A word from CISVers around the world on human rights education in CISV programmes

When we’re an adult participating in a CISV programme, whether we are a staff member or a leader, we wonder which is going to be the theme of our programme- what will it be focused on? If you’re staffing, you think about how to decide on a name and theme. If you’re a leader, you think about how to explore this theme and CISV’s annual content area, which this year is Human Rights.

We spoke to several experienced CISVers and got some stories and tips for the adults in programmes roles to consider while preparing their programme. Here is what they shared:

VILLAGE

Having the year’s focus on human rights seems sophisticated; how to get Village children to gain attitudes, skills, and knowledge on this topic may be challenging but is definitely enjoyable. The Village age is very interesting and tricky. When dealing with them, one needs to remember that they are children; yet, give them the space to grow and explore their critical thinking abilities. The fascinating part of experiential learning is that they also get to experience it but most importantly get to think about that experience and what it means to them. These are my tips and tricks on getting a message across to the children:

1. Make it simple– just pick one simple, clear message for each activity. It doesn’t have to be a huge activity, it doesn’t have to be long.

2. Make it relatable– during the discussion or reflection time; whether they draw it, act it, or talk about it, make sure the children get to the generalise and apply parts.

3. Identify small and simple acts– after the children have generalised what they got out of the activity and thought of ways to apply the new teachings, try to relate them to camp life and how they can contribute to life in the camp through this learning. Use camp to practice being an ACTIVE GLOBAL CITIZEN!

4. Mix and match– make sure you are using tools that the children like, and types of activities they enjoy, and twist them to fit the purpose of delivering the message. For example, if they like running games, give them characters in the game with different scenarios or rights.

5. Give them the space they need– Make sure you can relate the activities to each other, under one big theme. So when the children have had an activity that they didn’t fully digest yet, they can still reflect on it during the following one.

6. Remember your goals and purpose and make sure the activity fits the need– There is no activity that must be run or an exact way that an activity must be done. A good activity fits your educational goals and purpose and most importantly the need and the group. Activities must fit and you alter it to fit!

7. Give it adequate time– If the activity needs more time then make sure to give it the time it requires. Focus on getting the message across; have a proper debriefing, reflection…etc. rather than making sure you don’t run over time. Don’t stop a good discussion if it got started.

8. All content areas matter– Although we are focusing on human rights, we do not disregard our other content areas. Relate human rights to the rest of the content areas; they are all inter-linked.

9. Always have a plan B– In CISV we love risk management because it saves us and helps us plan for a purpose. When planning, make sure you have a plan B, C, maybe even D. What if the activity did not deliver the message? Can we do anything in the discussion to fix it? Or do we need a follow up activity? What if the children were too emotional and can’t talk about it? Should we use a different technique to reflect and debrief? Maybe drawing, acting, talking to the wall, talking in small groups, in delegations, or a mix of some of these? Your plan B is to manage the risks related to educational content and not just logistical mishaps.

10. Make sure it is fun and interesting for you so that you give out this vibe and have fun! It is about you, too!

Hana Shahin, a Village Specialist

YOUTH MEETING

Maggs shared tips from her last Youth Meeting experience. She said the staff thought about a theme for the camp that would be relevant, interesting and challenging for the age group:

We chose as our theme “Equality” because we believed that rights are inalienable and given to everyone because of their humanity. Since the theme of “Equality” was too broad, we wanted to narrow it down to something smaller and more specific. We looked at the current events all over the world and we identified the issue of “Migration” as something very timely and relevant.  Since we had very little time to discuss this topic in our Youth Meeting, we tried to give advance notice to participants to make them think about our theme and topic so that they could prepare activities based on this. In the Pre Camp 3, the staff first shared an article that was relevant to the topic and then gave a few questions for participants to think about beforehand and to discuss together at the camp. When the participants arrived, they were more or less ready to talk about the theme and topic we had chosen and it was easier for them to plan their activities too.

Maggs Cabato, sharing cases from her experiences as Youth Meeting staff 

As we know, the theme is the foundation of a Youth Meeting and most activities during the camp should be related to it. So, the camp theme should be exciting, challenging and appropriate to the age group and to the length of the camp. When choosing a theme within human rights, it is interesting to think about topics that participants can relate to their local context and to their everyday life. Think about the delegations that will be at the camp and what they can bring from their local reality to stimulate the discussions and activities around the topic. The theme should create an inspiring environment that triggers new ideas for participants to apply back in their lives after the camp and that encourages them to become active global citizens!

Adriana Rodrigues, a Youth Meeting admirer

MOSAIC

With this year’s’ theme being Human Rights, this is a great opportunity to get directly involved with your community with a Mosaic Project. Take a look at the issues in your own community such as human trafficking, unequal marriage equality, racism, gender inequality, education inequality, poverty, hunger, LGBTQ rights, or anything else that you see. Your project doesn’t have to change the world (thought that would be great!) but it should educate others. By partnering with a like-minded organization, you are educating your community on issues that involve them, and with education, THAT is where change happens. A Mosaic project can be a project on its own or it can be part of any Village, Step Up, Youth Meeting, or Seminar Camp.

