 This long-term training programme provided intensive training and support for young human rights defenders in the Arab World in order to increase advocacy and monitoring capacity and foster a regional network of human rights advocates.
The programme was intended for young human rights defenders that are seeking to:
(a) expand their network of people working in the human rights field in North Africa and the Middle East;
(b) develop their human rights advocacy and monitoring skills;
(c) receive support in their work from experienced human rights defenders;
(d) increase their knowledge of the international and regional human rights standards and mechanisms;
(e) advance an advocacy project that is important to the community that they serve.
Seventy five trainees and 30 auditors were accepted to the programme that began in November 2006 and ended in May 2008. Selected trainees participate in:
(1) a 3-month distance learning course on human rights advocacy (online)
(2) a 5-day regional workshop on human rights advocacy in Tunis (Tunisia)
(3) a 3-month distance learning course on human rights monitoring (online)
(4) a 5-day in-person workshop on human rights monitoring in Cairo (Egypt)
(5) on-going support in your human rights work from a mentor
(6) self-study of international and regional human rights standards and mechanisms
All instruction was in Arabic. The Programme has a duration of 18 months and participants were required to participate in all components.
Youth for Human Rights was jointly organised by HREA, the Arab Institute for Human Rights (AIHR) and the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS).
Selection of Participants
The Programme is designed for human rights defenders (NGO staff, lawyers, journalists, teachers, community workers) between the ages of 18-35 that work in countries that are members of the Arab League (Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen, United Arab Emirates). Preference was given to applicants who have demonstrated a commitment to defending human rights in their community and have support from their organisation.
Background
The Youth for Human Rights training programme is based on a distributed learning approach. This learning model is based on the premise that the ideal learning model involves hands-on training, time for reading and reflection, group work, an extended engagement in the learning process, mentoring and the opportunity to apply knowledge and skills in a real-life situation and receive support and feedback. Distributed learning is an instructional model that allows instructor(s), students, and content to be located in different, non-centralised locations so that instruction and learning can take place independent of time and place.
The Youth for Human Rights long-term training programme for young human rights defenders in the Middle East and North Africa is generously funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ford Foundation and the Open Society Institute's Middle East & North Africa Initiative.
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