2005 Testimonials - Course 10E: The United Nations Human Rights System

What participants said about this course:

"An all-round excellent course!"

"This course met my expectations very well."

"The course exceeded my expectations. The interaction was fantastic, and the topics were thought provoking."

"The course was an eye opener to the operations of the UN human rights system."

"[The course met my expectations] to a great extent…especially the Commission's meetings…and the intro part of the course."

"Very well. I felt that the course covered everything the course description stated and I felt that I learnt a lot from it."

" I was impressed by how many things were covered that I hadn't thought about."

"The course has met my expectations in increasing to a great extent my understanding of the United Nations human rights system. I have better understood the specific responsibilities and interrelations between the different Human rights bodies. The concurrence with the 61st session of the Commission on Human Rights and the Report of the Secretary General for the reform of the UN system is also has contributed to increase the impact of the course."

"[the course met my expectations] more than what I had expected, the diversity of the participants, the work of [the facilitator] and [the instructor] were beyond anything I imagined. I never thought that a course with this title and materials would work on-line but it did!!"

"Very well developed curriculum, the range of topics covered, the instruction by [the instructor] and support from [the facilitator] were excellent!!"

"It was my first experience with e-learning in this structured a format. The course was structured very well to overcome the inherent impersonal nature of this type of format. I particularly appreciated receiving the occasional personal note from the course facilitator (particularly, when he noticed I was falling behind in my participation)."

"The questions, suggested answers and issues that needed to be discussed in the assignments were carefully crafted by the instructor."

"I felt that I learnt almost as much from the other participants' contributions as from the readings, although probably not quite as much as from the instructor's emails and feedback."

"[The instructor] was very responsive to my needs and even supplied me with materials I could not access. Thank you!"

"The instructor was excellent and I feel cannot be faulted other than perhaps to have give slightly more personalised feedback at times."

"[the instructor was] Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!"

"Thank you again for the broadness the of the weekly mini-lectures and feedback messages."

"I appreciated the combination of analytical documents with actual documents of the Commission on Human Rights itself."

"Readings were from a wide range of authors and were timely to sequence of the course."

"The press release format [of assignments] was a very interesting way to both develop a new skill and encourage participants to understand and analyze their subject."

"Inclusion of press releases (which I had never done before) and the types of assignments were well written. They helped me to focus on the issues that we later discussed on line."

"[The assignments] were fun - and reading other people's assignments made me aware of issues which I wouldn't have spent time following myself. Having to aim for a one page press release was a good discipline in focusing on the key points of the topic and deciding which aspect to cover each week."

"While the weekly group feedback was extremely helpful in creating a positive environment for participants to freely express their views on the discussion questions (it quickly allayed my nervousness about responding), I would have appreciated some individual feedback on my project work."

"Having participants with a wide range of experiences and backgrounds certainly helps me to stimulate my thinking and formulations of answers to questions. I found that each participant brought in their own cultural aspects to the discussions."

"I had anticipated a range of "technical" problems that might hamper this course but instead I found that the virtual discussion including the formulation of the questions to assist us in critically thinking of the problem were done well."

"HREA staff was very helpful when I had to deal with any technical issues and supportive throughout the whole process. Although, I had my own technical problems I was able to continue in the course because the content of the class was always available."

"There were a couple of glitches when a reading somehow wasn't accessible , but the HREA team dealt with those quickly and it didn't prevent me completing my reading for the week on time."

"The on-line chats were a great opportunity - something that I, and probably most of the other participants, would not normally have access to. (And it was well worth getting up in the night to participate - just one of the disadvantages of living on the far side of the world …. ) I really appreciated the work that went in to arranging these - and to ensuring the technical details ran smoothly."

"This course helped me adopt a human rights approach to many subjects I am addressing in my work. More importantly, it helped me reach a decision to go back to school for a second Masters in human rights and democratization."

"I think this course was a good start for me to learn more about human rights and understand international law."

"I do plan to seek a career in the field of human rights…so the course is of tremendous help. It adds to my multilateral experience in the area of environment and to my overseas diplomatic experience."

"I have gained a good introduction to the United Nations human rights system, which will assist me in my further studies in human and particularly, international children's rights."

"As I seek to enter the UN system, I think I am better prepared than ever."

"Human Rights issues constitute an important sector under my duty responsibilities (as civil society specialist). The course will increase my capacity to balance the propensity that considers the functions of civil society as primarily oriented to economic liberalism. In addition, I'm more confident in seeking for a job in the UN human rights bodies."

"I think having participated in this course will have a fundamental impact on how I view my work with individual clients and my ability to relate human rights knowledge in my provision of social services to my clients."

"t has made me much more aware of how the UN system works - and while I don't engage directly with UN agencies, it is enabling me to provide more useful support and advice to my colleagues who do engage with UN agencies and attend meetings. It is also helping me to provide better input to inter-agency briefings and papers."

"My division is the lead on our agency`s responses to the CHR each year. This experience will have, without having had the opportunity to actually attend the event, dramatically increased my understanding of the format of the event, the significance of its individual parts and the politics at play."

"I have a greater perspective of human rights at the strategic level and I can pass this information down to the students at my place of work (The Peace Support Training Centre)."

"I would just like again thank [the instructor] and [the facilitator] for their expertise, help, information and professionalism in running this course, as well as the contributions of my fellow participants."

"Well done by all. Thanks [instructor] and [facilitator]."

"Excellent instructor, support and overall design and content of the class."

"Thank you again to HREA for giving us the opportunity to develop our skills."