Human Rights as the Means of Involving Young People in Community Affairs

December 22, 2010

Donor: Olof Palmes International Centrum

Duration of project: January 2010 – December 2010

This project is the continuiation of the previous projects the Centre has implemented with the support form the Olof Palmes International Centrum. Like during the previous years, it consists of two modules. Module I is to conducted from January until July 2010 and the goal of this Module is to provide specific education to high school students in selected Serbian towns – Ub, Obrenovac, Belgrade and Valjevo. In this Module 150 young people age 16 – 19 will be included and they will receive training in human rights, environmental issues and involvement in the decision making process in their local communities. The result of this part of Module I will be creation and implementation of local campaigns on environmental issues by students who have attended the trainings.The BCHR project team organised and held 4 interactive seminars in April 2010. These seminars were designed as an introduction to human rights and environmental rights and issues and included debates on burning issues in these fields. After their completion, groups comprised of four students from each town were selected to take part in the next stage of the project – the preparations for campaigning on chosen environmental topics. The pupils were selected on the basis of the quality of their campaign ideas which all groups were obliged to write in the two weeks following the completion of the seminars in their towns. Each team also conducted a poll in its local community after the seminar and defined environmental problems or issues commanding the greatest local interest.

BCHR team now works with selected participants (teams) on designing and presenting local campaigns. Throughout this period, BCHR will focus its work with the teams on campaign design and implementation, notably  “problem definition”, “concept”, “strategy”, “target group to be promoted”, “campaign target group”, “campaign target – overview and marketing”, “role of spokesperson”, “importance of each role in the team”, “use of technical devices”, special attention will be given using of media and internet for local campaigns.

Advanced workshop for participants will be held in Belgrade by the end of May 2010 (topics: PR and Communication, Lobbying and Advocacy, Media and Campaigns and the workshop Internet and Campaigns). Selected teams are given funds for implementation of their campaigns in local communities. On the final event of the Module I that will take place in Belgrade, selected teams will give presentations of campaigns they implemented. Members of the wining team will be awarded laptop computers.

Module II is devoted to providing Training for future human rights trainers . It will involve approximately 30 young people, future decision makers who will undergo an advanced training in human rights implantation and advocating. The Belgrade Centre will make sure that courses have a multicultural component and gender balance. This programme has been and still is vital for education on human rights of future experts in Serbia, and as such, has been a part of our annual activities ever since the foundation of Belgrade Centre for Human Rights.

The Project Team selects participants on the basis of their CV, motivation letters and interviews in person. The team pays attention to include vulnerable groups, primarily women and national minorities. Training for Trainers – School of Human Rights will be held from in November 2010 in Belgrade.

The Programme will be comprised of over 40 lectures, debates, trials simulations and presentations. Participants will have the opportunity to listen to and debate with the eminent domestic and international experts in human rights, international law and international relations and law of international organisations (CoE, OSCE, EU, UN, ICC, ICTY, ECtHR), human security, the judiciary, politics, environment, media, art and culture… In drafting the programme the special emphasis is placed on the burning issues in Serbia.

The participants are provided with the various printed and multimedia materials. The Reader comprised of documents and texts selected by lecturers is being distributed. Students are also given the list of all of the publications of the Belgrade Centre, from which they can chose additional books according to their subjects of interest.