From the Consortium President
Message Posted June, 2007
Dear IHREC members,
It has been a busy spring. In the last few months I had occasion to participate in a number of Consortium activities initiated by our membership.
In February The IHREC arranged and contributed to a briefing arranged by the Bipartisan Congressional Human Rights Caucus on Capitol Hill. Marcel Kitissou organized the event working with the staff of the Congressional Caucus. The briefing was well attended and productive.
For other pictures see: http://www.utica.edu/academic/institutes/ihrec/announcements/caucusphotos.cfm
For the testimony see: http://lantos.house.gov/HoR/CA12/Human+Rights+Caucus/Briefing+Testimonies/02-04-07+Testimony+of+Ted+Orlin+Theory+and+Practice+Briefing.htm
That afternoon Mark Ensalaco (University of Dayton) chaired a panel held at the Holocaust Museum where Consortium members had an opportunity to contribute to their thinking on human rights issues and education. Our roundtable activity will continue with the hope we can synthesize the thought human rights educators have as to “best practices” for human rights education.
In March Allwyn D’Silva and staff attorney Shweta Shalini (Justice and Peace Commission, Mumbai, India) organized a human rights education workshop. This effort is a continuation of the Mumbai Initiative for Human Rights Education, where academics and human rights educators regularly meet to enhance their human rights teaching and advocacy. Later that month a human rights education workshop was held in Kerala. In attendance were a large number of human rights educators from Southern India. One possible outcome of this event was a proposal to create a human rights education initiative, similar to the one operating in Mumbai. A number of educators were identified as the possible leadership for such an effort.
On my way to Albania from India I had an opportunity to meet with UNESCO staff in Paris. In discussion with Linda Tinio and other staff members they expressed interest in participating in forthcoming Asian conference scheduled for the Philippines in 2008/09. We will be in contact with UNESCO as we prepare for that event.
In Tirana Albania, IHREC member Kujtim Cashku (Marubi Film and Multimedia School) organized the Second Edition of the Human Rights Film festival which is co-sponsored by the Consortium, UNICEF, The Helsinki Committee and a number of embassies. The festival was well publicized and attended. A result of the festival was an agreement with the Consortium member Dr. Neshad Asllani (Kosova Center for Human Rights, Peja) to repeat the Festival in Kosovo. The film showings are scheduled for early this summer.
Kujtim and his staff are preparing the Third Edition to be held again in Tirana for March 2008.
The Consortium held a meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria organized by Tania Reytan-Marincheska (Helsinki Committee, University of Sofia). Human Rights educators discussed possible cooperation in a number of areas including a joint research project and a creation of a Masters in Human Rights Advocacy that will include several Consortium members from the Balkans and the US.
In June I was able to meet with IHREC members Martin Scheinin (Abo Akademi – Institute for Human Rights, Finland ) and William Schabas (Irish Centre for Human Rights at the National University, Galway Ireland). Both were in Washington to lecture at the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, American University. We consulted about the possibilities of cooperating in a workshop planned for Russia in the Kola Peninsula and other possible activities. We met with representatives from the Academy and discussed the prospects of developing human rights education programs in Latin America in cooperation with American University.
At the end of this month I will be meeting Michael McGowan (St. Thomas University, New Brunswick, Canada) in New York. We will begin to prepare and agenda for the Board meeting that will be held in Fredericton on October 5-6.
New IHREC Members
Since my last message we are proud to welcome several new IHREC members.
John Carroll University of University Heights, Ohio, USA
With the inclusion of John Carroll Universiy as an institutional member Paul Lauritzen, Matthew Berg, and Richard Clark have become part of our Consortium. We encourage our members to contact the John Carroll faculty and begin to explore possibilities for cooperation. Their e-mail addresses are: plauritzen@jcu.edu; mberg@jcu.edu; rclark@jcu.edu
Felisa Tibbitts of Cambridge, MA, USA
Felisa Tibbitts is a well respected for her long and productive commitment to human rights education and is well known in Europe and elsewhere. Felisa was one of the presenters at the Human Right Caucus’s briefing. She will be joining the IHREC panel that we will be presenting at the ISA meeting this coming March in San Francisco.
