Summary Report EHL September 2003-June 2004

• Having signed the Geneva Conventions in 1962 Ireland, like all signatory states, is legally obliged to encourage the study of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) among all citizens, both civilians and members of the armed forces. IHL is one of the most widely accepted and ratified areas of international law. Together with the 1948 Universal declaration of Human Rights and the 1989 Convention of Rights of the Child it should be seen as an integral part of everyone's basic education in the 21st century.
• The EHL project was initiated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 1999, and developed from 1999 to 2001, by the Educational Development Centre Inc. (EDC) in close association with 15 pilot sites from all parts of the world. One of the sites was Northern Ireland where the ICRC seconded a Delegate to Co-ordinate the EHL Project. The project was in joint partnership with the British and Irish Red Cross as across border initiative.
• Since the Development of EHL in 1999 there are now 91 countries worldwide where its been implemented EHL is targeted at young people aged 13-18 and is suitable to be used cross –curriculum: civics, social and political education, transition year, history, english, religion, and social personal health education.
• In 2003 the Irish Red Cross reconfirmed its commitment and wish to implement the EHL resources into mainstream education throughout Ireland. An Education Officer was employed part time with the support of a grant from Development Co-Operation Ireland. The programme having suffered some setbacks due to oversight in relations to employment laws began to be implemented in September 2003 and has been steadily taking momentum in achieving its programme aims.

Strategy:

In the piloting phase of the project the main goal was to promote the resource materials and establish test sites with students, educationalists (formal and non formal sectors). Promotion materials have been designed and distributed to more then 850 schools throughout Ireland with the assistance of Curriculum Development Unit and the resource pack distributed to some 44 schools (listed below)

Networks were established with the Department of Education & Science, Department Foreign Affairs key Educational Institutions and non-formal youth bodies aiming to establish an agreement in the mid term to have adapted resources included in the National Curriculum at post primary school level.

Creation and bringing together a pool of interested parties to form an expert group, which will advise and support the implementation of the EHL Project is seen as a second phase of the programme following the pilot phase.

Dissemination of the worthiness and to create more awareness of the EHL concept was conducted a selected group of the volunteer membership of the Irish Red Cross who have been identified as possible Ambassadors of the project.

Programme Aims:

1. To provide educationalists with a resource (EHL pack) which will be included and adapted to the mainstream curriculum of post-primary education for the specific target group of CSPE (Civics, Social and Political Education) and Transition Year students.
2. To contribute to the students education by raising awareness of local and global aspects of "humanitarianism". Contribute to the development of positive attitudes and skills, which facilitate young people to confront and improve their understanding of conflict, world development and peace.
3. Mobilisation of young people through "Youth Action Teams" which will empower young people to identify, plan and deliver a local project through the theme of Humanity
4. To foster the humanitarian perspective in students, to empower pupils to develop as confidant, motivated and concerned members of society. It will provide students with many opportunities to voice their own opinions, and to contribute their own experiences as relevant learning material for others.

Objectives:

1. To secure involvement of 30 pilot schools, which will test the materials and participate actively in the teaching of the modules outlined in the EHL programme.

Contacts were initiated and a number of introductory sessions to students and teachers were performed. Dissemination and distribution of the EHL resource packs were conducted and a network of 44 schools throughout Ireland has been established. Of which 20 newly approached schools have planned to participate in the programme for the school term of 2004/05 as they had already chosen the themes and lesson plans for 2003/04 when contacted, but expressed a wish to be trained in the use of the materials.

2. Facilitate training workshops for teachers of EHL throughout the country in association with the support units for CPSE and transition year.

During the year training workshops for Key RC members, especially the National Youth Working Group to familiarise them with the concept of EHL programme were conducted.

Organised in the framework of EHL an anti- racism workshop for Youth leaders was also conducted where as a result a policy is been developed in conjunction with volunteer members towards anti-racist behaviour.

Also in the framework of EHL modules are been developed on IHL and principles for leadership training programme of Irish Red Cross. Unfortunately training to teachers was postponed due the late start of the programme and following advice from the Development Curriculum Unit.

In 2004 three workshops are in the planning stages for the network teacher contacts that participated within the pilot phase of the programme.

Plans to organise and coordinate an EHL master trainer's workshop with the participation of the ICRC were under construction but due to financial constraints put on hold. But is seen as a priority to be organised within the second phase of the project.

3. Form an action –teaching group that will advise and assist in the modification of EHL programme material.

We have postponed this objective until academic year 2004/05 as emphasis was placed on establishing a network of interested schools to test the programme. We hope to build and foster contacts with teachers who become more proficient and familiar with the programme.

One of the challenges is to gather permanent contacts as a number of teachers were either filling in positions or not permanently assigned to the CPSE or transitional year curriculum. We plan to implement this objective on a more pragmatic approach with the possibility of organising regional work groups.

