Speak Truth To Power
human rights education intiative
Inspired by Kerry Kennedy’s book and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Speak Truth to Power is a human rights education initiative that combines storytelling and interactive learning to provide the next generation with the concrete knowledge to create change and advance human rights.
Speak Truth To Power consists of a text and illustrated book with detailed portraits of human rights defenders from Switzerland and abroad, a didactically conceived photo exhibition, and a play. Additional educational resources can be found at www.speaktruthtopower.ch.
At the heart of our methodology are the stories of defenders from around the world — providing students with a unique entry point into understanding human rights issues. Speak Truth to Power’s ultimate goal is to help create a world where human rights education is the norm and where all young people identify as human rights defenders. In order to achieve this goal, Speak Truth to Power engages in three distinct ways:
Building Educator Capacity in human rights education via teacher trainings and resource development for educators all over the world;
Embedding Social-Emotional Learning strategically into the entire framework of human rights education and all STTP resources and trainings;
Taking Mindful Action via community organizing and advocacy trainings and workshops, all aligned to uphold the UDHR and achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“From the classroom to the boardroom, human rights cannot be taken for granted. We want to stimulate children's interest in preserving the ability to distinguish between good and bad - in the context of human rights.”
Dr. Christoph A. Karlo
OUR SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER IMPACT
We have created a wide array of resources, including a virtual field trip for students, digital lesson plans and activities, video vignettes of human rights defenders, and much more. To date, Speak Truth to Power content has been used by over 80,000 educators, reaching over 2 million students worldwide. We conduct training for educators; topics have included basic human rights education training, STTP resource familiarisation trainings, integrating social emotional learning into human rights education, and implementing anti-racist pedagogy and practices in the classroom. To date, we have trained over 12,000 teachers globally.
Our music and video contests engaged more than 35,000 students.
“Speak Truth to Power: Voices From Beyond the Dark”, by award-winning playwright Ariel Dorfman, has been performed across more than 30 countries and translated into nine languages.
Our traveling photo exhibit featuring portraits of human rights defenders by Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Eddie Adams has been displayed in four continents, and at dozens of schools in Switzerland.
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
The Speak Truth To Power program is voluntary and free for all schools in Switzerland. It offers teachers suggestions on how to incorporate the topic of human rights into their curriculum and can be easily integrated into existing processes. Interested in having the program at your school?
Don’t hesitate, just send us an email.