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Crystallization of Good Practices
and Lessons Learned on the
Promotion of Human Rights Educationin Thailand1
Nitithorn Thongthirakul

T

he Amnesty International Thailand (AI-Thailand) has been implementing ahuman rights education program, as a part of its mandate, for more than adozen years. The program covers a wide spectrum of activities in different
contexts and mostly responding to its main targets, particularly educators andyouth.
During the past four-year period (20052009), AI-Thailand has expanded the coverageof its target groups under the program by including community leaders, social workers andnon-governmental organization (NGO) activists. As a result, the participants from the target
groups undertook pervasive human rights education activities in their respective communities.
Moreover, their different experiences enriched
the human rights education activities using
the group dynamics approach, and resulted inenhanced long-term networking.
The human rights education program of AIThailand has been receiving financial support
from the Rights Education Action Program(REAP) of Amnesty International Norway since2004. The program has been divided into two
implementation phases, 2004-2006 and 20072009. It is being implemented by a Working
Group on Human Rights Education comprisingof the Chairperson of AI-Thailand Board ofCommittees, resource persons, facilitators, andthe Director and Coordinator of Human Rights
Education Program of AI-Thailand.

This article presents the lessons learned onhuman rights education work of AI-Thailand
done in the challenging human rights context inThai society, and crystallized as good practicesof the program. The article also discusses theresults of the “SWOT analysis” undertaken to
identify the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats encountered during thetwo-phased implementation period. Finally,
the article presents as part of the conclusion therecommendations and findings of the programfor its future implementation.

Expert and Spiral Models2
Apart from the lectures and explanationsof resource persons in the Expert Model,
AI-Thailand firmly undertakes the participantcentered learning process, the Spiral model,
which is innovative and interactive because it
facilitates dialogue, exchange and mutual learning among the participants. The key activitiesof the program consist of core plenary sessions

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with sub-group meetings, panel presentations,thematic working groups, community visits, exhibition, and cultural performances. The detailsof the Expert and Spiral models are shown inillustrations below.
Expert model

Spiral model

Human Rights Education Activities
The main target groups of the Human
Rights Training Program of AI-Thailand are
educators, community leaders, social workers
and NGO activists, while the training content covers all fundamental
human rights and specific needs. The
training workshop is divided into
three schemes:
1) Human Rights Education Workshop – this is meant for generalaudiences who are not familiar
with human rights. It aims toprovide basic knowledge on human rights during a three-day
program for around twenty tothirty participants per workshop.
The workshop employs groupdynamics and participatory approach in order to encourage theparticipants to share their experiences, discover their common
ideas, knowledge and beliefs,
and increase their knowledge ofhuman rights.
2) Workshop on Human Rights– this is for specific audiences
consisting mainly of Trainingof Trainers (TOT) for thirty toforty participants who alreadyattended the Human Rights
Education Workshop or are
directly working on humanrights issues for some time. This
workshop starts with an updateof the participants’ knowledge
on human rights and proceeds
to increasing skills on problem
analysis and application of humanrights in practice. It focuses on
experiences, good practices andlessons learned that contribute

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to a constructive approach to implementing human rights education programs.
The workshop also allows the participants
to benefit from and be motivated by theexperiences of others. The discussion andapplication on the implementation and replication of good practices and lessons learned
help the participants assess their specificneeds for capacity-building and technicalassistance, and strengthen their networking
at the local level accordingly. At the end of
the workshop, AI Thailand staff make thespecial efforts of ensuring action-oriented
outcomes and follow-up on human rights
education activities.
3) Human Rights Education Activities for
Youth – AI-Thailand annually organizes
the Camp for Human Rights Youth witha community visit component. The main
target groups are students from secondary
school to university levels. They learn abouthuman rights principles (i.e., human rights
and human dignity as well as equality andnon-discrimination), and human rights practices and lessons learned. Community visit
allows the participants to benefit from andbe motivated by the experiences of others,
and to contribute their human rights work
to the community.
		
Since 2006, three Camps for Human
Rights Youth have been organized:
1) 2006 Camp for Human Rights Youth in
Bor Nok - Hin Krud, Prachuapkhirikhan
province focused on the longstanding
struggle of local communities dwellingin the Thai gulf province of Prachuapkhirikhan against the construction of threecoal-fired electric power plants;
2) 2007 Camp for Human Rights Youth inKang Sua Ten, Prae province focusedon natural conservation and community
rights in relation to the opposition to
the construction of a dam in the area.

