Human rights

Goals:

• Support and promotion of human rights work
• Research on human rights matters
• Promotion of human rights education
• Communication and exchange of information with other human rights organisations

We work on the local, regional and international levels to promote and defend human rights. This work includes organisation of conferences and seminars and participation in research projects, publication of documents, and educational efforts concerning human rights.

In 1990, more than 20 One World and Third World associations joined together to form the registered association Neusser-Eine-Welt-Initiative (NEWI). NEWI informs and educates in order to raise awareness for topics related to development policy among the citizens of the German city of Neuss. The main tasks of the full-time coordinator include intensive public relations and lobby work as well as educational work. NEWI puts its main emphasis on fair trade, an annual One World festival, superregional campaigns and the support of the Local Agenda 21 in Neuss. NEWI owns a well-equipped office; a learning place outside of school – the Café Flair – and the exhibition Kaffeegarten (coffee garden), that is operated within the framework of a public-private partnership concept.

The Kaffeegarten is an interactive exhibition about coffee farming, consequences of world trade and the advantages of fair trade. In 90-minute workshops on coffee, visitors can find answers to many questions about the Germans’ favourite drink. This offer is aimed at school classes of any age, apprentices in the hotel, catering or grocery trade and any interested groups from, among others, businesses, administrations, churches and associations.

As part of their KOMPact education project, the Neuss based Neusser-Eine-Welt-Initiative (NEWI), a registered association, has compiled materials and methods to support global learning. Covering the topics of fair trade, globalisation (focals areas: developing countries, world trade), human rights (focal areas: children’s rights, refugees, HIV/AIDS) and the Agenda 21(focus areas: nutrition and health, world climate and energy resources as well as paper use), NEWI now presents an expandable loose-leaf binding in an especially designed folder. It provides background information about each topic mentioned and also includes suggestions on how to put the presented ideas into action. Furthermore, readers can find extensive, commented link and address lists in the compilation. It therefore offers a solid ’market overview’ and is a valuable source of information for the teaching of global relations based upon the principles of education for sustainability.

The Afro-Asian Institute Salzburg (AAI) is a non-profit organisation with close ties to the university of Salzburg. It is financed by the public funds and the Catholic Church. The aims of the AAI are to provide educational services on development policy, to enable intercultural encounters and to promote interfaith dialogue.
The AAI is a meeting place for different cultures and religions. We show different global contexts through a varied educational and cultural program in order to raise awareness of injustices and set out development policy issues and its risks in the context of globalization. Affected individuals, as well as experts from the global South have an opportunity in our organization to take the floor. Within the framework of the AAI scholarship program, students from African, Asian and Latin American countries receive financial support, as well as a personal accompaniment and take part in our educational program.

With partners around the globe, earthlink specifically works for harmony between man and nature. Together with the local population, we create strategies and methods to improve the living conditions of the poor and to protect the environment. earthlink maintains socially sustainable and nature-friendly development in the context of concrete projects on site through public relations in Germany and Europe and through global networks. The involvement of locals is an important aspect for ensuring long-term success.

Peace Brigades International (PBI) has been the leading organization for unarmed protective accompaniment and observation of human rights in conflict areas for over 30 years. International teams accompany threatened activists who work for peace, democracy and justice.

Daara.de is a project of the alliance “Eine Welt Schleswig-Holstein e. V.” Teachers and employees of nursery schools and youth facilities can find educational work support like consultants, teaching materials and agency in finding classrooms for their developing-political educational work.

Daara.de wants to

• make learning at school a good experience,
• increase the value of the developing-political education in Schleswig-Holstein,
• attract the interest of children and teenagers for “Eine Welt” and provide the ability to look at situations and problems in a worldwide and comprehensive connection.

The Program “Arbeit in Würde“ supports and accompanies Brücke • Le pont with 35 development projects for  discriminated for people in the countries Togo, Benin, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Bolivia and Brazil.

Education and support of the independency are the foundations of a sustainable development. People should be able to make a living from their work and to take responsibility for family and society. They need profitable or fairly paid work and just working conditions for it.For that they need profitable or fairly paid jobs and just working conditions for it.

Brücke • Le pont have been focusing on the following points:

• Income support
• Professional education
• Support of labour laws

The projects promote mainly adults, but also teenagers and children. They contribute to the parents so that they can take care of their children, and promote the equal rights of woman and man. Brücke • Le pont works mostly together with small and local organizations. They are close to the target population and know the social, cultural and political relations on site very well. Brücke • Le pont thinks highly of the fact that in the projects participative and locally adapted methods are being applied and that the cooperation is maintained on networks. This creates synergies and raises the effectiveness. Education is the foundation of development. It strengthens the self-esteem of the people and provides the necessary knowledge for them to perform a good and profitable work.

Light for the world is an international organization that focuses on development projects for blind persons and persons with disabilities in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Southeastern Europe. Light for the world works together with local partners, eye health clinics and disabled peoples organizations.

Creative workshop "A Step Into Growth" (NGO) is founded in 1995 in the town of Valjevo (Serbia, ex-YU). Our main aim is to stimulate and help develop various potentials and skills of pre-school (P/S) and school (S) children (with problems and without problems in psychomotor development), adolescents and grown-ups , the re-socialization of children and adolescents and their reintegration into the social and natural environments, optimization of communication of grown-ups in their family or professional environments with the help of a group of experts (psychologists, lawyers, a special pedagogue, a teacher of English, artists, musicians, an art history teacher, a PE teacher, a psychiatrist...).

Activities mentioned so far referred to the rights of the children passing through normal psycho-motor development who enjoy the rights to supplementary education, to the special education for the children with special needs, to the right of children to a supplementary health care, to the right of children to play and integrate into the social environment and the right of children to take part in social activities of the locality.

Third World Saar Campaign (Aktion 3. Welt Saar) is a social organization that is not linked to any political party. We are not involved in any projects in the Third World because we think that we do not have the right to develop people in other countries. Our objective is to make a difference in Germany. For centuries, Europe has forced its ideas about development upon other countries and thereby destroyed development programs that were already in process. Now it is time to put an end to this kind of violent development policy.

Since we are not associated with any political party, we refuse to focus on one individual objective. Some people expect us to stand up exclusively for topics related to the Third World and stay out of German politics because they assume we cannot achieve anything anyway. But instead, we interfere because we care. We want to bring about changes in Germany.

As an organization that is not linked to any political party, we commit ourselves to topics such as fair trade, world trade, nutrition, political asylum, racism, migration, energy policies, anti-Semitism, militarization, ecology and development policies. Above all, we try to do something about the unequal distribution of goods in the world. We intend to make sure that everyone has access to intellectual and material resources and does not live in poverty and misery.

We, the Third World Saar Campaign,

• are financed by our members and sponsors and are not linked to any political party, church or lobby;
• annually organize 120 events and campaigns independently or in cooperation with other organizations;
• establish networks, link up groups and people and initiate campaigns;
• recommend speakers and provide counselling for the organization of events;
• publish the results of our research and studies on a regular basis.