Conference report on the impact of the Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education online

The impact of the Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education

This EDC/HRE Conference was organised in Strasbourg on 29-30 November 2012 by the Council of Europe in the framework of the Andorran Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, and in cooperation with the European Commission and the European Wergeland Centre.

The conference aimed to take stock of the results achieved since 2010 and to discuss the challenges faced by the States Party to the European Cultural Convention in the implementation of the Charter, with a view to plan future strategies in this area, and to assess the support measures needed from the side of the Council of Europe and other international institutions.

The participants welcomed the preparation of the first report on the implementation of Charter (based on replies to a questionnaire received from the governments), and the collection of feedback from civil society organisations, as the first steps for the development of the support measures. They made a number of recommendations for strategic action to be undertaken by the Council of Europe, the States Party to the European Cultural Convention and the civil society organisations with a view to support the implementation of the Charter. 

Prof Audrey Osler wrote the official report of the conference which you can download on the webpage of the European Wergeland Centre.
The report contains specific recommendations for civil society organisations, such as

• "to cooperate with other civil society organisations in networking and advocacy for the implementation of the Charter at national and local level; 
• to build collaborative projects with government to further the implementation of the Charter;
• to contribute independently to the Charter review processes; 
• to continue the networking and sharing of good practices at regional, national, and European levels to promote the Charter’s implementation; 
• to ensure dissemination of the Charter to target groups and empower them to take action for the promotion and development of citizenship and human rights education."

The conference is the first step in the process to review the implementation of the Charter, there will be ongoing review on the implementations on all levels in the next years. 
If NGO´s have relevant contributions to make in order to report on the charter implementation they should use this opportunity and for example contact DARE. This is the only way make pressure in order to reduce the discrepancy between the European political committments and the national implementations by the states.

Call for Applications: Shaping Europe - Civic Education in Action

A scholarship programme for professionals active in Citizenship Education from Central and Southeastern Europe

Closing date for applications: June 16th 2013
New in 2013: Applicants from Greece, Cyprus and Turkey are welcome!

The German Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) and the Robert Bosch Stiftung are awarding 16 scholarships to active professionals from Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Greece, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Turkey. Applicants should be people at the beginning of their professional careers who wish to be active internationally. The organizers expect applicants to already be actively promoting democracy and social responsibility in their own countries and to be engaged in civic education.

The scholarships offer participants the opportunity to become an intern in a German educational institution and to participate in the NECE network of European political education. The working language in the programme is German.

Further information and application forms: http://www.bpb.de/die-bpb/148137/shaping-europe-civic-education-in-action

More information on the Federal Agency for Civic Education: http://www.bpb.de/die-bpb/138852/the-federal-agency-for-civic-education

We are looking forward to your applications. Please feel free to contact us with any further question.

P.S.: For German information regarding the program check: http://www.bpb.de/veranstaltungen/netzwerke/europa-gestalten/

Certificate of Advanced Studies in Human Rights Education at University of Teacher Education Central Switzerland (Luzern, January-December 2014)

Next Start January 2014: Certificate of Advanced Studies CAS Human Rights

Human rights are the fundament of a peaceful coexistence of a society. But only when women and men know about their human rights, they can claim them for themselves and – in solidarity – for others (“empowerment“). Human rights education is taking place in different contexts (formal, non-formal,…). To close the global gap in further training opportunities in human rights education, in the context of and linked with the new UN Declaration of Human Rights Education and Training and because of the high interest in the “Certificate of Advanced Studies CAS in Human Rights Education”, the University of Teacher Education Central Switzerland (PHZ) is running again in 2014 an international advanced qualification, the “Certificate of Advanced Studies CAS in Human Rights Education” starting in January 2014. The CAS Human Rights Education aims to qualify the participants for a role as trainer and multiplier of human rights education for their specific context.
The participants will achieve an internationally recognized Certificate of Advanced Studies PHZ in Human Rights Education.

Alumni of the CAS “Human Rights Education” will be able to fulfill pedagogical functions in different professional contexts:
School Context (formal human rights education):
- Teachers of all levels (e. g. with a coordinating role for cross-curricular topics)
- Professors/Lecturers of Universities of Teacher Education/Teacher Colleges
Non-School Context (nonformal human rights education):
- Employees of state and civil society institutions and organizations (e.g. members‘ support)
- Those employed in corporate human resources management

In the formal context you can be responsible for this transversal topic.
In the nonformal context you can be responsible in state and non-governmental organizations and corporations for human rights education enhancing the “mainstreaming of human rights”, the awareness-building for human rights challenges and for the potential of “empowerment”.

