ACRI believes that to foster a culture of human rights and to bring about real and lasting social change in Israel, we have to work in the educational arena to advance the key values we advocate for in the legal and public arenas. Awareness and appreciation for human and civil rights must be promoted widely and early on and among all sectors of Israeli society. As such, ACRI’s Education Department conducts human rights training programs for thousands of individuals across the country each year, produces high-quality educational curricula in Hebrew and Arabic, and organizes conferences and lectures on human rights education. We believe working with key agents of change – teachers in the Jewish and Arab school systems, students, security forces personnel, and social and community workers – is an effective method to influence attitudes and contribute toward building a more tolerant and just society.
Thanks to ACRI’s dedicated efforts, Israeli schools now recognize International Human Rights Day as an official day marked by the school system. As such, our Education Department leads a rich and varied program during the week of December 10 each year. In the weeks leading up to this date, ACRI works closely with teachers in a large number of schools to assist them in their development of special events and educational activities to mark International Human Rights Week. In addition, ACRI produces an eye-catching poster – each year depicting a different human right – that is distributed free of charge to all of Israel’s schools by the Education Ministry; our Education Department staff runs workshops for teachers on how to use the posters as a trigger for discussions on human rights and democracy. Recently, ACRI’s Education Department has begun distributing the poster to other community centers such as health clinics and seniors’ homes.
Education News:
ACRI Launches Grounbreaking Human Rights Program for Security Prison Staff, August 2008
Sharaf Hassan, Veteran Educator and Human RIghts Activist, Takes Over as ACRI’s New Education Director, August 2008
ACRI Expresses Concern over New Law Exempting Yeshiva Students from Core Curriculum, July 2008
