Presentation of the "Power of Language" - Handbook at the Council of Europe

by Viola Georgi

In August 2001 the Network's two working groups came together for a week long meeting in Strasbourg (France). As Strasbourg is known as one of the crossroads of Europe, hosting not only the European Parliament but also the European Court of Human Rights and the Council of Europe, the city turned out to be a perfect choice for a conference venue. The meetings were planned and conducted by the Center for Applied Policy Research in co-operation with the Council of Europe (COE). The gathering aimed at continuing the work of the different smaller working groups such as "Tolerance reports", "Educational concepts" and "Evaluation". The working group "Language and Democracy" presented the first publication of the network, certainly an occasion to celebrate.

The handbook "The Power of Language. An Activity Guide for Facilitators” contains exercises and practical workshop examples from different countries and regions around the globe. The reader dealing with various issues of language and democracy was cause for getting the network involved in an extraordinary European event: The Council of Europe's campaign "The European Year of Languages". The Network publication was officially presented to the COE who considered the handbook an important and valuable contribution to the "European Year of Languages."

During a visit to the Council of Europe the Network participants had the chance to get to know the various activities and working areas of the COE and to discuss with leading representatives of the European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance and the Human Rights Cooperation and Awareness Division. Last but not least the visit served to strengthen the collaboration with the Division of Education for Democratic Citizenship represented by Michaela Ceccini and Angela Garabagiu.

One of the highlights of the internal working group sessions was the test run of a workshop on evaluation within the field of education for Human Rights, Democracy and Tolerance. The workshop was created and conducted by the Network's working group on evaluation. After having successfully tested the different modules of the workshop it is planned to edit a resource book on the issue. The other two working groups "Tolerance Reports" and "Educational Concepts," also plan to publish their working results in the near future.

The Network has decided to put more emphasis on human rights education taking into account the fact that the UN declared a decade for Human Rights Education in 1995. The question whether the Network could still contribute to the ongoing decade was raised. Maria Eugenia Brockmann (Participa, Chile) and Felisa Appels (UMAC, South Africa) outlined the landscape of Human Rights and Human Rights Education in their countries, elaborating on the history of Human Rights violations as well as the struggle for Human Rights. Vera Candau (Novamerica, Brazil) gave a presentation on the development and current challenges of Human Rights Education in Latin America - stressing the significance and the impact of NGOs within the field of HRE. Candau's presentation did not only inspire a vital debate on the topic but also made participants realise that there are many more theoretical and practical dimensions to be explored within this field. A challenge which seemed just right for the Network to be taken on as a future task.

Index: Podium

Intergroup Relations Programs: How Effective Are They?
by Walter G. Stephan & Cookie White Stephan

4th Annual Network Conference
by Michael Seberich

Presentation of the "Power of Language" - Handbook at the Council of Europe
by Viola Georgi

Empowerment and Human Security in a time of transition - impressions from a visit in South Africa
by Katrin Uhl

The Aquino Foundation

Evaluation of Education for Democracy and Tolerance
by Gabriele Ketterle