“Teaching Human Rights – Global to Local”

Committee on Teaching About the United Nations (CTAUN) Conference
The Carter Center, Atlanta, Georgia – 24 March 2009

The Cyprus Room at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta, Georgia was the site for the Committee on Teaching About the United Nations’ (CTAUN) “Teaching Human Rights – Global to Local” conference for educators on Tuesday, 24 March 2009. Educators from the states of Georgia, S. Carolina, Tennessee, Indiana, New Jersey and New York were in attendance along with representatives from national and local human rights organizations and the United Nations.

Some of the highlights of the day included the following –

• College Presidents’ Dialogue on Human Rights during which Dr. Elizabeth Kiss, President, Agnes Scott College and Dr. Robert Franklin, President, Morehouse College focused on issues related to human rights and ethics;
• Keynote addresses by the Honorable Shirley Franklin, Mayor of Atlanta; Karin D. Ryan, Director, Human Rights Program, The Carter Center and Juan Carlos Brandt, Chief, Advocacy and Special Events, Department of Public Information, United Nations;
• Panels focusing on global to local responses and children’s rights with speakers from Amnesty International, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), International Rescue Committee (IRC), Georgia State University and local groups such as Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless, the Juvenile Justice Fund and the Fugees; and
• Moot Court (Mock Trial) presentation by political science students at Georgia State.

This conference was CTAUN’s second conference at The Carter Center and was planned by its Atlanta Steering Committee with membership consisting of educators from Georgia State, Emory, Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State and Macon State universities and the Atlanta Public Schools; staff at the Center for Civil and Human Rights Partnership and The Carter Center; Delta Kappa Gamma, AAUW and UNA-USA members along with other local participation.

Comments shared by conference registrants included the following –
“Kudos to all on planning – excellent! Powerful information.”
“Entire day was wonderful.”
“All of the panel members and the speakers were the highlight; the conference was well-organized; discussion of global to local responses shed light on the global issues and how they connect to the local issues; focus on human rights with emphasis on children’s rights was extremely timely.”