MRG Asia's Programmes

1. Pluralism and Diversity in Asia: Promoting the Rights of Religious Minorities through Education and Training

Background

In all of the target countries in this project (Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Pakistan), education is playing a critical part in fostering high levels of anti-religious minority sentiment, either by contributing to the diffusion of derogatory information about certain religions and the communities which practice them or simply by ignoring the existence of other beliefs which are not shared by the majority. Over the last 3 years, MRG and local partners have been running a programme aiming to increase the ability of religious minorities and key civil society actors (teachers, women’s groups, parents, other non-governmental organisations / community based organisations) to challenge and reverse discriminatory practices in education in these countries. After completing the review of existing curricula and textbooks, we have started the second phase of the work, which is about enhancing the understanding by religious minority teachers, parents and students of their rights to education and increased advocacy around their access to curricula that represent their needs.

Planned outcomes

With this specific initiative, we are aiming to challenge the discrimination faced by religious minority children when accessing education.  We will not only be advocating for changes in the legislation (especially around curricula) but will also look at practices within schools, encouraging teachers to promote pluralism and diversity within the classrooms. Our work on curricula will aim to challenge the stereotypes and false information on other religious communities which are currently widespread in textbooks. This programme also has a strong capacity-building component, targeting especially minority activists and parents.
 
During the course of this programme we will:

• Establish Advisory Groups (whose members will be education experts predominantly from within the region, but including other world regions) whose aim will be to assess & assist in compiling the comprehensive guide on curriculum materials & in developing classroom topics/materials relevant to the situation in the particular country.

• Publish, translate and disseminate school modules focusing on rights, justice, respect & understanding. (Modules will reflect the particular circumstances of each programme country).

• Organize teacher workshops to enhance understanding of good practice in the classroom and pluralist teaching methodologies, and introduce into the classroom issues of pluralism, diversity, and positive notions of citizenship.

• Organize  workshops for parents, education practitioners, human rights activists and community based organizations to develop shared understanding of the importance of minority rights, pluralism and diversity in education among communities.  

• Undertake advocacy at state/provincial, national, regional and international level.

2. Minorities, Indigenous People and Development in Asia

Background

Asia is leading the world in terms of hydropower and water resources development. However, reports on in-country and cross border impact of the dams on communities have identified that these large scale development projects effectively undermine the rights of minorities and indigenous groups and in some cases have led to gross human rights violations. These include forced large-scale displacements; severe flooding and subsequent loss of life/land/livestock and earnings; lack of compensation; and severe natural resource and environmental degradation.  Despite these, plans to construct more dams continue unabated and no attempts have been made to apply the lessons learned or address the concerns of the communities impacted from previous projects. This new initiative, to be launched in 2009 will aim to improve collaboration and dialogue between civil society and government/development agencies to mitigate adverse impacts of hydro projects on minority/indigenous communities in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Planned outcomes

At the heart of this initiative lies the need to equip minority and indigenous communities with the necessary skills and expertise to be able to effectively engage with governments, the international community and hydro-power companies to ensure that the concerns of these communities are addressed and that their human rights are respected during the planning processes and implementation of hydro-projects. Our aim is not only to raise awareness among the communities but also to ensure that these communities have the right advocacy expertise to advocate for their rights.  

The implementation of this programme will include: Training workshops on minority rights and advocacy for local activists and community members

• Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Studies on minority and indigenous communities affected or in danger of being affected by hydro projects in the programme countries

• Publication and dissemination of briefings based on the findings of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessments to key targets in-country, in the region and internationally

• Advocacy at national and regional/international level.