Youth Challenge
Teaching human rights & responsibilities.
Introduction to Youth Challenge
Structure of the Youth Challenge Education Resources
The Youth Challenge program comprises four units of study, starting with Human rights in the classroom, a unit that provides an accessible overview of human rights: what they are, how they have developed, where they apply.
The second unit, Disability discrimination - But what about Doug's rights? focuses on the issue of competing human rights in a school community environment. It examines the laws relevant to disability discrimination, and prompts students to consider the various rights that can co-exist and how these need to be addressed to achieve a fair balance in a given community.
The third unit, Young people in the workplace, examines issues of race and sex discrimination, the legal rights and responsibilities of employees and employers in Australia; and it provides students with some tools to explore the idea of 'identity'. These tools lead students to think about what identifying characteristics they have, how these characteristics may be different from others, how they may be similar to others in their broader community. This opens up the notions of belonging and solidarity, and these are examined again in a context of the justice and balance required in applying human rights.
The fourth unit, Tackling Sexual Harassment in Your School addresses the issue of sexual harassment has been developed to encourage students to examine the way people behave within their own school community. By understanding their rights and responsibilities, students can work together to identify and address sexual harassment in their school - whether it happens to them or if they see it happening to another student. Useful resources are also included to encourage students to understand broader issues relating to sexual harassment - particularly in the workplace.
The presentation of the Youth Challenge Education Module is intended to allow each unit to be delivered discretely, but also to allow for structured follow-on teaching if desired.
Flexible Resources for Use in Your Classroom
The Youth Challenge Education Module includes a collection of useful resource sheets covering important human rights concepts and including important information about anti-discrimination law in Australia. These resources are an integral part of the Youth Challenge program, but can also be used as part of alternative units of study.
Click on the links below to access the Youth Challenge resource sheets:
- Unit 1: Human Rights in the Classroom
- Unit 2: Disability Rights
- Unit 3: Young People in the Workplace
- Unit 4: Tackling Sexual Harassment in Your School
HREOC encourages teachers to use these resources in their lesson planning. The resources are available in a range of formats to ensure that they are easy to use. Visit the Download the YC Resources page for further information.
We would also like to hear from teachers who have incorporated these resources into their lesson planning.
Please email your experiences, lesson plans, suggestions and other comments to education@humanrights.gov.au.
