The vision behind the Human Rights Key

How do we make rights real for students in the Health Sciences?

 

This was the burning question that led me to explore ways of teaching human rights to future health professionals beyond the traditional assumption that assessment drives learning.

 

It seemed that students were finding difficulty in making the connections between real life experiences and the legal instruments that contain the standards for human rights entitlements.  There appeared to frequently be an emotional detachment from the harshness of inequality and discrimination.

 

I began with an infographic of a wheel supported by a foundation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This developed into the head of the Key which then took shape into its present form. Feedback from students and guest educators was positive. They liked the visual learning tool and the connectivity of the different concepts.

 

With the assistance of graphics professionals and with funding from the Centre for Educational Technology, the Key has moved from paper templates to animated visuals placing more emphasis on the agency that each student has in their potential to advance the rights of others

and promote transformation.

 

Open Educational Resources offered me the opportunity to publish my teaching resource without gatekeepers and time lags. I am now able to share it with others and update my information easily, and can market the resource through social media and several communities of practice.

 

Veronica Mitchell

School of Public Health & Family Medicine

University of Cape Town