Amnesty International is not just a human rights organization defending the rights of people across the globe, but it also serves like a school or academy, empowering people to build knowledge, develop skills and foster attitudes that promote equality, dignity, and respect. In other words, you can learn human rights at Amnesty, and take actions in claiming or defending them.
To claim or defend your rights or the rights of others, understanding human rights is equally important, as it empowers you with knowledge and skills required in claiming them. The words of Eleanor Roosevelt, who was the first Chair of the UN’s Human Rights Commission and led the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, very aptly highlight the significance of human rights education. She says: “Human Rights carry no weight unless the people know them, unless the people understand them, and unless the people demand that they be lived.”
Amnesty International’s human rights education programme caters to the need of everyone learning about human rights. Here are some tools and techniques that Amnesty has developed to educate people about human rights.
AMNESTY’S HUMAN RIGHTS ACADEMY
Amnesty International offers several free courses on human rights issues in Amnesty’s Human Rights Academy. Amnesty started the learning platform to strengthen the human rights movement through action-oriented education. You can also get certificates of completion on some of the courses available in the academy.
Explore Amnesty’s Human Rights Academy – https://academy.amnesty.org/learn
RIGHTS ARCADE
Rights Arcade is a free interactive game developed by Amnesty International to strengthen the human rights movement through action-oriented education. The games boost players’ knowledge about human rights and encourage people to take actions on human rights issues. The game app aims to educate the next generation of human rights defenders about rights such as freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly. The mobile app is available to download on Play Store and App Store.
The game app was officially launched in Nepal on 24 January, the International Day of Education 2022. In the launch event organized on Zoom Platform, guests including Mohna Ansari, a former member of the National Human Rights Commission, Storyteller Saigrace Pokharel, Murari Kharel, the Acting Secretary of NHRC spoke about the values of human rights education. Amnesty International’s Human Rights Education Coordinator for Asia Pacific, Somya Dimri, and Director of Amnesty International’s South Asia Regional Office were also present at the Nepal launch of Rights Arcade.
OTHER RESOURCES FOR HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION
Amnesty Nepal has produced human rights education-related resources in Nepali and also some local languages. The publications including Amnesty’s Human Rights Handbook and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights translated to Nepali, Tharu, and Maithali can be downloaded here.
Amnesty Nepal also has illustrative videos about human rights which can be found on its YouTube channel.
Role of Amnesty members in Amplifying human rights works
Members of Amnesty Nepal from various groups and Youth Networks have played an important role in expanding the reach of human rights education acting as multipliers and conducting multiple human rights education sensitiation events and sessions at the local levels.
Arpana Shrestha was the Human Rights Education Officer at Amnesty International Nepal.