Intergenerational Conference:
Human Rights as a Tool for Social Change
August 4-13, 2006
University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT 06269
USA
The conference is premised on the presumption that every new generation of human rights leaders builds on the work of those who came before it. In today's increasingly interdependent global world, where actions or events in any part of the global system have impact on people in other regions of the world, there is a need to build a network of solidarity and to nurture a new cadre of human rights leaders who can educate others to meet the complex and multifaceted challenges of the new millennium. We must remember that although the circumstances under which the new generation of leaders operates are different, the issues that confront them are not fundamentally new to humanity and the types of strategies that would help them tackle the various issues need not e completely reinvented.
The Intergenerational Conference seeks to promote the sharing of experiences and understanding of, and provide an impetus for, the empowerment of youth leaders that will enable them to play a crucial and constructive role in the development of human rights in their communities. The conference hopes to provide tools and a platform for open debates about policies, programs, activities and processes necessary for human rights leadership.
Participants at the conference will be individuals (ages 18-30) from all over the world who have been involved in some capacity in human rights work in their communities. Participants will receive training in areas such as grassroots organizing, building coalitions, effective communication, use of media for human rights education, and understanding of the processes and relevance of restorative justice. It is planned that discussions will be conducted under the rubric of four principal areas; namely poverty, education, health conflict resolution and/or transformation. Specific areas of focus will include issues such as human trafficking, the plight of children, refugees and war, hunger, HIV/AIDS, religious intolerance, gender discrimination, racism and classism, peace education and environmental concerns. Conference facilitators will serve in an ongoing capacity as mentors to the young conference participants upon their return to their home countries.
Selected young people will engage through dialogue with experienced and older human rights practitioners to gain management skills and techniques and a greater understanding of human rights issues on a global level. A principal objective is to nurture individuals to be effective leaders in the field of human rights. Conference presenters/ speakers have been asked to serve in an ongoing capacity as mentors to the young participants upon their return to their home countries.
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