Committee on Human Rights: Annual Report 2023 (2024)
Chapter: Human Rights & STEMM Education
Human Rights & STEMM Education
Over the past several years, the CHR has worked to identify ways in which human rights principles can be integrated into STEMM education, with a focus on higher education. Below are selected updates on CHR projects aimed at helping students and educators make the connections between human rights and their STEMM fields.
CLIMATE CHANGE AND HUMAN RIGHTS RESOURCE COLLECTION
Climate change has serious implications for a range of internationally protected rights, from the right to a healthy environment to the right to life. The CHR has compiled materials for STEMM educators and others seeking to explore issues at the intersection of human rights and climate change. Among other resources, the collection includes:
- National Academies’ event recordings, reports, and other materials on the connections between climate change and topics such as justice and social equity, human health and health equity, and sustainability and resilience
- Information on relevant international and regional human rights standards in this area, including human rights and climate change-related litigation
- Reports from and information on United Nations bodies that focus on issues related to human rights and climate change
- Materials from NGOs on the intersection of climate change and topics including disability, displacement, indigenous rights, and more
PILOT STEMM COURSES ON FORCED DISPLACEMENT
The fields of engineering, basic, and applied sciences are often absent in discussions about education on forced displacement. As a result, students in science and engineering programs are frequently unaware of the complex challenges surrounding displacement and are ill-positioned to help address these challenges in their studies and future careers.
In response to this concern, the CHR and the Center on Forced Displacement at Boston University organized a March 2023 international workshop of research scholars and STEMM educators and practitioners to explore opportunities for equipping STEMM students with the skills to address challenges associated with forced displacement.
The workshop resulted in an outline for pilot course modules on this topic. Professors from four universities (Drexel University, Boston University, The Ohio State University, and University of California, Davis) agreed to pilot this course. A follow-on workshop in 2024 will discuss lessons learned in piloting these courses and explore opportunities for scaling up the project in coming years. For more information on this project, see the associated workshop summary.