Daisy Lee, a Mosaic Specialist 

Mosaic provides a unique set of opportunities for exploring human rights in the local context! Mosaic projects are always local, which means participants can learn first-hand about how human rights are protected, promoted, neglected, and even violated in their own community. For a Junior Branch or Chapter interested in hosting a Mosaic project, a good first step is to identify a theme that represents a need and interest in the community. It could be something like immigrant integration, youth engagement, urban development or accessibility. All of these themes – and many more – have human rights dimensions to them. Once you’ve identified a relevant theme, a great next step is to find a like-minded organization that is already working with related issues – a community centre for new immigrants, for example. Together with the partner organization, explore the question: “How can a Mosaic group from CISV provide meaningful service to the partner organization and the community, while at the same time creating a valuable learning experience around human rights?” It’s in the exploration of that question that you’ll discover the seeds of an amazing Mosaic project.

Alex Neuman, Mosaic Pro

INTERCHANGE

We started from CISV theme of the year and discussed what the theme means within the country. Human rights, in particular, is still a sensitive topic in some Asian countries and hence, it is important to take into account its sensitivity. Another factor to take into account is local customs and cultures so that the theme will not create controversy or uneasiness, and will maintain CISV’s integrity when it is presented to outside parties (note: this is particularly relevant for Mosaic projects). We do encourage participants to challenge themselves with ‘controversial’ topics, but to present it in a way that is acceptable.

To do that, we narrow down the theme into topics that are close to participants’ daily life. Real examples for the human right theme: we were able to narrow it down to the topics of equal access to healthy living and inequality between men and women. When a topic is selected, it becomes the Interchange programme theme, which in turn will guide the type of activities within the programme. Real example: “Unity in Diversity” activities: participating in traditional thread making and visiting a historical museum.

C. Hirania Wiryasti, an Interchange Specialist 

STEP UP

In Step Up the theme is one of the most important aspects of the programmes. It drives everything we do in a Step Up. When selecting a theme for the Step Up, careful consideration should be paid to the content area of the year. This year the content area of the year is human rights. Think about human rights “issues” in your country and ask delegations to come prepared to discuss human rights issues in their countries. When planning cultural activities think about the topic of human rights and how that can be connected in the activities being planned for the Step Up. When thinking about narrowing down a big topic like human rights for a great Step Up cultural activity it might be interesting to brainstorm with your delegates about what they know about human rights. What are some human rights? What are some human rights issues we see in our country, our school, our neighborhoods? How might those human rights issue compare with the people coming to our Step Up? Do we perceive them as similar or different? Depending on the countries involved in the Step Up there will similar human rights issues brought up, but also different issues depending on the countries represented. A great place to have wonderful discussions!

Frank Nefos, super Step Up expert

SEMINAR

Seminar Camp is famous for its autonomy and with that it is a known fact that before the camp starts there won´t be a camp theme and either a pre-organized structure as other camp-based CISV programmes. That way the participants are in charge of organizing and planning the whole camp with the support of the staff group. The main goal is to develop a group feeling between 17-18 years old towards activities and camp meetings. In this specific programme the participants learn about working within a team and negotiating with each other. Even if the programme doesn´t have a theme it is up to the participants what kind of topics they want to use and how would they use them.

That stated even though the staff group is expected to facilitate in the lightest way possible making sure that all participants are being heard in all decision-making, they DO should motivate the group by giving guidance on ground topics the camp should cover. I’ve staffed many Seminar Camps and was a participant myself and human rights were always one of the biggest topics and themes of activities -or even informal talks at Seminar Camps. We always hope and believe that all participants will share and express their feelings towards the four CISV themes and I believe so far we have accomplished that goal in most programmes.

The beauty of this age group is that they are mature enough to understand the impact and learn from the diversity we so much promote in CISV.”

Silas Camargo Galvao, great Seminar expert

In a Seminar Camp, as you all know, it is the participants who plan their own activities. The staff should ‘set the scene’ in the initial days, and give participants the tools they need to allow them to discover more in depth about CISV and the content areas (and of course to achieve the educational goals of the camp). I see that working successfully with the theme/focused content areas at camp comes down to training. But even with the best training and best intentions….Seminar Camps are up to the participants and at some point, there is only so much ‘pushing’ a staff team can do.

So, future Seminar Participants- I challenge you to push yourselves and create new, exciting, and relevant activities! 21 days is nothing, make the most of it, use the resources you have available (especially before camp).

Tracey Cumin, crazy Seminar lover

IPP

IPP is one of the CISV programmes where we can really explore human rights theme. Once at the IPP, we have the opportunity to merge into different communities and their realities. The human rights theme has many different nuances and it is possible to work with food, education, health and so on, but keeping in focus the interests of the partner organization.

A good start is to visit the partner organization and develop activities designed to strengthen the relationship between you, discuss the proposed subject and establish a common plan and schedule.

As former IPP staff, I can assure you that communication and mutual respect are the keys to success!

Mary Sthela Abujamra, an IPP believer 

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We hope you enjoyed this tips and stories as much as we did. 

Have a wonderful programme full of learning and sharing!