions, workshops and simulation games on Court cases. The project is innovative regarding the proposed field of action and methodology, being initiated with an invitation for schools, education centres and prison establishments to participate. Each team will select a study case and prepare a simulated trial which will be presided by a real judge. With a total duration of 24 months, the project will involve 4,870 young people, 369 teachers/justice professionals and 246 institutions. The three partner entities hold the necessary tools for the successful completion of the project and will have the support of other entities in their goal to build, promote and maintain a network for education on Justice and Human Rights.
Summary of project results
In Portugal, the literacy level on Justice and Human Rights is low. On the other hand, the judicial system is considered by the society as being slow, distant, very complex and not always reliable, usually assessed in a negative way overall. Under such background, the formation of new generations and educational and professional actors for the role of Justice and Human Rights seems crucial to change this reality. Young students, especially those coming from vulnerable social contexts or from ethnical minorities and those subject to liberty-restrictive measures, often look at the justice system as a threatening institution instead of the one securing and protecting their rights and promoting citizenship. In the educational process, young people are not given an education for justice and law. The understanding of the judicial system is weak and the rights/duties relationship seems sometimes incoherent, particularly for those who grow up in contexts of exclusion and risk. The project has reached 6 674 youngsters from 280 schools across the country and involved 354 school teachers and 102 lawyers and judges in training and preparing the court stories (6 themes) and performances. 287 simulations of court judgements were carried out across Portugal. The external evaluation shows that the project had a positive impact on many of them who get their first contact with the judicial system and could understand the rule of law and the role of this institution and of the various actors in defending the citizens’ rights. A methodological manual has been produced to disseminate and replicate in other regions the work undertaken in two editions (2014 and 2015) under the project. All targets have clearly been surpassed. It was a very rich learning process not only for the promoter NGO but also for all partners which were mobilised to implement it. For teachers, lawyers and judges it was very important to interact with youngsters and understand their feelings and the image they have about the judicial system. The project was ranked by the Financial Times as one of the top 25 initiatives to promote human rights in the context of social responsibility of law firms; and the Portuguese Ministry of Justice, with the financial support of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, has decided to replicate the project for at least one more year.
Summary of bilateral results