Estonian Institute for Human Rights of Tallinn, Estonia
Merle Haruoja, presented at our last European Consortium meeting this last October in Berlin. We anticipate that the Estonian Institute will be working closely with our Finnish colleagues.
Neelu Khosla of Mumbai, India
Neelu Khosla has been active in Mumbai and participated in the IHREC’s workshops.
Kasturi Education Society of Pune, Maharastra, India
Dr. Pandet Plande and Dr. J. Palande met with Executive Board member Allwyn D’Silva and Ted Orlin in Mumbai and discussed their plans to establish a human rights Centre in the Pune region. They plan to host an IHREC regional meeting and/or roundtable within the year.
MEMBER NEWS AND EVENTS:
I periodically write a letter to the Consortium members. I attempt to inform our members of IHREC activities. It would be very useful if members can send me information that I can include in this message as to what is happening at their institutions and with their human rights education activities. Information such as the publication of new books, lectures, awards, promotions, training programs, etc. that you feel would be of interest to Consortium members are welcomed. While the Secretariat will of course continue to post the information on the web page, it would be useful if I could include it in this message.
Below is some recent information I have received-
Kujtim Çashku (Marubi Film and Multimedia School, Tirana, Albania), presented his film “Magic Eye” (Orafilm) at the Syracuse International Film Festival (2007) - Magic Eye is “a story about TRUTH, MEDIA and LOVE”.
Rita Maran (Berkeley, California) had her article, "Detention and Torture in Guantanamo," published in Social Justice Vol.33, No.4,
In the context of rule of law, the article discusses the United Nations, the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Geneva Conventions, The Justice Department - Office of Legal Counsel and Alberto Gonzales and John Yoo's memos on torture, the Supreme Court, and the Military Commissions Act. http://www.socialjusticejournal.org
The overall theme of this issue of /Social Justice/ is: "Deaths in
Custody and Detention," with a number of other articles on, among other things, Abu Ghraib, Racism and Custody Death in the U.K., Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, and Child Prisoner Deaths.
Marcel Kitissou co-edited the book "Hydropolitics of
Africa: A Contemporary Challenge" which was just published. He wrote the introductory chapter on "Water in the Context of Africa: Geopolitics and A Contemporary Challenge”
Edited by
Marcel Kitissou, Muna Ndulo, Mechthild Nagel and Margaret Grieco
The Hydropolitics of Africa
Water is both an essential resource and a source of disease and
conflict in contemporary Africa. And we begin to learn that far
distant processes of consumption and pollution can have their impact on the water systems of Africa: global warming produced by the material culture of the first world threatens the weather systems and very survival of developing countries. In this context, this volume – the product of an expert meeting at Cornell University’s Institute for African Development – traces and tracks the dynamics of the contemporary hydropolitics of Africa. The volume contains a variety of approaches to the study of the organisation of water within Africa ranging from technical essays on water borne diseases, through institutional analyses of the legal and political arrangements around the distribution of water to social policy analyses of the unmet demand for water amongst Africa’s poor. Taken as a whole, the volume provides the reader with a useful reference work on the contemporary hydropolitics of Africa whilst simultaneously providing a lively introduction to a critical and much neglected area of African development policy.
He is currently editing another book on "Africa in China's Global Strategy".
