It’s the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In 1989, world leaders decided that children needed a special convention just for them because people under 18 years old are often neglected in the human rights debate. The leaders wanted to make sure that the world recognized that children have human rights too.

HREA has launched a new web portal to promote understanding and application of a human rights-based approach to schooling, where you can find a wealth of resources on this topic.

Human Rights Education Association (HREA) is issuing a call for applications for e-learning courses offered in the second trimester of 2010 (April-July). There are still some places available. Application deadline is Thursday, 1 April 2010.

The 23rd Council of Europe Standing Conference of Ministers of Education provided an opportunity to discuss the role of education, more specifically, teachers in fostering sustainable democratic societies in Europe.

In cooperation with the Council of Europe, the EWC will host two Pestalozzi Seminars during autumn 2009. The first seminar will take place September 21-25, 2009. The Pestalozzi Programme organizes training activities for education professionals from all over Europe.

The 2. Pestalozzi Seminar in Oslo this year will take place November 16-20, focusing on the theme "Democratic governance of schools". The target group for this conference is heads of schools, deputy heads or administrators of schools. Deadline for application: October 9. Travel (within Europe) and accommodation costs will be covered by the Council of Europe and the European Wergeland Centre.

UNESCO published a new report "Education under attack", which says that the number of politically and ideologically motivated attacks on teachers, students and school buildings is rising. Education was attacked in at least 32 countries between January 2007 and July 2009.

On December 10, 2009, the 61st anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted resolution A/RES/64/82 to mark the end of the International Year of Human Rights Learning.

Religion has returned forcefully both as a subject of academic debate, as lived reality in contemporary societies and as a renewed challenge for secular systems of governance. The conference on October 8-9, 2010, will examine the relationships between Law, Religion and Education, addressing the accommodation of religious diversity as well as the content and meaning of education, notably religious education in a human rights context.

The 3rd European Seminar "Preparing future teachers for intercultural understanding" will take place from May 10-14, 2010 in Lillehammer. It is organized by the Pestalozzi Programme in cooperation with the EWC.