Teaching plan: Racism and Discrimination
Join the Human Rights Dialogue - a dialogue on racism and discrimination in Norway
YOU CAN CONTACT AMNESTY
We are happy to share our experiences from using the teaching method and provide advice and tips for implementation. If needed, Amnesty can also come to your class and facilitate the Human Rights Dialogue. Contact the education coordinator for your region, or send an email to [email protected].
Would you like to give your students an engaging introduction to human rights related to racism and discrimination? The Human Rights Dialogue is an offer for students in secondary school and high school.
Amnesty provides a teaching program that can easily be adapted to different groups of students. The students participate actively by taking a stand on different statements and claims about racism and discrimination. The goal is to have an engaging conversation where the students also gain knowledge on how they can work against human rights violations.
Human Rights Dialogue is now available in English, Norwegian and northern Sámi. Follow the links above to the resources.
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USEFUL TO KNOW
Target audience: Secondary school and high school
Interdisciplinary topics:
Democracy and citizenship, and
Public health and life skills
Subjects:
Social studies
Norwegian
Religion, Philosophy and Ethics
English
Duration: 2 school hours - but can be adapted as needed.
Preparations:
- Download the teaching material.
- Read the handbook with instructions.
- Choose (or print) the statement cards and dialogue cards that are best suited for your class.
- All the background information you need can be found in the handbook and PowerPoint presentation.
This is Human Rights Dialogue:
Human Rights Dialogue is a dialogue activity that sheds light on human rights issues from multiple perspectives. The focus will be on active listening, reflection exercises, learning, and sharing of stories.
The current topic for Human Rights Dialogue is racism and discrimination. Racism happens in Norway, and discrimination is part of many people's everyday life.
Racism in Norway is a relevant topic that engages many, and it is important to talk about our own attitudes towards the issue. Do we have underlying prejudices? When is it okay to speak up if we witness or experience discrimination? How can we prevent racism in our daily lives?
The teaching material consists of:
- A handbook with descriptions of how to carry out the dialogue activity step by step.
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in simplified form.
- PowerPoint presentation with an introduction to the topic, statement cards and dialogue cards with accompanying notes for the teacher.
- Moderator cards - cards with guiding notes for the teacher.
- Statement cards.
- Dialogue cards.
Note: The package contains more dialogue cards than you will likely have time to use. Make a selection based on what you think is best suited for the students' age, level of knowledge, and the time you have available. It is expected that you as a teacher have familiarized yourself with the material beforehand.
The dialogue cards marked with a star focus on racism in general. The dialogue cards marked with a heart focus on discrimination against the Sami people and national minorities.
National curriculum + Human Rights = Human Rights Dialogue
The national curriculum (Kunnskapsløftet) 2020 places great emphasis on human rights. Human dignity, equality, critical thinking, and ethical awareness are among the principles highlighted in the curriculum's general section. It is stated, for example, that: "Students shall contribute to upholding human dignity and reflect on how they can prevent it from being violated" (General section, chapter 1.1, page 4).
Amnesty works to ensure that everyone can enjoy the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and we aim to generate engagement around issues that are important in everyday life. Therefore, Amnesty Norway offers the teaching program Human Rights Dialogue for use in schools.
In 2022-2023, Amnesty received support from the Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth, and Family Affairs (Bufdir) for a Human Rights Dialogue initiative.
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Download the materials to conduct the activity with your class:
Would you like a visit from Amnesty to your school?
Do you have any questions or feedback about Human Rights Dialogue? Would you like a representative from Amnesty to facilitate the activity for your class? Please feel free to contact the education coordinator in your region or the head of the education team.
