Key Questions:
- How can human rights education inform our work with cultural institutions, to achieve outcomes consistent with human rights principles?
- How can we better support the cultural rights of diverse individuals and groups?
Everyone has certain rights just because they are human. These rights — like freedom of opinion and expression and freedom from discrimination — are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and cannot be taken away. Our research and evaluation is based on human rights principles, like being inclusive, protecting vulnerable groups, and promoting dignity. Yet much work remains to make these rights a reality for people everywhere. We cannot demand that our rights are respected until we know what those rights are. Thus, the first step toward ensuring universal human rights is human rights education. We at Knology use this term to mean learning through the lens of human rights, both inside and outside the classroom for people of all ages. While human rights education is the focus of the culture pillar, it informs our work across the entire organization.