CSPE Action Project Initiative
Express Yourself! Young People Promoting Human Rights in Ireland
IHRC invites CSPE students to submit human rights images for national exhibition
Ensuring that everyone everywhere, including Ireland, can live "equal in dignity and rights" is at the heart of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Young people can play an active role in making this principle a reality and in so doing help build a culture of respect for human rights in Irish society. Education is an empowering factor and Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE) aims to foster a spirit of active citizenship based on human rights; nurturing knowledge, skills and agency. The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) is inviting CSPE students to make the human rights of people in Ireland the focus of their CSPE Action Project. We are asking them to play a prominent role in promoting human rights by creating images that express what human rights in Ireland mean to them for display in their schools or community, and at Express Yourself! Young People Promoting Human Rights in Ireland, a national exhibition organised by the IHRC at the Lighthouse Cinema, Smithfield Dublin 7 from 27 February to 6 March 2013. The Express Yourself! initiative is being organised by the IHRC in collaboration with the Association of CSPE Teachers (ACT); Irish Second-Level Students’ Union (ISSU); the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST); and the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD). Aims of Express Yourself! The IHRC was established in 2000 under statute to promote and protect human rights in Ireland. A key aspect of our work is to support education that strengthens human rights as knowing about human rights is the first step towards protecting them. Express Yourself! Young People Promoting Human Rights in Ireland aims to foster in CSPE students a greater understanding of human rights, empathy with people whose human rights are not being met and encouragement to promote awareness of the importance of protecting human rights in Ireland. Producing and exhibiting human rights images developed as part of such a collaborative process as the CSPE Action Project will also give concrete expression and validation to students’ concerns about human rights and what actions we as a society need to take to secure everyone’s rights. Express Yourself! Young People Promoting Human Rights is a follow-on to Human Rights Framed by Young People Exhibition organized by the IHRC with the Law Society of Ireland in 2008 to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Express Yourself! on Human Rights Day, 10 December 2012 Every year on International Human Rights Day, 10 December, people everywhere are asked to come together to celebrate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). As part of the Express Yourself! initiative, the IHRC is encouraging students to organise an event in their school or community to display their images and promote human rights and the enduring relevance of the UDHR more than 60 years after its adoption by the United Nations.Express Yourself! Exhibition Human Rights images produced by CSPE students will be displayed at the Express Yourself!, national exhibition at the Lighthouse Cinema, Smithfield, Dublin 7. The closing date to submit images is Wednesday, 16 January 2013. The Exhibition will officially open on 27 February 2013 and the images will be on show until 6 March. Application details are available on the IHRC’s website www.ihrc.ie/cspe Express Yourself! Resources and Support The IHRC is offering a range of supports to aid both teachers and students. 6-Step Guides for Teachers and Students to Express Yourself! Young People Promoting Human Rights in Ireland are being sent to CSPE Co-ordinators in all schools. The Guide is designed as a complement to CSPE textbooks and CSPE Action Project resources produced by other organisations. A similar guide is available for CSPE students. A section of the IHRC website is dedicated to Express Yourself! containing a range of human rights resources and information for both teachers and students. See www.ihrc.ie/cspe