Megan Devonald and Silvia Guglielmi, Overseas Development Institute, UK

In this session the presenters discuss how, and to what extent, non-formal programmes targeting adolescent refugees address education about, through and for human rights. HRE in humanitarian settings provides an opportunity for adolescent refugees to understand and exercise their human rights, respect the rights of others, and gain active citizenship skills. Yet in this mixed method study, the researchers find stark differences in how human rights are reflected in programming for refugees. In Jordan, the Makani programme for Syrian refugees integrates human rights across subjects and teacher pedagogy, and fosters skills for active citizenship. By contrast, in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, a lack of basic rights hinders the delivery of meaningful human rights education for Rohingya adolescents. The researchers conclude that human rights education should be a core pillar of humanitarian responses, but that it needs significant adaptations to meet learners’ needs in specific contexts.

ALL WELCOME

About the organizers

The WERA IRN on Human Rights Education was established in Spring 2019 and launched in London in June that year. The coordinators are Professor Audrey Osler (USN, Norway, University of Leeds, UK ) and Professor Hugh Starkey (UCL Institute of Education, UK). The two pillars of the IRN are Human Rights Education Review and UCL’s International Conference on Education and Democratic Citizenship (ICEDC) conference.

Contact: for any questions or comments please contact Professor Hugh Starkey h.starkey@ucl.ac.uk or Professor Audrey Osler a.h.osler@leeds.ac.uk