In addition to promoting and developing the practice of human rights education in primary and secondary learning environments throughout Minnesota, the Education Program coordinates the education efforts of other The Advocates programs to promote human rights at community and professional organizations through trainings, workshops, and classes.  In particular, we use resources from the B.I.A.S. Project (Building Immigrant Awareness and Support): an educational campaign to address anti-immigrant sentiment.  Presentations given by The Advocates staff address tenets of human rights education that bridge program initiatives.  In particular, cooperation with the Refugee and Immigrant Program and the Women's Program emphasizes the strong inter-relation between human rights education programs in schools, international and local women's rights, and international and local refugee and immigrant rights.  The focus of such projects is to educate on human rights violations, to address the interconnectedness of rights violations in these populations, and to prevent future violations through human rights education and the application of international standards to a local context.

Human Rights Education Program and the B.I.A.S. Project

Human Rights Education Program staff present numerous workshops and trainings at schools, conferences and community events each year.  Furthermore, staff members represent The Advocates at regional, national, and international conferences and events.  The Education Program furthers the overall mission of The Advocates for Human Rights by actively promoting human rights education as a means to preventing human rights violations, as opposed to reacting to past and existing violations.  Focus is placed on developing resources and educating teachers and community groups on human rights within immigrant and refugee communities, as well as how most effectively to welcome and work with newly arrived populations.  This aspect of our education work stems from resources of the BIAS (Building Immigrant Awareness & Support) Project.  Here are some other ways that the Education Program collaborates with other MAHR programs to promote human rights education.

1. Women's Program

An integral part of the goals of the Women's Program is to promote the rights of women through education and outreach.  Every March, the Women's Program hosts a free International Women's Day celebration, which features workshops and breakout sessions throughout the day.  Other Women's Program education work has included a free monthly lunch lecture series on various aspects of women's human rights.  We are currently in the process of creating learning materials based on information gathered from our "Battered Refugee and Immigrant Women of Minnesota" documentation project.

2. Refugee and Immigrant Program

The Advocates uses the expertise gained from our legal work with asylum seekers in order to educate the surrounding community on refugee and immigrant issues.  Refugee and Immigrant Program staff often co-present at workshops and trainings with Education Program staff. Presentations focus on definitions, law and history of immigrants, refugees and asylees in Minnesota and the U.S.; legal, cultural and educational needs of refugee and immigrant students; and how human rights education and advocacy on a local level impacts the advocacy and protection of human rights on a global level. Teachers, students, government employees, social workers, and other professionals have requested and participated in these training sessions. The Advocates also offers CLE courses for attorneys and students.

3. Special Projects

Many Minnesotans, including our state's youth, are concerned about local human rights issues such as the death penalty.   We provide learning resources and advocacy opportunities in conjunction with our Death Penalty Project.  Recently, we cosponsored and provided speakers for a talkback session for the State Theater's performance of "The Exonerated".

Another recent special project is our Human Rights Monitoring Project, which has monitored the transitional justice process in Peru and Sierra Leone.  We have been funded from the US Institute of Peace to create a curriculum about truth and reconciliation commissions, using our work in Peru and Sierra Leone as case studies.  We also use our expertise from our Nepal School Project to teach Minnesota students about child labor and help them take positive action on the issue.

4. Partner Organizations

The Advocates works with organizations such as Intermedia Arts and Resource Center of the Americas to open up opportunities for the introduction of human rights education in additional schools, as well as for human rights workshops and activities involving educators, artists and others in immigrant communities. Such projects that leverage resources between organizations broaden the exposure of the Education Program as well as The Advocates for Human Rights as a whole both locally and internationally.