[hr-education] Re: Theoretical framework, legal bases and history of HRE

Dear friends and colleagues,

Before I respond to the question I would like to reflex and ask a initial
question: who is interested to make distinction between HRE and other
education? Are they the theoreticians and the academics, the activists,
the teachers, the grassroot people? Who is demanding thatthis should be
clarified? And why?

It is interesting that we are being asked to give a rationale to something
that pure reason demands it is a categoric imperative. Human rights
education should be a transversal discourse and a practice in in our
culture. A life-long education that doesn't have boundaries. Today in a
mediatic world we have to demand from the media, which have such an
important influence in our thoughts, feelings and actions to assume an
educational role in HRE or to request with much energy that they will be
conscience of the messages that they are sending to us the public. The
enterpreneurs that support the media should also be conscience of it. Is
this a utopic demand? In synthesis, HRE is a responsability of the whole
society. Nobody can be excluded.

In my opinion the origins of HRE are historical and contextual grounded.
In Latin America we started HRE as the result of the violations sufferered
during the military dictatorships. We understood that HRE is the ethical
foundation of the recovery of democracy. From our experience we came to
the conclusion that HRE has the ethical and political responsability fo
remember and never forget, for "never again".

Human rights are the normative and ethical support for peace and
citizenship education. HRE is par excellence political education.

Today we can talk openly without euphemisms about HRE. Nobody today will
question the moral and legal authority of HRE as it was in the beginning,
twenty years ago. Then we were asked to talk about peace education and
citizenship education. To speak of HRE was dangerous and would provoke
conflict.

With love
Abraham Magendzo
Chile

 

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