Taiz Human Rights Workshop Stresses [Archives:1997/52/Law & Diplomacy]

Teacher-Child Communication
Organized by the Human Rights and Information Center (HRIC), Taiz, a training course on human rights issues was held for the benefit of teachers in primary schools and kindergartens during the 20-25 December. Of the 30 participants, 20 were female teachers. During the inaugural session, Mr. Izzuldeen Saeed, the HRIC Director; Mrs. D. Koekkoek of the Dutch Embassy, which financed the course; Mr. Najeeb Freiji, Director of the UN Information Center; and Mr. Ahmed Al-Hajri, Governor of Taiz, addressed the trainees. The goals of the program were: – To raise awareness of human rights issues in general and child rights in particular. – To introduce human rights concepts in the teaching program. – To communicate better on child’s rights with school children and through teacher participation. – To monitor the status of children in national laws and legislations. – To train and qualify 30 primary and kindergarten teachers on essential human rights aspects. – To integrate the participating teachers in the Yemeni human rights movement. The themes of the program included theoretical lectures on the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the two conventions on civil and political human rights, and the economic, social and cultural human rights. Other lectures also covered the relevant Yemeni laws, the constitution, the Personal Status Law, and the Education Law.
On the practical side, the course covered the ways of communicating human rights concepts and principles to children and how to prepare a human rights program for children. The program organization was considered as a long-shot in introducing a substantial human rights dose in the educational curriculum. The course was concluded by awarding the teachers certificates of participation. “Our center has especially targeted schools. We feel that by reaching out to people at an early stage, we can imprint on them values related to human rights,” said Mr. Izzuldeen Saeed, the Director . Indeed, in collaboration with local and international bodies, the center has been organizing frequent workshops and seminars. It has also sponsored the introduction of human rights information in the curricula. The 1998 program of the center includes numerous out-reach programs in schools.
Yemen Times.

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