Course Title: Advocacy and Action: The Victorian Charter for Human Rights

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Advocacy and Action: The Victorian Charter for Human Rights

Credit Points: 12

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
HUSO2289	City Campus	Postgraduate	360H Education	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2009, Sem 1 2010, Sem 1 2011

Course Coordinator: Dr Russell Solomon

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 8256

Course Coordinator Email:russell.solomon@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: 48.4.10

Course Coordinator Availability: Thursdays 3pm-5pm

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

None

Course Description

This core course is a postgraduate introductory level course designed to assist you to better understand the role and purpose of the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 in the context of advocating for human rights. It situates the introduction of the Charter in a long history of failed attempts to introduce a ‘bill of rights’ in Australia and introduces a framework for thinking about the respective merits of constitutional and statutory bills of rights. It outlines the role of the Charter and the merits of the dialogue model of rights on which it relies. Finally, it introduces you to a variety of theoretical and skills-based approaches to policy, organisational, client and community advocacy that will be of use in giving effect to the Charter.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

Upon completion of this course you will be able to:
• identify and reflect on key aspects of the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities 2006 including its historical antecedents and the role of bills of rights;
• identify and critically reflect on the key rights the Victorian Charter specifies and protects;
• identify and articulate the implications of the Charter for policy, organisational, client and community advocacy;
• identify the kinds of skills and approaches required for effective advocacy for human rights inside your work organisation and within the broader community, and map some of the practical ways such advocacy might proceed;
• develop new approaches to working effectively with co-workers, clients and government and non government organisations in ways that give effect to the Victorian Charter of Rights;
• show continuing development of a graduate level capacity to think critically and be able to engage in evidence-based research activities to inform effective written and oral presentation of your own ideas and arguments.

The course will involve you firstly in describing and evaluating your capacity and the capacity of your work place to engage the intentions of the Victorian Charter of Human Rights. You will be asked to reflect on the issues the Charter sets up by promoting a dialogue model of rights, as well as issues about its specific application to your capacity and the capacity of your workplace to engage in policy, organisational, client and community advocacy. You will be asked to identify key aspects of the legislative and political background to the Charter, before working through the kinds of rights the Charter specifically protects. You will consider some of the theoretical and practical approaches to social and cultural change which address a central question: how is attitudinal, organisational and policy change successfully introduced? Finally, you will explore the ways in which the Charter might be successfully used as a tool for advocacy and social transformation.

Overview of Learning Activities

This course may involve intensive or weekly workshops, online learning and work integrated learning. Learning activities will include formal lecture input and problem based learning.

Overview of Learning Resources

Learning resource materials will be made available on line.

Overview of Assessment

You will prepare an advocacy campaign strategy that identifies how the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities can be used to achieve policy, organisational or social change, or help to build a culture of human rights.