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In 2017, the UNESCO Chair for Human Rights Education at Comenius University cooperates with Allianz Kulturstiftung and its Alumni Network on a project focused on human rights and democratic citizenship education in context of European integration "Education for a Europe of Rights".

This project aims to raise the attention on the relationship between human rights protection and European integration with the tools of non-formal education that also foster critical thinking and the ability to distinguish facts and arguments from hoaxes and demagogic discourses. The primary target group are secondary school students, many of them first-time voters, some of whom the project aims to empower to become ‘ambassadors’ of human rights protection and European values of plurality and openness in their environment through an international training and educational experience. We strongly believe in the essential role played by education and in the importance of interaction among these students as well as with ASA Alumni. In our opinion, they will impact on the development of their skills and values, as well as on the life of their local communities.

The project consists of a series of events where ASA Alumni are actively involved in various forms and in interaction with each other and the participants – secondary school students. It finishes with a final international workshop, that connects all these together and brings together a unique group of participants from selected new EU member states to establish international networks and strengthen their competences in understanding the inextricable bond between human rights and the European project. This is done via the tools of non-formal peer-to-peer education. In the first part of the project successful participants from human rights competitions from Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania together with a number of ASA Alumni will attend the final round of the largest Slovak human rights event for secondary school students. In cooperation with the Slovak partners, these participants will enrich the international dimension of the Slovak event and will be involved in the discussions. ASA Alumni will co-guarantee one of the essay topics for the Slovak student competitors, focusing on the strengthening of the Europe of rights through diverse and innovative ideas. In the second part, successful participants will attend an international workshop devoted to strengthening the abilities of reasoning and critical thinking about human rights in European integration. This event will provide a unique chance for interaction among the students and ASA Alumni and can mark the start of a long-term initiative.

More information about the project are available under 'Activities'.