For Minnesota State Human Rights Commissioners:

This is My Home:

Community Building Workshop for Human Rights

Commissioners

If you are a Human Rights Commissioner from Minneapolis, St. Paul, St. Cloud, Moorhead, Grand Rapids, Rochester, and Duluth and would like to take part in this workshop, please contact Natela Jordan at jorda274@umn.edu or 612-625-2857. We can accept up to four Human Rights Commissioners from these areas.

Human Rights Commissions are seen as natural allies in the process of integrating This is My Home more fully into schools and communities, as well as key leaders in fostering new cultural norms of human rights and responsibilities. The Human Rights Resource Center would like to invite seven local Human Rights Commissions for a one-day workshop to introduce This is My Home and its implementation model, and discuss ways in which Human Rights Commissions can be engaged.

The workshop will focus on:

• The role of Human Rights Commissioners in integrating This is My Home into school climate and curriculum;
• Online Community Action Planning Tool and development of HRC Action Plans
• Community Action Funds for Human Rights Commissions
• Ways of evaluating and documenting the impact of This is My Home.

Film Description (courtesy of The Cinema Guild – http://www.cinemaguild.com)

Welcome to Alang, India, the site of a gargantuan scrap yard where oceangoing ships come to die. Forty thousand Indians live and work here, dismembering and scavenging the hulks of 400 vessels every year. Shipbreakers is an extraordinary documentary that chronicles the lives of the people who work here, from the men who take apart these giant ships with their bare hands to the bosses, who ignore environmental and health concerns for fear of losing the business to other developing nations. It may be the world's most dangerous job. One worker a day, on average, dies on the job, evaporated in explosions, crushed by falling steel, cut in half by cables or broken up from falls. Of the remainder, one in four will contract cancers caused by asbestos, PCBs and other toxic substances. Vividly capturing both the haunting beauty of the ships and the deplorable conditions of the workers, Shipbreakers is an international story of greed, survival, Third World labor, and environmental neglect.

For additional information, please contact Patrick Finnegan at 612-626-0041 or humanrts@umn.edu

We hope that the new school year will bring us news of new and innovative human rights lessons in the classroom – drop us a note and tell us what you’re doing in your classroom.

Since the e-Newsletter is for and about you, we want to hear what you are doing and what you think. The Teacher’s Lounge is your place to share ideas, stories, and opinions on human rights and education, as well as your best practices in human rights education.

When making submissions, please use the following guidelines:

• Please limit subject matter to human rights and education
• Letters to the Editor: Maximum of 250 words.
• Op Ed. Articles: Maximum of 1,000 words.

It’s easy! All you have to do is type up your brief submission and email it to home@umn.edu with the subject line "Attn: Letters/Op Ed."

You may also call 612-626-0041 to get interviewed and we can create and post a write-up for you (with your approval of the final product).

Please note that the editor has ultimate discretion over what is published, and that no libelous or obscene content will be posted. While the editor reserves the right to make minor changes to submissions for formatting and clarity purposes, the editor will not alter the essential meaning of published letters and articles.

Kids Around the World (KATW)
http://www.katw.org

On the Kids Around the World website, elementary school teachers, parents, and students can access stories by kids for kids from all corners of the earth. Meet Sadam from Benin, see pictures of his daily life, and read an interview with him about his home, family, and favorite activities. Through a fun and individualized approach, KATW offers resources for children to develop an understanding and appreciation of cultural differences from a personalized perspective. Children can explore the lives of other children their age and learn about the interesting differences and similarities between their lives. Lesson plans and links are provided for teachers and parents, as well as information about how to have a Peace Corps volunteer visit your home or school.

The Miller Early Childhood Initiative
http://www.adl.org/education/miller

The Miller Early Childhood Initiative seeks first to educate teachers, caregivers, parents, and pre-school aged children about stereotypes and racism that we experience in our homes, classrooms, and communities in order to better understand and have an effect on human rights on a larger scale. The website provides activities for children to learn more about themselves, to appreciate their differences while “planting seeds for future change”. A brochure and videotape about the Initiative can be ordered free of charge, along with many recommended resources, books, and activities. The Initiative focuses on the value of differences and the need to educate ourselves and our children.

Universal Rights Network
http://www.universalrights.net

The Universal Rights Network online focuses on the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and educating elementary school children about their own rights, as well as the rights of children around the world. The site provides an online copy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a history of the UDHR, and an overview of how to submit a complaint, or “communication,” against a government. Teachers have free access to all information and activities for the classroom or online. Students can get involved directly on the website through an interactive tour of the world and human rights statistics, by submitting the future they would like to see in the world, and reading submissions by other students. The Universal Rights Network provides links to information and other websites focused on human rights organizations of all kinds.