Conferences

In particular, participants truly appreciated the guidelines of the project. According to them, the columns clarify the specific vocabulary and are full of information and references that can be consulted directly. Therefore, guidelines are considered as a practical and useful tool that can also become a support to build any theoretical intervention in the classroom.

When Professor Alessandra Viviani asked which aspect of the project would need further improvement, teachers underline that concerning the questionnaires data there is the need to know the data related to every single school and not only the overall result. The need for more training, as it emerged at the end of the training in Siena, has also been stressed by the participants in the focus group.

Prof. Viviani asked about the laboratory activities with students. Teachers said that beyond the ones described they have done more and that sometimes the activities were born spontaneously. They define them as a resounding success with students who often are they themselves to ask for them.

It has been confirmed that the methodology linked to experiential learning works very well.

At this regard, according to the teachers there are expected and non-expected results, more related to intimate and personal reflection and to the knowledge of the self. It has been underlined that students are touched by these experiences.

Prof. Viviani and the teachers shared the view that, provided that human rights education is good, there is no analysis of how good it is. According to the participants, it is key to find a way to measure how good this methodology is in order to be able to demonstrate how good it is as well as to see if there is a change over time.

Teachers noted that within a longer path there is the possibility to connect with hot topics of history and philosophy.

At 5.30 pm the second part of the multiplier event started, with the participation of the teachers from the focus group as well as many more teachers. After introductory greetings by Sebastiano Venier of Teatro Stabile Grosseto who brought greetings from the municipality, the project and its outputs have been outlined by Professor Alessandra Viviani and the teachers from the focus group.

In the second half of this session teachers took part in a laboratory allowing them to test the model of non-formal education to human rights and non-discrimination that is at the basis of IHR best practices and which is the kind of experience made by the school of Siena who participated in the project.

By doing so, participants of the ME have been given the opportunity to personally experience IHR objectives and methodology, with a view to making the best use of its outputs: the case studies, the guidelines, as well as the final publication whose contents have been illustrated (a draft was illustrated being the publication not yet available).

The event finished at 7.30, after receiving very positive feedbacks by the teachers who showed their interest in further training activities in order to use IHR tools.