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CONTENTS
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Welcome to COMPASITO – a manual on human rights education for children! . . . . . . . . . . . 9
What is human rights education with children? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Human rights education and education for democratic citizenship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Whom is COMPASITO for? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
What is in COMPASITO? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
The organisation of COMPASITO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
COMPASITO in the framework of the Human Rights Education Youth Programme . . . . . . . . . 12

I. INTRODUCING HUMAN RIGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

1. What are human rights? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Precursors of twentieth century human rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
The human rights framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
The commitment of ratification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
The evolution of a human rights convention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Regional human rights conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Human Rights mechanisms of the Council of Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2. What are children’s rights? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
General principles of the Children’s Convention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Monitoring the Convention on the Rights of the Child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Promoting the Convention on the Rights of the Child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

II. WHAT IS HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

1. Introducing human rights education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Human rights education for children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Knowledge, skills and attitudes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Methodologies for human rights education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Non-formal education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Introducing human rights education in work with children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
The right to human rights education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Human rights education and other educational fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2. Human Rights Education in an international context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
United Nations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
UNESCO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
UNICEF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Council of Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Non-governmental organisations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

III. HOW TO USE COMPASITO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Getting started with COMPASITO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
The goal of COMPASITO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

3
 Experiential learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Experiencing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Reflecting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Generalising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Applying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Facilitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Thinking and learning styles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Which is your thinking style? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Which is your favorite or dominant learning style? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Children’s developmental levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
What is in a COMPASITO activity? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
The Convention on the Rights of the Child as foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Selecting activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Adapting activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Tips for promoting participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Tips for facilitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Icebreakers / Warm-ups / Starters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Energizers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Evaluation and Reflection Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Managing Confl ict . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Practising human rights education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

IV. ACTIVITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Summary of Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
1. A Body of Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
2. A Constitution for Our Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
3. A Human Rights Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
4. Advertising Human Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
5. Blindfolded . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
6. Board Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
6a, Do You Know Your Rights? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
6b, Moksha-Patamu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
7. Boys Don’t Cry! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
8. Bullying Scenes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
9. Capture the Castle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
10. COMPASITO Reporter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
11. Cookie Monster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
12. Dear Diary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
13. Every Vote Counts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
14. From Bystander to Helper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
15. Human Rights in the News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
16. Modern Fairytale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
17. Most Important for Whom? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
18. My Universe of Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
19. Once Upon a Time… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
20. Picture Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
20a. Part of the Picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
20b. Captions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

4
 20c. Speech Bubbles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
21. Picturing Ways Out of Violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
22. Puppets Tell the Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
23. Putting Rights on the Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
24. Rabbit’s Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
25. Red Alert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
26. Rights Mobile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
27. Sailing to a New Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
28. Silent Speaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
29. Take a Step Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
30. The Battle for the Orange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
31. The Invisibles are Coming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
32. Waterdrops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
33. We are Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
34. What a Wonderful World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
35. What I Like and What I Do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
36. What if … . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
37. Where do you stand? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
38. Who’s Behind Me? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
39. Who Should Decide? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
40. Words that Wound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
41. World Summer Camp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
42. Zabderfi lio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

V. THEMES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
1. Citizenship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
2. Democracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
3. Discrimination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
4. Education and Leisure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
5. Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
6. Family and Alternative Care. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
7. Gender Equality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
8. Health and Welfare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
9. Media and Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
10. Participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
11. Peace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
12. Poverty and Social Exclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
13. Violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

VI. APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Child-Friendly Version). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Universal Declaration of Human Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
The European Convention on Human Rights (Child-Friendly Version) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) (Child-Friendly Version) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Convention on the Rights of the Child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Human Rights Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Useful Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Status of Ratification of Major International Human Rights Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . 314

