Human Rights Education

Moussa Magassa, Human Rights Advisor - Education

I believe in the African concept of Ubuntu, that people are people because of other people. I define myself as the kind of person who believes in the crucial importance of relationships, of the human interactions and particularly of the reality that not only our human issues are interconnected but that our life can't evolve outside of each other. Peace is what I believe in as the only and sustainable alternative for all of us. This is what I everyday look forward to when I wake up.

The main goal of the Human Rights Education advisor is to enhance understanding of and commitment to the university’s human rights and equity goals by raising the awareness of students, staff and faculty, supervisory personnel and administrators on a range of human rights issues with the end goal of increasing diversity and creating fair and inclusive work and study environments at UVic.

Human Rights Education (HRE)

• promotes understanding of the complex global forces that create abuses, as well as the ways in which abuses can be abolished and avoided;
• engages the heart as well as the mind,
• helps to develop the communication skills and informed critical thinking essential to a democracy; and
• examines human rights issues without bias and from diverse perspectives through a variety of educational practices.
  [Excerpt from the Human Rights Educators’ networks]

Human rights education asserts our active responsibility to respect, protect, and promote the rights of all people.

The different initiatives being implemented by the HRE Program:

• Annual Human Rights Discussion Forums
• Campaign to Eradicate Ambient Violence (Hate messages) at UVic
• Creating Spaces
• Educational Sessions Available
• Living Inclusion pdf
• Upcoming Workshops
• Human Rights Education Volunteers (HREV)
• Human Rights Discussion Cafe
• Invisible Theatre Project