The participants will learn to use specific methods, materials and instruments of human rights education. They will achieve in dialogue with the faculty of the CAS "Human Rights Education" (international experts in the practice of human rights education) specific additional competencies in human rights education to be able to be a trainer and a multiplier of human rights education in their individual context (formal or nonformal) and to consult others within their professional context in the field of human rights education.

The CAS “Human Rights Education” will be bilingual in English and German.

Duration:
10 Credit Points of the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) (internationally recognized); this corresponds to a workload of 300 hours (incl. presence units, eLearning units, conference modules, study visits, preparation, postprocessing, private study, CAS thesis).

The presence units of the CAS "Human Rights Education" take place in Lucerne (Switzerland) (2 hours train ride from Strasbourg (European Court of Human Rights) and 3 hours train ride from Geneva (UN)).

The participation in the CAS "Human Rights Education" can be extra-occupational. The presence units take place in compact blocks respectively in block weeks.
January - December 2014
Application Deadline: September 15, 2013

Pre-Application: nicole.ospelt@phz.ch

Further information: PD Dr. Peter G. Kirchschlaeger, +41-41-228 47 33,
peter.kirchschlaeger@phz.ch

Flyer CAS Human Rights Education:
http://www.phlu.ch/fileadmin/media/wbza.luzern.phz.ch/zusatzausbildungen/flyer_cas_menschenrechtsbildung.pdf

Application:
http://www.phlu.ch/fileadmin/media/wbza.luzern.phz.ch/zusatzausbildungen/Application_CAS_HRE_def_englisch_111108.pdf

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*Nächste Durchführung Januar 2014: CAS Menschenrechtsbildung / CAS Human Rights Education*

Menschenrechte sind die Basis für ein friedliches Zusammenleben einer Gesellschaft. Doch nur wenn Menschen von ihren Rechten wissen, können Menschen ihre Rechte für sich in Anspruch nehmen und sich gleichzeitig auch solidarisch für die Rechte von anderen einsetzen („empowerment“). Menschenrechtsbildungsprozesse laufen in verschiedenen Kontexten (schulisch,
ausserschulisch, …) ab.
Aufgrund des grossen Interesses am CAS Menschenrechtsbildung und im Kontext und in Verbindung mit der neuen UNO-Deklaration zu Menschenrechtsbildung und -training bietet die Pädagogische Hochschule Zentralschweiz PHZ auch 2014 ab Januar den CAS „Menschenrechtsbildung“ an. Der praxisorientierte Zertifikatslehrgang verfolgt das Ziel, Teilnehmende für eine Rolle als Trainer/-innen und Multiplikator/-innen der Menschenrechtsbildung zu qualifizieren. Die Teilnehmenden erlangen ein international anerkanntes Certificate of Advanced Studies PHZ in Menschenrechtsbildung.

Der CAS Menschenrechtsbildung richtet sich an Personen, die in unterschiedlichen Kontexten als Multiplikatorinnen und Multiplikatoren für Menschenrechtsbildung wirken möchten. Dazu gehören u. a.:
Schulischer Kontext (formelle Menschenrechtsbildung)
- Lehrpersonen (mit Koordinationsaufgabe für fächerübergreifende Themen) aller Schulstufen
- PH- und Hochschuldozierende
Ausserschulischer Kontext (nonformelle Menschenrechtsbildung)
- Mitarbeitende von staatlichen und zivilgesellschaftlichen Institutionen und Organisationen (u. a. Betreuung von Mitgliedern)
- Mitarbeitende der Personalentwicklung in Unternehmen
Da Menschenrechtsbildung meistens nicht als eigenes Fach, sondern als fächerübergreifendes Thema im schulischen Kontext behandelt wird, nehmen Absolventinnen und Absolventen in Schulen die Funktion als Ansprechperson und KoordinatorIn wahr.
In staatlichen und zivilgesellschaftlichen Institutionen und Organisationen (z. B. der Menschenrechte, der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit, …) und in Unternehmen sind Absolventinnen und Absolventen für Prozesse der Awarenessbuilding für menschenrechtliche Herausforderungen und des „empowerments“ verantwortlich.