The participants undertook community research on the richness of natural
resources in the area and showed thefailure of the development policy that
disregard community participation. The
youth network has been strengthened
through the years with human rights
work; and3) 2008 Camp for Human Rights Youth in
Paak Moon, Ubonratchathani province
focused on the never-ending and peacefuldemonstration of Assembly of the Poor,
consisting of people who are severely
affected by the money-oriented development without people’s participation andconsultation. Their arable and residential
lands were destroyed by these development projects, particularly dams andnatural resource conservation policies,
while most of them were forced to survive
below the poverty line. The Assemblyof the Poor has vigorously advocatedfor effective remedies and rehabilitation
programs for the past thirteen years. So
far, the government has responded withminimal compensation.
During the 2004-2008 period, AI Thailand organized at least fifteen human rights
education activities with around four hundred
participants.

Mediums, Instruments and Resources
Within each workshop, various mediums
and instruments for human rights education
would be either selected or created by theWorking Group on Human Rights Education of
AI-Thailand, in accordance with the preliminary
analysis of the needs of participants, in orderto facilitate them to substantially apply humanrights education into their work.
For the educators, community leaders, social
workers and NGOs activists, AI-Thailand uses

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its own human rights education manual, thehandbook entitled First Step, materials on the
Universal Declaration on Human Rights (visual
aid in VCD format and a poster on UDHR),
documentaries on human rights cases (women’s
rights, child rights, community rights, and antihuman trafficking, etc.).
For the Human Rights Youth Camp, apartfrom the distribution of documentations onhuman rights cases and screening of selected
movies, AI-Thailand organizes study visitsthat allow the participants to benefit and be
motivated from the experiences of others.
Games and animating activities are also used
to encourage participation as well as facilitateteam building. The participants are consistently
familiarized with the culture of human rights,
while they analyze and synthesize their ideas andunderstanding about human rights.
Music and songs are used as human rights
education instruments for both target groups.
The following songs are being used:- They are also Human Beings, explaining
about the life of migrant workers and the
aspect of human value- Bua Lar (the death of a trafficking victim),presenting the human dignity of trafficked
woman- Kon (human being), reiterating the basic
principle and definition of human beingthat everyone was born equally having human rights and human dignity, regardless ofnationality, ethnic group, language, etc.
- All Love for People in the World, explaining
the sympathy, and support for the disadvantaged people, etc.
AI-Thailand organizes the key resource persons, especially those working in the field (communities), to lead the human rights education
activities for specific issues. Some participantsin workshops, who are also resource persons,are requested to make presentations and bringcases, items for exhibitions, films and otherresources to share with the other participants.

Participants are required to prepare for theworkshop using a set of guidelines and materials that are made available to them at least one
month before the start of the training. AIThailand also ensures gender balance among
the participants.

Challenges and Lessons-learned
AI-Thailand cannot be implement its Human Rights Education Program alone. There
are partners that support its activities such as
the National Human Rights Commission ofThailand, academic institutions, scholars, NGO
activists, civil society organizations, and community-based organizations.
There are however constraints and challenges in implementing the program:
1) Attitude of Thai society relating to humanrights education: In implementing the program, AI-Thailand often faces the problemsof misperception and bias regarding humanrights from a number of organizations,particularly those relating to educators andteachers. Most head teachers or school principals still overlook the importance of humanrights education in schools. Interested teachers do not easily get the permission to attend
the workshops. Sometimes, the head teachers
or school principals do not allow AI-Thailand
to provide human rights education in theirschools or academic institutions, since theyequate human rights with protests, negotiations and struggles. This situation is likely
caused by the long-standing misunderstanding of human rights, as well as prejudice andnegative attitudes on human rights. They
are the major obstacles to the promotion ofhuman rights education.
2) Ambiguity or lack of government policyon the promotion of human rights education: the Ministry of Education decides on

Crystallization of Good Practices and Lessons Learned on the Promotion of Human Rights Education in Thailand  85

educational policies, including any policy
related to human rights education. But if thepolicy-making level of the Ministry does notissue a clear policy or show proper support
for human rights education, subordinate
agencies and relevant officials would care lessabout it. For the example, if the head teachers or school principals do not understandand perceive the important role of humanrights education, while the Ministry does
not adopt the human rights education aspart of the national agenda, the subordinate
educators and teachers would disregard it
even though it is already contained in thelearning process in the school curriculum.
The recommendations from the in-house assessment of AI-Thailand’s program implementation provides the lessons learned explained
as follows:
1) The work on human rights education withteachers and students should be done
concurrently with the development andadoption of relevant educational policies onhuman rights education.
2) The process of learning of human rights
should employ both the Expert and Spiral
Models, with the aim of encouraging participants to apply their experiences in theworkshops into their human rights practices as much as they could. The workshops
should be innovative and interactive in orderto facilitate dialogue, exchange and mutual
learning among the participants. The key
elements should be the core plenary sessions with panel presentations, thematic
working groups, community visits, exhibition and cultural performances, as much as
possible.
3) A variety of mediums and instruments onhuman rights education should be used tosuit the needs of the target audiences. Survey
questionnaires can be used to identify thepotentials, needs and level of human rights