5
 Acknowledgements
This guide is the result of the work and contributions of several experts and practitioners to which Nancy
Flowers in particular has lent consistency, professionalism and soul.
We would like to thank Annette Schneider for her professional contribution to the educational steadiness
and quality of the manual.
Special thanks go to Rui Gomes, editor of ‘COMPASS – a manual on human rights education with young
people’, who represented the continuation of the concept of ‘COMPASS’, participated in the shaping of
the concept of this manual, and followed the entire production process with invaluable comments and
critical observations.
It was Laura De Witte who convinced us of the importance and feasibility of producing such a manual for
children, came up with the title and shared with us her comments on the activities.
We would like to thank Katalin Lerch, Merit Ulvik and Jiri Tomcala for their contribution to the formula-
tion of the content of the manual as members of the Development Team.
Thanks to Iris Bawidamann and Nadine Lyamouri-Bajja for their feedback, contributions and educational
support to the activities of the manual.
The activities of the manual were tested by several highly committed colleagues: Burcu Meltem Arik,
Paola Bortini, Mario D’Agostino, Gabriele Cespa, Caroline Gebara, Mara Georgescu, Ilona Hudák, Giorgi
Kikalishvili, Sasho Kochankovski, Anna Lechowska, Anabela Moreira, Bijana Temelkova and Anne Thiemann.

We would also like to thank the following:

• All those who participated in the first Consultative meeting on ‘COMPASITO’ in November
2005, for their work on designing the concept.
• Tamara Kafkova, Nicoleta Dumitru and Ali Oktay Koc, the EYCB trainees in the production pro-
cess, for their work in compiling and checking references and useful resources.
• Antje Rothemund, Anikó Kaposvári, and Eva B. Nagy for their supportive remarks and useful
suggestions.
• Colleagues from different sections of the Council of Europe:
• David Crowe, General Directorate of Human Rights, and
• Ólöf Ólafsdóttir, Directorate of School, Out-of-School and Higher Education for their
expert opinions;
• Elda Moreno, Secretary of the Programme ‘Building a Europe for and with Children’, for
motivation and support during the production process.
• Gabriella Tisza, information officer of the EYCB, without whose committed work the entire
interactive communication process would not have taken place.
• Rachel Appleby, for being more than a proofreader.
• Dániel Horváth and Diána Nagy for their creativity and flexibility in producing the design and
illustration to this manual.

We apologise for any omission and regret that we were not able to include all materials and suggestions
received.

6
Preface
The ability to live together in a democracy does not come naturally. The knowledge, skills and values that
are the preconditions of living in a democracy should be learnt and nurtured throughout life. While key
concepts of democracy and human rights should be understood by children, values such as dignity, tol-
erance and respect for others, and skills such as cooperation, critical thinking and standing up for one’s
rights cannot be taught in traditional ways. They should be learnt through experience and practise, by
living and acting in a democratic environment and from the earliest possible age. This is what human
rights education is about and this is what ‘COMPASITO – manual on human rights education for chil-
dren’ is for.
The Council of Europe’s commitment to human rights dates back to its very foundation. The Europe we
want to build, based on a culture of peace and human rights, can only be pursued with everyone being
actively involved.
Since the adoption of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, a fundamental change in paradigm has
taken place in working with children, and this is the right for children to be consulted and to be heard
on decisions concerning them. However, a meaningful participation of children is only possible if adults
accept children as partners in issues that concern them. Making this a reality, and thus safeguarding
the dignity of children, however, is a real challenge for adults; and the way adults deal with children
reflects how society sees the future. Human rights and human rights education is a common learning
process that concerns not only children, but adults as well.
The Council of Europe has launched the project ‘Building a Europe for and with children’ to focus on the
respect for children’s dignity across Europe: to promote children’s rights and eradicate violence against
children. The participation of children is essential in both dimensions. COMPASITO has an important
role to play in this process. Based on the experiences of the highly acclaimed Human Rights Education
Youth Programme of the Council’s youth sector, and the success of ‘COMPASS, the manual on human
rights education with young people’, COMPASITO provides children, educators, teachers and parents
with activities and methods to introduce children to human rights in creative and attractive ways. This
manual is a starting point: COMPASITO provides directions, but it is up to the children and those work-
ing with them to use it, and to use it in the best ways possible.
It is by knowing their rights that children are able to best denounce and reject abuse; it is by committing
themselves to human rights that children contribute to a better world, for today and tomorrow; and it is
by working with children for human rights that adults become credible in children’s eyes.
This manual is an invaluable contribution to supporting children and upholding children’s human rights
across Europe.

Maud de Boer- Buquicchio

Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe