Human Rights Education
Amnesty International believes that learning about human rights is the first step toward
respecting, promoting and defending the rights of all people. Teaching human rights means both conveying ideas and information concerning human rights and nurturing the values and attitudes that lead to the support of those rights.
About Human Rights Education »
TRAINING RESOURCES
New! Online Training: Torture
Upon completion of the training, you will be able to articulate Amnesty International’s stance on torture, cite facts and refer to specific cases to support Amnesty International’s stance, define torture, respond to other viewpoints, and identify concrete actions to support the Counter Terror with Justice Campaign.
» Take the online training to learn more about torture
» Learn more about our online training on torture
Leadership Training for New Volunteer Leaders
Volunteer leaders have a key role to play in leading, recruiting, and engaging Amnesty International activists and members regionally. Check back here for leadership training dates and suggested reading to complete before regional trainings take place.
» Leadership Training schedule and suggested reading
Online Orientation
Get familiar with Amnesty International history, campaigns, and the history of international human rights.
» Take our online orientation
FILM CURRICULUM GUIDES
Blood Diamond Curriculum Guide
Amnesty International USA has put together a teacher's guide to accomany the Warner Brother's production Blood Diamond. The teacher's guide includes lesson plans, a glossary, discussion questions and materials for further study. The guide provides students with insight to explore individual as well as collective and social responsibility. The Human Rights Education Program would like to thank Rebecca Catron, Alison Cordeiro, Adriane Alicea, Melissa Robinson, and Amy O'Meara for helping conceive and create this resource. more »
The Kite Runner
The Kite Runner is adapted from the bestselling novel by Khaled Hosseini. The companion curriculum guide is a comprehensive teaching tool that includes five lesson plans designed to give learners a deeper understanding of the themes presented in the film.
War Dance
War Dance is a documentary film that follows students from war-torn northern Uganda to the National Music Festival in the nation's capital, Kampala. This powerful and uplifting film addresses many human rights issues endemic to conflict, from internally displaced persons to child soldiers while highlighting the role that music and dance plays in these children's lives. To purchase a copy of the film, please visit our partners at Shine Global.
Hotel Rwanda
The first film companion guide produced by the HRE program at AIUSA, this curriculum consists of three lessons and various activities for teachers and activists to use in conjunction with a screening of the film.
OTHER TEACHING TOOLS
Intended Consequences: Rwandan Children Born of Rape
Intended Consequences: Rwandan Children Born of Rape is a stunning documentary photography exhibition by Jonathan Torgovnik. This curriculum guide is designed to serve as a companion guide for the exhibition, but also may be used as a stand alone learning experience to explore and understand themes of gender based violence, genocide, and discrimination. More info on the exhibit.
This curriculum guide is a companion for the book Stolen Voices: Young People's War Diaries from World War I to Iraq, which can be purchased through Amazon.com. Stolen Voices provides a glimpse into the way young people all around the world experience conflict. Its’ companion curriculum guide is geared towards grades 6-9, but there are many activities that are adaptable for other age groups as well.
College Mentors Program
Activate is a program that provides training and materials for college students who are interested in using human rights education as a means of empowerment and activism within local high schools.
» Learn how college students can mentor high school activists
Teaching Guides
Our teaching guides are designed to provide a solid framework for discussing human rights in your classroom.
» View our teaching guides
SUCCESS IN HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION
At P.S. 11 Kids Are Learning the Language of Human Rights
Students at P.S 11, an elementary school in Brooklyn, prove to their principal, Alonta Wrighton, that Human Rights education can change the world.