knowledge of the participants. The workshop program can be designed exclusively toa particular set of participants upon request
and based on necessity.
4) Human rights education should be continuous and repeated over time to support
deeper understanding and better practicalaction on human rights. Special efforts
should be made to ensure action-oriented
outcomes and follow-up activities. Likewise,
the echo activities should be done withbudgetary allocation, in accordance withthe outcomes of the workshops.
5) The communication strategies and tactics
for the promotion of human rights education should be designed at the beginningof human rights education programs. They
should be innovative and interactive, responding to the rapid and overwhelming
global change. They should help simplify
and familiarize the human rights concept
among the people in the society and promote their relevance to livelihood strategies, mainstreaming particularly the nonderogable and fundamental rights with theaction-oriented policies of the government.
The mass media has considerable role inpopularizing and embedding the culture ofhuman rights in society. In the long run, thecommunity as a whole would have to firmly
work on the fulfillment of human rights.
Communication strategies and tactics, basedon AI-Thailand’s experiences, can be makeuse of songs, poems, photos, art works andmovies to localize and integrate the humanrights messages with social values.
For the implementation of the programin 2009, AI-Thailand will organize a series ofadvanced and comprehensive workshops on
human rights for the program’s alumni. It will
maximize the use of its experiences on humanrights education by clearly focusing on thegood practices and lessons learned to achieve a
constructive dialogue with all relevant parties

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on human rights education issues. Over the last
few years, various partnership initiatives havebeen undertaken in the human rights education
scheme, focusing on training and capacitybuilding related to the practical implementationof human rights education.
At the international level, the United Nations
has declared 2009 as the Year of Human Rights
Learning. The challenge for human-rights-related organizations, including AI-Thailand, isto determine how action-oriented outcomes tomainstream human rights education in practice(and more than only single-track temporary celebration or commemoration) can be ensured.
There should be a lobby for the action plan on
human rights education and human rights not
to be specifically designed as an interim or adhoc measures to promote human rights education, while human rights education should be
stipulated as part of government’s mandate andstate obligation under the international humanrights instruments, and in compliance with the
National Constitution.

Conclusion
The implementation of the Human Rights
Education Program of AI-Thailand during thepast three years was done through networking among human rights educators in theirown professional capacity and with periodical technical support from AI-Thailand. The
combination of learning models, the Expert
and Spiral models, has been used to create participant-centered learning process. To provide
continued support to these educators, appropriate mediums, instruments and communications
should be designed. A strategy on the promotion of human rights in everyday life should be
employed in order to mainstream, familiarize,
popularize and embed human rights within
the society and in livelihood strategies, making
them overcome their problems and realize theirbasic rights particularly for those vulnerable topoverty and other forms of marginalization andexploitation.
2009 being the Year of Human Rights
Learning should be an opportunity to promotenational and regional/provincial dialogue onhuman rights education with action-oriented
outcomes. Good practices, lessons learned andachievements in human rights education should
be documented and compiled in order for thegovernment and relevant human-rights-education-related organizations to assess their progress so far. A comprehensive Practical Guide
for the Implementation of Human Rights
Education Programs should be cooperatively
done, with the technical and financial support of
the government, to ensure the action-oriented
implementation and follow-up activities onhuman rights education.

Endnotes

1
This article briefly presents the lessons learnedin the implementation of the Human Rights Education
Program of Amnesty International Thailand. The
author, Nitithorn Thongthirakul, is the Coordinatorof the program. The article presents the writer’s pointof view, unless indicated otherwise. Nitithorn has
been involved in human rights activities since 2001
through a number of organizations, in both national
and international arenas, i.e., National Human Rights
Commission of Thailand, Community Organization
Development Institute (CODI), Ministry of Human
Securities and Social Development, etc. He is currently
developing the media on human rights education
and works with communities nationwide as the
Coordinator of Human Rights Education Program ofAmnesty International Thailand.
2
These models are taken from the training
manual of the International Human Rights Training
Program, organized by EQUITAS, formerly known
as Canadian Human Rights Foundation (CHRF).
Nitithorn attended this program in Montreal,
Canada in 2005, with the support from the CanadianInternational Development Agency (CIDA) and the
National Human Rights Commission of Thailand.