Episode 19: Anita Yudkin-Suliveres, Part One

Human Rights Education Now!

Anita Yudkin-Suliveres is an educator who works in the field of teacher education. She is a professor in the Department of Educational Foundations, Faculty of Education, and Coordinator of the UNESCO Chair on Education for Peace at the University of Puerto Rico. For over twenty years she has worked in human rights and peace education in formal educational settings and in collaboration with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and community-based organizations. Her areas of interest in teaching, research, and action include education for peace and human rights, children’s rights, learning to live together in schools, and qualitative research in education from a critical perspective.

In Episode 19, Anita Yudkin-Suliveres discusses the origin of her interest in human rights, human rights education (HRE), and peace education. She elaborates on her work in El Salvador and Amnesty International regarding children’s rights in Puerto Rico. Anita describes the project, Teaching for Freedom, and her role as UNESCO Chair in Peace Education at the University of Puerto Rico. Anita emphasizes the significance of collaborations between university departments, NGOs, civil society organizations, and the growing number of young people engaged in these collaborations. Next, Anita shares insights on the connections between her work and the political status of Puerto Rico and issues of decolonization and self-determination. She discusses her work in peace education and the link between Puerto Rico’s lack of political and economic autonomy, and the U. S. Congress’ creation of a fiscal oversight and management board which has had serious impacts on public policy in Puerto Rico. Anita provides suggestions around classroom strategies to address social problems in Puerto Rico that emphasize human dignity, and her understanding of what peace means in the current Puerto Rican reality while also addressing global issues such as migration, climate change and global violence along with their interconnections.
Topics discussed:

• Origins of her interest in human rights and peace education
• Her work in El Salvador with Amnesty International
• Teaching for Freedom project
• Role as UNESCO Chair in Peace Education at the University of Puerto Rico
• Connections between HRE and political status of Puerto Rico
• U.S. Congress’ fiscal oversight and impact on public policy in Puerto Rico
• Classroom strategies to address social problems in Puerto Rico

Full topic listing available for PDF download HERE.

Listen on the HREUSA podcast website HERE.

Introduction and Closing Music Credit: “Awakening-Spring” by Ketsa, from the Album Night Vision. Available at the Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/night-vision/awakening-spring/

This music is used in accordance with this Creative Commons License: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Information about that license is available here https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Human Rights Education Now! is produced and distributed in accordance with Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International. Information about this license is available here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/