Introduction
Pursuant to paragraph 7 (k) of the Programme of Action for the Third
Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination, the Office of the
High Commissioner for Human Rights held a workshop "for educational
and training experts, including non-governmental organizations, in cooperation
with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
and other appropriate organizations, aimed at the development of educational
materials and training courses for teachers and other opinion leaders
on eliminating prejudice and fostering tolerance."
Output
Educational objectives
This publication would:
1. Analyze the problems of racism and racial discrimination in relation
to specific themes, such as education, health, HIV/AIDS, employment,
migration, development, administration of justice, contemporary forms
of slavery, the media, including new information technologies, and double
discrimination based on gender and race, making reference to specific
empirical data when appropriate.
Objective 1: To give university students a better understanding,
on a cross-cultural basis, of the phenomenon of racism in different
thematic areas, how it manifests itself, the degree of exclusion which
exists, and how racism can be prevented and combated.
2. Provide practical examples of overcoming racism in the specific
area of concern.
Objective 2: To generate interest and ideas among students
on how they can get engaged in the fight against racism outside of university.
3. Make, at the end of each chapter, practical suggestions on how to
introduce the subject to students, on questions that could be raised
to generate discussions among the students and on ideas for further
research by students
Objective 3: To train educators to raise interest in
the topic of racism, to incite students to have a better understanding
of the benefits of diversity, and to motivate students to become involved
in overcoming racism.
Methodology of the workshop
Eleven experts have been invited to present background papers analyzing
the problems of racism and racial discrimination in relation to specific
themes, making reference to empirical data when appropriate. Reference
will also be made to strategies that are being used to improve the situation
of victims, including examples from the national level. Each paper will
be introduced by its author and followed by a discussion. The aim of
the discussion is to provide a critical review of each paper. This review
is at the heart of the purpose of the workshop, which is designed to
facilitate the preparation of papers that could be, after modification
and editing, integrated into a joint UNESCO/ OHCHR educational publication.
In addition, the discussion could focus on practical suggestions
to university professors:
The latter suggestions would later also be integrated into the relevant
chapters of the publication.
The audience would include States, specialized agencies and UN bodies,
educational experts, national human rights institutions, NGOs, youth
representatives and other representatives of civil society.
