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PREFACE
Human Rights Education for Citizenship
Education for Citizenship was launched in Guyana in 1993, a
significant year for Human Rights Education (HRE) around the world.
UNESCO in that year adopted its 'World Plan of Action on Education
for Human Rights and Democracy'. In the same year, the United Nations
World Conference on Human Rights took place in Vienna and the General
Assembly of the United Nations endorsed the launching of the Decade
for Human Rights Education.
The programme set out to encompass three objectives over a three-year
cycle:
*Devise a human rights curriculum.
*Produce human rights curriculum materials.
*Train teachers to teach Education Citizenship.
The ultimate objective of this programme is to incorporate Human
Rights Education For Citizenship as a core subject in the national
curriculum.
Development of the Human Rights Education for Citizenship programme
took the form of three cycles of national workshops each followed by
a period of testing of materials. The first two national workshops
introduced some fifty-five teachers and administrators of the
Ministry of Education and Cultural Development to the major human
rights documents around which the course work would be structured,
especially the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). In addition to local
teachers, Curriculum Development Specialists from four Carribean
territories (Jamaica, Barbados, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago) also
attended the first workshop. Specialists in HRE from the United
States and Ethiopia acted as resource people for these workshops. A
Curriculum specialist from the Ministry of Education in Trinidad and
Tobago attended all of the workshops and is following the process
closely.
The third workshop in August 1995 integrated Human Rights Education
For Citizenship goals with existing primary level and early secondary
curriculum objectives and with those of the Family Life Education
syllabus to ensure no duplication occurred. A Task Force comprising
teachers and Ministry officials, established at the end of this
workshop, began the work of finalizing production of curriculum
materials. This task involved finalising objectives of sub-topics
within each theme and writing sample lessons. At the first meeting,
steps were taken by the task force to develop a campaign to sensitize
parents and the general public about HRE.
The draft text produced by the Task Force underwent a period of
testing in some sixty schools in the 10 Regions of Guyana between May
1996 and January 1997. In addition to schools, the module was tested
by NGOs working with children, relevant Government agencies and PTAs.
A standard evaluation form developed by the Task Force for comments
on the module was returned by approximately 65% of schools.
A final Workshop in July 1997 brought together specialists, teachers
and Ministry officials to complete the review of the draft module.
Curriculum developers from Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago once
again accompanied this process.
The programme 'Education for Citizenship' was born out of a unique
collaboration between the Ministry of Education, Amnesty
International - Guyana Section and the Guyana Human Rights
Association. Following and initial grant from Save the Children (UK)
to fund the first workshop and supply a set of materials, the
programmed was sustained financially by the Norwegian Section of
Amnesty's 'Teaching for Freedom'. On a designated day in the year all
schoolchildren in Norway are involved in 'Operation A Day's Work' in
which they do chores to raise funds. The funds are accumulated
nationally and designated for a particular use. In 1991 they were
donated to Amnesty International for its Human Rights Education
programme around the world. This source of funding, from the efforts
of children for the benefit of other children, is particularly
appropriate to the programme.
The programme has been an excellent experience of national and
international cooperation. We wish to record our appreciation for the
high level of voluntary work from the regional, international and
local facilitators as well as members of the Coordinating Team and
Task Force. 92% of the monies donated were absorbed by workshops,
training, public education and production of materials.
Administrative expenses were kept to the remaining 8% of the budget.Owner: Guyana Human Rights Association, National Centre for Educational Research and Development and Amnesty International - Guyana