| What's New | Publications | Human Rights Ed Program | How Can You Help | Newsletter | Programs | Other Links | Contact Us | ACLRC Home |

Human Rights Education Project

The Human Rights Education Project is a project of the Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre. The project provides practical assistance to students at the secondary school level, and to their teachers. We develop resource materials for students, as well as teaching materials, on a wide range of human rights topics.

The project emphasizes the teaching of human rights by instructing students about human rights law, including international human rights instruments; the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; and federal and provincial human rights legislation.

The staff person responsible for this project, Tony Lucas, is developing new materials for use by both students and teachers. These include a teacher's guide and lesson plans; student materials, such as booklets on freedom of expression and other human rights topics and a video suitable for secondary students that provides information about harassment (e.g., racial, sexual and other forms of discrimination).

Our objective is to develop materials which complement the current curriculum for Grades 7 and up, and which are flexible enough to be used in several subject areas. Examples of topics that may be included:

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights - freedom of expression, freedom of religion, right to participate in the democratic life of one's country, right to seek asylum, right to an education.
• The rights of children and young people that are addressed in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms - right to equality (s. 15).
• Protection against discrimination (Alberta's Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Act).

Completed Projects and Others Presently Underway

• The Annotated Bibliography of Human Rights Materials is a useful resource for teachers, staff and volunteers of community organizations that work in the area of human rights, and others with an interest in human rights.

• Another project is a guide to international human rights law for teachers and students. Please see:
  • Basic Guide to International Human Rights Law
  • International Human Rights Law--Legislation
  • Background to International Human Rights Law

• We have also developed materials on sexual harassment in schools. Please see:
  • Sexual Harassment in School: Your Rights and Responsibilities
  • Sexual Harassment in School: Your Rights and Responsibilties -Teacher's Manual

  We are currently in the production stages of a video on harassment in school.

• A recently completed project is a collection of materials on discrimination and human rights. Please see:
  • Discrimination, Human Rights and You -- Student Guide (Senior High)
  • Discrimination, Human Rights and You -- Student Guide (Junior High)
  • Discrimination, Human Rights and You -- Teacher's Guide
  • Discrimination, Human Rights and You -- Set

We have included on our web site a sample lesson and the table of contents of the teacher's manual.

• A project underway involves the development of teacher’s materials and students activities on human rights and the newspaper. Watch in future for a link to a sample lesson.

• The Human Rights Education Library is up and running. It contains materials on human rights education and professional support materials. This library will be of particular interest to teachers, as the library contains a number of educational texts and videos.

Anyone who wishes to support the human rights education project can do so in many ways. Please see our section on "How you can help" for more details.

The Human Rights Educator is available to teach teachers about human rights through presentations at teachers' conventions, in-service training, and professional development, and through participation in teachers' groups and networks.

For more information about this project, please contact us at aclrc@calcna.ab.ca, voice (403) 220-2505; fax (403) 284-0945.