Women’s Human Rights Teaching, Learning and Advocacy Resource: Integrating Global Citizenship Frameworks into Feminist Curricula

Abstract

AbstractThe 1995 World Conference on Women in Beijing was a turning point for the global women’s movement. Over 17,000 participants attended, including 6,000 government delegates, 4,000 accredited NGO representatives, many international civil servants and about 4,000 media representatives. The outcome of the conference was the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action, a bold blueprint for action on issues affecting women from equality in education to curbing physical violence to emphasizing women’s role in a thriving economy. The declaration was adopted unanimously by 189 countries. This agenda, according to UN Women, is considered “the most progressive blueprint ever for advancing women’s rights” and “the key global policy document on gender equality”. 2020 marked the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA). Beijing+25 invited experimentation and creativity for new online, virtual learning. However, there was a need to bridge a wide divide between the knowledge base in academia with activism at the United Nations (UN). Recruited in April 2020 from a volunteer working group meant to speed up and scale up feminist movements and grass roots engagement in BPfA advocacy, 50 academics, researchers, civil society leaders, UN experts, students, activists, community organizers, and volunteers came together and spent six months working in teams to develop 42 curricula or lesson plans known as the Women’s Human Rights Teaching, Learning and Advocacy Resource (WHR TLAR). The WHR TLAR is an open, accessible, and free resource for educators and activists composed of learning modules organized around six themes dealing with the most pressing challenges to women’s human rights today. The modules follow a standard, easy-to-follow format that is designed to engage and educate learners while assisting instructors by adhering to academic standards. The following chapter will describe the creation of this resource, the insights gathered from this diverse (in terms of experience, geography, identity, and role) group of women, and the implications for future open educational initiatives to advance women’s human rights.KeywordsUnited NationsFeminismRemote learningLearning communitiesHuman rights