The LIFT OFF Initiative promotes human rights education (HRE) in schools in three main ways: the development of curriculum support materials, support for schools in developing a whole school approach to HRE and the fostering of links between schools engaged in HRE.
1. Curriculum materials
Three initial pilot projects took place from 2001 to 2006 during which over 70 schools and around 8000 children took part in the development of a set of three resource books which support teachers wishing to integrate human right principles into their own classroom practice. A free set of books is available for each school on the island of Ireland and further copies can be purchased from the Amnesty International offices in Dublin or Belfast. These books are also in the process of being translated into Irish. The translation of ‘Lift Off’, the second in the series has already been completed and the books have been distributed to Irish medium schools in the Republic of Ireland and will be distributed to Irish medium schools in Northern Ireland in Autumn term 2007.
“I think the pack itself, particularly the way the pack is presented is brilliant. You can tell that it is written by teachers”
– LIFT OFF Teacher
2. Whole School Approach
The LIFT OFF Initiative believes that for human rights education to have a meaningful impact, human rights principles should be reflected in both the policies and practices of the whole school. Children’s learning about human rights via the curriculum should therefore be supplemented by:
- Opportunities for children to experience human rights in practice throughout the school.
- Opportunities which allow children to reflect on how they themselves uphold both their own and others’ human rights.
In other words children should be afforded the chance to learn not only about human rights but also through experiencing human rights being upheld within the school environment. Such experiences will enhance children’s exploration of the relevance and value of human rights to their own and others’ daily lives.
There are many areas of whole school policy, planning and practice that offer opportunities to engage in human rights education on a whole school basis. Human rights principals can inform the above in two main ways:
- Provide a framework for planning and addressing real and relevant concerns within the school as a whole.
- Act as a tool with which to evaluate whole school policies and practices.
Through our regular newsletter and a twice-yearly Schools’ Forum, LIFT OFF provides opportunities for schools to share their good practice as well as their concerns relating to human rights education. We are also in the process of developing a booklet which will collate the examples of good practice of whole school work that schools have undertaken.
3. School Linking
Schools engaged with human rights education through LIFT OFF are part of a mutually supportive network. Teachers get the opportunity to meet up during the school year at two School Forums. In addition they are kept informed of Initiative and school activities through the regular LIFT OFF newsletter, their LIFT OFF coordinator as well as through this website. If requested, the coordinators are happy to visit existing Lift Off schools as well as those new to the Initiative. Many schools have also forged closer links with each other by linking up cross-border and/or cross-community for particular projects. It is through such projects that children are able to safely explore similarities and differences between themselves and others and so gain a deeper understanding of the universality of human rights.
4. Evaluation of LIFT OFF
LIFT OFF has been externally evaluated twice since 2001. For the latest evaluation report please click here. A summary is available here.
