Tips for Trainers

Following on from the previous post guiding adult CISV human rights educators, today’s post provides more specific information for CISVers who are training leaders, Seminar Camp participants or staff in preparation for programmes.

How do we as trainers ensure that the complexities of human rights education are conveyed to those we are training, and that these messages effectively flow through into CISV programmes?

Here are some tips, hints and thoughts for trainers…

1. Sometimes in CISV we run activities simply because we feel like we need an activity on a certain topic, or because a certain activity has been done at every other camp, so we must do it at ours. While we do this with good intentions, I would like to challenge us all to think a bit harder: How do we ensure our programmes have meaningful educational activities? How do we take into account the complexities as well as the sensitivities of a challenging content area such as human rights? How do we account for what is happening in the world today?
2. We must be conscious of the biases that we – the trainers – bring with us to training and programmes. As trainers we should refrain from imposing our own personal views on human rights on trainees, and instead direct the attention of trainees to the different ways of understanding and seeing what human rights are.
3. We should strive to create a training environment that encourages learning, making mistakes, disagreement, and tackling the tough issues… while feeling safe. It is okay to have different opinions; it is okay to come from a different perspective. Human rights issues are complex and emotional, and we often bring differing perspectives to them depending on our cultures and upbringing. I recommend reading Mosquito Methods – Human Rights (pages 47 – 49), which explores the ideas of universalism and cultural relativism and the question of the global validity of human rights.
4. As CISVers we may fear upsetting each other, or fear ruining the ‘camp feel’. Instead of being fearful, we should plan more carefully and prepare so we do in fact create environments to openly explore issues…while having a solid plan for what happens if it does go wrong!
5. We should be very clear about the purpose of any given activity. Educational activities can have different purposes: is the purpose to draw attention to the importance of protecting human rights and not making light of human rights abuses? Or is the purpose to approach a topic with the intention of effecting some specific change in understanding and having an impact in that way?
6. Sometimes in CISV we try so hard not to hurt each other’s feelings that learning may be missed. So: highlight the importance of debriefing and make sure to have a properly planned debrief! Challenge leaders, staff and Seminar Camp participants to take it beyond “How did you feel? What did you learn? How can you apply this to the real world?” If we are going to approach difficult content, we trainers need to prepare for it well.
7. Keep it simple, but don’t forget it’s not! Human rights is a huge and complicated content area. Let leaders and participants know that it is okay to stick to one issue at a time and that you cannot solve the world’s problems in one activity, one programme, or even one organization. What we CAN do is be critical, challenge our ideas and use our programmes as a safe place to deepen our thinking.
8. Be careful NOT to use human rights abuses to shock or traumatise. Making people cry does not mean you have succeeded. It may in fact shut them down to the learning you intended.
9. Introduce resources that can support activities and reiterate that planning ahead is important.
10. CISV has been “doing human rights education” for a long time. Remind leaders, staff, and Junior Counselors that human rights education is not necessarily about approaching the huge and scary current event topics just because it is our focused content area! Keep activities developmentally (age) appropriate, and look for connections and ways to weave human rights education into less intense activities. Human rights education should encompass values such as peace, non-discrimination, equality, justice, non-violence, tolerance and respect for human dignity. These values can be explored through a variety of activities, and can be fun!
11. As a trainer take a step back and observe and be aware of your own biases and values. Be honest and be aware that our perception of reality may be distorted if we allow ourselves to be carried away by our desire to save the world.
12.  Keep reading this blog, keep talking in your Chapters and neighbourhoods and keep sharing experiences. Trainers have a lot to learn as do participants or leaders, and CISV can learn from other organizations doing similar work, especially with such an important (and topical) content area for 2017.

Tracey Cumin, member of the Human Rights Team

Recommended further reading:

Educational Content Helpline: www.facebook.com/ijb.cisv

Follow Kompaz on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CISVkompaz and on their website: www.kompaz.cisv.no

The CISV website has a library of activities which you could use as inspiration: Human Rights activities

Amnesty International has some activities and ideas: www.amnesty.org/en/human-rights-education

CISV Sweden has a brilliant resource: Mosquito Methods – Human Rights

Con Lupa, a Colombian-Norwegian CISV-project has a very rich, book-length resource called Bowl of Rights: Bowl of Rights