Die Teilnehmenden setzen sich mit den spezifischen Methoden der Menschenrechtsbildung, Materialien und Instrumenten auseinander und lernen sie anwenden. Sie erarbeiten sich zusammen mit internationalen Expertinnen und Experten aus der Praxis spezifische Zusatzkompetenzen im Bereich Menschenrechtsbildung, um in ihrem individuellen Kontext (schulisch oder ausserschulisch) als Multiplikatorin bzw. Multiplikator ihre pädagogische Funktion wahrzunehmen und andere in ihrem Berufsfeld beim Thema Menschenrechtsbildung zu beraten.

Kursumfang
10 Credit Points gemäss European Credit Transfer System (ECTS); dies entspricht einem Aufwand von 300 Arbeitsstunden (inkl.
Präsenzveranstaltungen, eLearning, Konferenzteilnahmen, Exkursionen, Vor- und Nachbereitung, Selbststudium, CAS-Abschlussarbeit).
Die Präsenzveranstaltungen finden in Luzern (Schweiz) statt.

Der CAS HRE ist berufsbegleitend absolvierbar. Die Präsenzveranstaltungen finden in kompakten Blöcken bzw. Blockwochen statt.

Dauer
Januar - Dezember 2014
Anmeldeschluss
15. September 2013

Weitere Information
PD Dr. Peter G. Kirchschläger, 041 228 47 33, peter.kirchschlaeger@phz.ch
Voranmeldung (ab sofort)
nicole.ospelt@phz.ch

Flyer CAS Menschenrechtsbildung:
http://www.phlu.ch/fileadmin/media/wbza.luzern.phz.ch/zusatzausbildungen/flyer_cas_menschenrechtsbildung.pdf

Anmeldung:
http://www.phlu.ch/fileadmin/media/wbza.luzern.phz.ch/zusatzausbildungen/Application_CAS_HRE_def_englisch_111108.pdf

Conference: Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education - London, 28 June 2013

International Centre for Education for Democratic Citizenship (a joint centre of Birkbeck, University of London and Institute of Education, University of London) invites you to contribute to its 7th annual conference:

Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education
Friday 28 June 2013 at Birkbeck, University of London,
Malet St, London WC1E 7HX

Conference Website: http://www.ioe.ac.uk/research/4582.html
Registration: http://store.ioe.ac.uk/

Aim
Our 7th annual international conference responds to the UN General Assembly’s Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training (UNDHRET) of 19 December 2011 as well as the Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education (2010).
Our conference is a meeting place for academics, including master’s and doctoral students, education policymakers and practitioners, and civil society activists from across Europe and the wider world. We welcome research papers and poster presentations addressing citizenship learning from sociology, education, politics and other relevant disciplines, as well as case studies from NGOs and campaigns.

Keynote plenary sessions: 
- Ann Phoenix, Professor and Co-Director of the Thomas Coram Research Unit, IOE
- Thomas Hylland Eriksen, Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Oslo, Norway
- A panel of distinguished commentators

Theme
Human rights principles underpin and inform understandings of citizenship. The UN definition of human rights education and training relates to citizenship education as: providing knowledge and understanding of human rights norms and principles, the values that underpin them and the mechanisms for their protection; learning and teaching in a way that respects the rights of both educators and learners; empowering persons to enjoy and exercise their rights and to respect and uphold the rights of others. Contributions should refer to one or more of these dimensions.

Abstracts of no more than 300 words including name, institutional affiliation and contact email should be sent, no later than Monday 22 April 2013 to: Professor Hugh Starkey h.starkey@ioe.ac.uk . All abstracts will be peer reviewed by members of the ICEDC steering group. Please indicate whether you would prefer to give an oral or a poster presentation.

Symposia
Proposals for several contributions on a common theme (symposium) are welcome. Please include details of each contribution and the name of the symposium convenor. A symposium should normally have four or five contributors. As in previous years, we will hope to select papers for publication in a special issue of a peer-reviewed journal.
Conference rates
- Standard rate - £95
- Early bird rate before 31 May - £75
- Concession and students - £35 (Concession available to members of IOE and BBK staff, NGOS, students, unwaged)