Who We Are
The World As It Could Be Human Rights Education Program (TWAICB) is an outgrowth of a series of successful initiatives carried out since 2006 to inspire people of all ages to take actions, large and small, that lead to equality, justice and dignity for all. These initiatives use the creative arts to deepen learning about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR); they give participating youth the voice to teach their peers and adults about the importance of the UDHR principles.
TWAICB Curriculum & Institute Information
Human rights are held by all persons equally, universally, and forever. Human rights are the basic standards without which people cannot live in dignity. These rights are inalienable. This means you cannot lose these rights just as you cannot cease to be a human being. Human rights are indivisible. In other words, no right is more important than another. Human rights are interdependent. Each right is connected with other rights.
Built on our successful pilot work in two Bay Area high schools in 2008 and 2009, our unique curriculum integrates the creative arts and a culminating presentation to excite students about learning, being engaged in actions and behaviors that further positive interactions with their peers, teachers and extended communities, and taking action to promote equity, justice and human dignity for all people. We invite teachers, leaders of non-profit organizations and community leaders to utilize the curriculum.
One of the key elements of The World As It Could Be curriculum is having the youth prepare a culminating presentation for their school or organization and its extended community, to express their ideas about the significance of the UDHR and its connection to their lives. This culminating presentation provided a basic Rite-of-Passage-like experience, in that the youth would go through the major effort of transforming what they had learned into a vital message to their community. Inspired by this, we developed and implemented The World As It Could Be Is Within Reach Rite of Passage curriculum and program.
For The World As It Could Be: 4 Questions at a Time initiative, we interview leaders of non-profit organizations and/or community entities to collaborate with them to identify their four questions to inspire more thinking about the issues they address, while also connecting these ideas to the UDHR.
The Human Rights Portal to Teaching Mindfulness and Civic Engagement
By Rosemary Ann Blanchard and Sandy Sohcot
We are pleased to present our full chapter in Mindful Social Studies: Frameworks for Social Emotional Learning and Critically Engaged Citizens, republished with permission from Rowman & Littlefield.
Our Work in Use
I Am Me and I Am Part of Us, 2022-2023 Project
The I Am Me And I Am Part of Us Project was carried out from September 2022 through […]
I Have Wings/Yo Tengo Alas
“These young poets understand the spirit of the […]
TWAICB & Andrea McEvoy Spero, EdD
In 2010, University of San Francisco EdD candidate Andrea McEvoy […]
Initiatives & Perspectives
Thinking About Sneetches
One of my favorite stories is The Sneetches, by Dr. Seuss. It focuses on how one group of critters called Sneetches think that they are [...]
A Valentine’s Day Love Letter to My Country
I love my country. It is filled with magnificent animals, birds, and fish who inhabit beautiful forests, fields, oceans, lakes, and rivers. To awaken each [...]