Three Utica College students are now doing their internships with the Justice and Peace Commission (Mumbai, India). A Utica College Master’s student is doing a practicum on human rights education with the Kosova Center for Human Rights (Peja, Kosova)
Pamela Thompson (Education-Utica College) has recently accepted a position at the University of Hawai'i-Hilo. As a part of her responsibilities as a professor of education, she will be designing curricular and instructional programming in the area of Human Rights Education and facilitating collaborative partnerships with the Native Hawaiian Cultural Center -K-12 public schools- and the University. She will continue to remain involved in the growth and work of IHREC. Utica College will miss Pamela, but look forward to continuing to work with her on a number of human rights projects that are now being planned. Our Education department will soon open a search for an education professor with experience in elementary education in with classroom experience. If you know of any interested candidates have them send their resume to Dr. Lois Fisch lfisch@utica.edu and/or torlin@utica.edu .
Upcoming - IHREC EVENTS:
July 2007- I was invited by Jefferson Plantilla, HUOSAKA to visit Japan early in July. I will be meeting with human rights educators and will be part of a discussion on human rights higher education in Japan. I will be visiting the Buraku Liberation and Human Rights Research Institute, a Consortium member. On July 13th I was invited to a presentation for the Osaka Liaison Conference for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights- "The Exigencies of an Emerging New International Order Demand Functional Initiatives Beyond State Power to Implement the Promise of Universal Respect of Human Rights- Roles and Efforts of Local Governments and Corporations in Human Rights Work"
Jefferson Plantilla will accompany me to the Philippines where we will be hosted by two Consortium members, Aurora J. DeDios (Quezon City) and Flora C. Arellano (Manila). Plans are being completed for a two week visit with human rights educators at a variety of venues.
At the IHREC Asian Regional conference held at Soochow University last summer it was decided to have a regional meeting in the Philippines in 2008/09. One purpose of this visit is to begin to arrange the meeting/conference. If any Consortium member is interested in joining a working group to prepare this conference please notify the Secretariat. The hope is that there will be representation from not only Asia, but Europe and North America. If you have suggestions for themes and/or panel we would appreciate your input.
August / Sept. 2007 –Executive Board Member Reetta Toivanen (?bo, Helsinki, Finn.) has organized a Workshop “Language and Cultural Rights of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples in Europe: Comparing the Russian Federation and the European Union” in Lovozero, Russia, 28 Aug – 1 Sep, 2007, Among the participants will be Martin Scheinin (?bo, Finland) For more information contact: Reetta.toivanen@abo.fi
October 5-6 – Our 2007 Executive Board Meeting will be held at St. Thomas University, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. As of this date we have confirmations from Ted Orlin, Allwyn D’Silva, Liam Gearon, Rita Maran, Michael McGowan and Reetta Toivanen. Consortium Members are always welcome to our Board meetings. If you are not able to attend we would appreciate any suggestion you may have for the agenda. The focus of the meeting will be planning Consortium activities for 2008 /09 and discussing the future of the Consortium. The Executive Board’s term ends in 2009. The meeting will be discussing organizational issues and the election of a new Board for a four year term.
October 2007 – Continuing our global project of roundtables on the future of human rights education there will be a Finnish National Roundtable on Human Rights Education, Abo/ Turku, October 2007,
We are hoping that there will be representation from Consortium members from other Nordic and Baltic countries. All IHREC educators who are interested in attending should contact Reetta.toivanen@abo.fi .
A Gentle reminder: We continue to maintain our voluntary dues policy and we thank all institutions and individuals who sent in 2007 dues. There are a number of Consortium members who paid dues in either 2005 or 2006 but have not done paid dues for 2007. The Secretariat would be appreciative to receive your 2007 dues. As you are well aware the dues are used only for Consortium events and incidental expenses related to our meetings and organization. I have attached a dues form to this message for your convenience.
Once again I want to express my appreciation to all of you who have supported the Consortium with your efforts, dues and talents. I am confident that our cooperative efforts have furthered our objective of promoting human rights education. For those of you I am about to visit, I look forward to our meeting.
I trust that the IHREC has in some way assisted our membership in the development of human rights education and I look forward to our continued work together.
As always I welcome your comments and concerns and will attempt to respond to your correspondence in a timely fashion.
Sincerely,
Ted Orlin
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