Human Rights Education Associates

Results of HRE impact assessment by HREA now available

In 2008 and 2009, HREA conducted an impact assessment of Amnesty International’s human rights education programmes in ten countries. Amnesty International’s Rights-Education-Action-Programme (REAP) focuses on “multipliers”, people who through their work or position in society can teach or influence many others. Teachers, for example, are multipliers who work with school-children. There were such REAP projects in Poland, Slovenia, Moldova, Russia, Turkey, Morocco, Israel, South Africa, India, Thailand and Malaysia. The REAP programme, which began in 2000 and concluded in 2009, is administered and funded by Amnesty International-Norway.

The impact assessment’s primary objectives included the improvement of human rights education by Amnesty International globally, as well as the improvement of project planning and management. Human rights education programming across Amnesty’s various REAP projects have involved a range of themes and target groups, mainly teachers and educators in formal educational systems, but also NGOs, community leaders, journalists, prison officials, judiciary officers, religious officers and others. In Poland, Amnesty International is working intensively with school groups, fostering the initiation of student groups that are engaged with raising awareness, letter-writing and carrying out other self-defined activities to promote human rights in their community. In South Africa by contrast, a strong emphasis has been placed on integrating human rights within community development, where there is a focus on women’s rights linked to HIV/AIDS.

The main report contains detailed analyses of survey-based findings, including variations based upon country, gender, target group/occupation and hours of participation in REAP. These analyses demonstrate variation in the degree of impacts, taking into account the background features of REAP countries and their constituents. The following are highlights from the full report:

1. REAP strengthened sections’ capacities to carry out HRE programming.
2. HRE activities have positively influenced AI’s growth and activism.
3. HRE activities have positively influenced some sections of AI in ways other than HRE programming, growth and activism.
4. REAP has facilitated AI’s development of partnerships with governmental and non-governmental organizations.
5. HRE programming has positively affected the human rights work of partner organizations.
6. REAP has had positive impacts on educational policies related to human rights education.
7. Positive changes in public opinion of Amnesty International can be attributed to REAP programming.
8. There is direct evidence that REAP contributed to a greater realisation of human rights, especially for vulnerable populations.
9. Multipliers rated TOTs as the most influential support provided by AI but all supports usefully contributed to multiplier capacities to carry out HRE.
10. The REAP programme had a positive impact on multipliers’ knowledge, attitudes and skills related to human rights.

Read the full executive summary of this assessment conducted by HREA or download a brochure that summarises the lessons learned from the REAP programme.