OSCE/ODIHR launches book on human rights education for schools

WARSAW, 2 October 2009 - The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and several partner organizations launched a resource book today on human rights education for primary and secondary schools and teacher training institutions featuring 101 examples of good practices.

The book, "Human Rights Education in the School Systems of Europe, Central Asia and North America: A Compendium of Good Practice", was presented in the margins of the OSCE's annual human rights conference, the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting.

ODIHR created the book together with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Council of Europe, and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

"Education on human rights is vital for a democratic society as it promotes equality, empowerment and participation as well as conflict prevention and resolution," said Ambassador Janez Lenarcic, director of ODIHR.

He added that human rights education is an important means to develop societies in which the human rights of all are respected, protected and fulfilled.

"We hope that this publication will inspire new initiatives in human rights education and encourage further implementation of those already in place," Lenarcic said.

The book includes descriptions of successful education initiatives in the fields of human rights and democratic citizenship education, as well as education for mutual respect and understanding from Europe, North America and Central Asia.

It covers key elements of successful human rights education such as normative frameworks, the learning environment, teaching and learning tools, professional development for educators and evaluation.

The publication is available on the OSCE website at: //www.osce.org/odihr/item_11_40041.html

The full version, including numerous examples of teaching materials, will be available both online and on CD-Rom in December.