Between 9-15 August, 2010, The Promo-LEX Association organised a summer school on Human Rights. The event was part of Promo-LEX’s Human Rights Education Programme, the aim of which is to promote democratic norms and values, as well as internationally recognised human rights standards, through non-formal education.
The participants at the school were 23 young people from the Transnistrian region. The summer school’s programme centred upon two basic themes: Civil Society and Human Rights, given that the former is the most active agent in promoting and defending the latter.
The agenda for the summer school included topics such as: citizens and civic activism; the role of civil society in the democratisation process; why human rights are necessary; the principles and classification of human rights; the national and international mechanisms for defending human rights; human rights in Moldova; and the experience of Moldovan and foreign NGOs in promoting human rights.
The school’s programme, moreover, featured many practical activities, including debates, discussions, group-work sessions, role-plays, screenings of short films on the theme of human rights, and even a ‘talk-show’ with a guest speaker. At one point, participants were also asked to imagine that they were investigative journalists in the field of human rights. On a different occasion, they had to put themselves in the position of directors who had made short films on the topic of human rights.
Participants expressed their appreciation of the event, hailing it as a success, and said that they felt fortunate to know more about human rights and the mechanisms for defending them. One of the participants stated that events of this kind should be organised as often as possible, with the participation of young people from both sides of the Nistru.
The summer school was held with the financial support of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Moldova.