4. Provide on-going opportunities through web based activities to link in EHL education partners globally through the ICRC website and in a latter stage an Irish Red Cross EHL Website.

Work is in progress in an internal RC process, which will lead to the development of an online teaching resource by the end of the year. The website will have links with the International Red Cross Movement, thereby fostering contacts and exchange between teachers and young people involved in similar projects around the world. The web page should contain:
o The relevant Conventions, protocols and their relation to other rights such as the Human Rights.
o Photos to print out and use in class
o Illustrations from the EHL-material which are pupil user friendly
o Fact sheets on current conflicts and country profiles

5. Provide resources for Participants in the Formal and Non-formal sectors to explore humanitarian action and related issues.

Networks of contacts from the informal youth sector were established and EHL resource packs distributed. A development education college is also reviewing the materials with it post grad development students for cross analysis. Several development education resource centres have also displayed the materials in their resource libraries.

In particular Kerry Action for Development (KADE) who have distributed and coordinated sessions in 12 schools in the south west of Ireland. The list of contacts is attached below.

Organisation Place Contact Comment
Dublin west Education Centre Clondalkin/Dublin Don Herron For Information
Blackrock Education Centre Dun Laoghaire/Dublin Seamus
O'Canainn For Information
Development Studies Centre Kimmage Manor/
Dublin Tom Campbell Ref; Material for Post Grad and Diploma students.
Trocaire Cork Office Roisin Doyle Human Rights Training for Transition Year students
Herberton Center Raleigh Square /Dublin Alfred Japely Re Human Rights Training
Gorey Community Centre Gorey /Wexford Carmel O'Brien Training/Girl Guides
Future 2 Future Youth Project Mallow /Cork Julie Mc Namara Training/info

6. Co-ordinate and monitor ‘youth action teams' that will mobilise young people to develop a local response to a specific humanitarian need.

This objective was not reached during the pilot phase of the project though plans are been developed to achieve this in 2004/05. As part of the young social Innovators initiative (Young Social Innovators is a social awareness programme and national competition for Transition Year Students, which was run in Munster and Leinster in 2004 and will go nationwide in 2005) were the Irish Red Cross hopes to foster links with the competition.

Under the EHL programme projects could be sponsored which fulfil the criteria of YSI thus creating action and building towards a better world, the main emphasis of the initiative and EH concept..

7. Further develop and modify the EHL resource pack for specific curriculum sectors of post primary education.

This objective is an ongoing process and over time materials will be adapted with the support of active schools with the support and interaction of the users (teachers and students). Learning from the experience in the pilot phase some modules will be adapted and condensed to enable a more Irish specific context.

Plans are underway to develop such a resource and modify materials through web base activities. This however is heavily subject and dependent on adequate funding.

Expected outcomes:

• The project promotes awareness of development education, humanitarian law, humanitarian action and principles among young people.

A little early to measure this outcome, though through the promotion of the resource materials and sessions carried out in the schools with the education officer the project is building and been more known within the educational sector. This is monitored by the number of requests we receive directly from schools for more information. During the Young Social Innovators Exhibition where 2000 students participated there was a keen interest shown by the participants and their teachers to learn more about EHL. As it relevance is important in the recent debates on the misuse of prisoners in Iraq and the role of Red Cross in protection.

• Tangible contributions are made to the curriculum development in the area of citizenship education, allowing young people to gain better understanding of development education, global /local interaction and the systems needed to live together in harmony.

There has been positive contacts established with teachers and the Development Curriculum unit which overtime if consistent will bring about this outcome. Both pupils and teachers wildly positively receive the resource materials. Again in these early stages of the process and development of the programme its unrealistic to hope achieve this in a year.

• Positive changes in attitude, fostered by ideas such as respect for life and human dignity, civic responsibility and solidarity, thus producing more socially aware and informed young adults.

An ongoing process that the programme will be evaluated on and measured through the setting up and facilitation of action teams.

• EHL will help young people to become aware of those vulnerable and the need to protect them in school, in their local community and in the world at large. It will encourage young people to consider the consequences of violence in the local and global context.

An ongoing inbuilt part of the process as EHL becomes more frequently used and built in as a traditional part of the curriculum in post primary education. Updated information on the website will keep the relevance in current affairs.

• The development of skills and knowledge, which helps young people to make healthy choices that can prevent violence in the local and global context.

An ongoing inbuilt part of the process as EHL becomes more frequently used and put in action

• Through the "Youth Action Teams " participants will be encouraged to engage actively in community services in favourable of vulnerable members of society.

An ongoing inbuilt part of the process as EHL becomes more frequently used

• Participants will become responsible and informed adult citizens ready to apply, defend and promote humanitarian norms and principles. This will contribute to a better society and greater understanding of development education through a model of peer education.
• It will develop the vocational and employment potential of young people through acquiring new skills such as group dynamics, listening, discussion.