Red Cross National Society Workshop on Promoting IHL to Young People


 

On 14-16 June , the ICRC will be organizing in Oslo, jointly with the Norwegian Red Cross, a workshop on promoting IHL to young people.

The broad aim of this three-day workshop, which will bring together 45 participants from 20 National Red Cross Societies, is to capitalize on lessons learned on promoting IHL to young people in Europe and in North America, as well as to strengthen a community of practice.

Over the past several years, efforts to introduce education in international humanitarian law (IHL) in schools have really taken off in both Europe and North America, largely thanks to the efforts of National Red Cross Societies. A number of National Societies are currently working with the Exploring Humanitarian Law (EHL) materials or have developed their own tools for promoting IHL to young people in their contexts. As it takes stock of its involvement in the EHL programme, the ICRC is also clarifying how it can best support National Societies interested in promoting IHL to young people.

Following a consultation process carried out by the ICRC in the autumn of 2009, National Societies confirmed their interest in learning more about strategies and tools developed by other National Societies for both formal and non-formal education settings, and in getting feedback on their own activities.

The objectives of the workshop are:

  • To share concrete experiences and identify "best practices" in terms of efforts to introduce IHL in schools, through EHL or similar education programmes.
  • To share concrete experiences and identify "best practices" in promoting IHL to young people outside the formal school setting. To showcase the wealth of materials already developed by different National Red Cross Societies.
  • To look at other methods (beyond formal integration in the school curriculum) of disseminating EHL and similar education programmes to young people, teachers and other interested audiences (e.g., e-learning)
  • To look at examples in which the EHL materials have been used or are deemed appropriate to use with other audiences (National Red Cross Society volunteers of all ages, young army recruits, border police, university students, the general public) and start exploring avenues in that direction.
  • To enhance cooperation within the Movement on promoting IHL to young people.
As a special feature, the ICRC's Facebook page will be dedicated to this workshop during its duration and young people will be offered the possibility of influencing the debate in real time by submitting questions and comments. Join us onFacebook!