On Thursday, November 14th, certified ECE Human Rights Instructors met on the UConn Storrs Campus, thanks to the efforts of Dr. Sandra Sirota, our ECE Faculty coordinator for Human Rights. The day’s main event was a lecture entitled “Creating Change for Children in the U.S. and Around the World”, delivered by Professor Jo Becker of Columbia University. Becker serves as the advocacy director for the division for children’s rights at Human Rights Watch, an organization which bridges research and political action to expose human rights abuses around the world, and fight for policy change to prevent further harms. Additionally, she serves as a founding chairperson for the international Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, and helped negotiate a landmark 2011 treaty to ensure labor rights for domestic workers.
Her lecture on Thursday delved into the current state of children’s rights globally, including the fight to end child marriage and child labor both domestically and around the world. Becker ended her talk with several action items for students, including engaging with their local representatives and signing petitions or open letters. This left our instructors equipped with several strategies to encourage their students to join the fight for change.
To learn more about the organization, and Jo Becker’s work, please visit hrw.org, or check out the following UConn Today article detailing the lecture she shared with our ECE instructors!
Investigate, Expose, and Change – Jo Becker on Advocating for Children’s Rights
We are so grateful to Professor Becker for taking the time to share her incredible advocacy work with us. And, as always, thank you to all who joined us for an enriching experience!
UConn Human Rights courses offered through Early College Experience.
