DCU Centre for Human Rights and Citizenship Education (CHRCE) celebrate new status on International Human Rights Day
The Centre for Human Rights and Citizenship Education (CHRCE) has been granted university-designated research centre status by DCU.
The CHRCE is the first centre in DCU’s Institute of Education to be awarded this status following incorporation in 2016 – with news of this coming on International Human Rights Day.
The centre’s objective is to effect positive social and educational change through applied research and knowledge generation in human rights, global citizenship, intercultural, and climate change education.
The CHRCE was established in 2004/5 in St Patrick’s College, in partnership with Amnesty International.
Since its foundation, the Centre has worked to embed HRE and human rights-based approaches in the formal education sector at all levels. It has become a leading centre of expertise in global citizenship and climate change education, working with international partners in the field.
The centre’s staff and members work to build national and regional capacity in human rights and global citizenship education through research, policy and practice.
Currently, the Centre’s expertise extends across early childhood, primary, post-primary and third level education including teacher education.
It draws on the multidisciplinary expertise of its members who are drawn from across the Institute, to tackle priority areas such as children’s rights and children’s rights education, human rights and HRE, peace education, global citizenship education, intercultural education and climate change education.
In recent years, the Centre has worked in partnership with a range of state agencies and NGOs, such as Amnesty International, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, the Department of Justice, UNESCO, Irish Aid, the Ombudsman for Children’s Office, Pavee Point, Trócaire, the Centre for Global Education and Sustainability Frontiers (UK).
The Centre has been instrumental in embedding a children’s rights perspective in teacher education and is recognised as an exemplar of good practice in the area by the OSCE/ODIHR.
Funded by state and non-governmental agencies, the CHRCE has a record in developing high quality educational resources through its unique research-to-practice approach. The Centre also works directly with schools, teachers and students.
“We are delighted to reach this milestone in our development and would like to extend our thanks to all our members and colleagues in the Institute and beyond who have supported us in this process and in the considerable work done to date,” says Rowan Oberman, co-director of the CHRCE.
To celebrate International Human Rights Day, the CHRCE’s annual ‘Brian Ruane Lecture Series in Human Rights and Human Rights Education’ takes place on Tuesday, December 10th, at 6.30pm in the Seamus Heaney Theatre.
Dr Alan McCully, Honorary Research Fellow, UNESCO Centre, Ulster University, will give the lecture, entitled ‘Teachers As Change Agents in Peacebuilding’
For more information on the work of the Centre or how to get involved, check out www.dcu.ie/chrce or @CHRCE_DCU