The FATIMA project was presented in Corfu, Greece to a group of NGOs representatives, teachers, trainers and local community stakeholders.

DIMITRA’s representative talked about the projects rationale and objectives and described the steps that led to the development of the educational material and the “Human Rights in Practice” game and guide.

Two training workshops took place in Sweden last week. The training of trainers took place on the 12th of January and a seminar for teachers and experts dealing with Human Rights took place on the 20th of January. The goal of the training workshops was to educate coaches in order for them to be able to conduct the project's pilot’s activities later on. Both seminars met great success by the participants.

The FATIMA partnership is happy to announce that the project's conference will take place in 26-27 April 2016 at Örebro University, Sweden. The title of the event is"Violence, Honour and Revolution: Towards Alternative Gender Equality Futures" and will include an international agenda. 

The conference will be dedicated to violence, honour, and the hope for gender equality futures free from violence and oppression. The event is set to last for two days and explore a range of methods and strategies to achieve gender equality futures by transcending the gaps between research, policy and practice and placing activism at the center of events. In order to discuss the ever so pressing issues and concepts of violence against woman and honour, a number of tools for knowledge transfer will be used: traditional academic lectures, experienced based testimonials, moderated plenary discussion, practice research, film-making and participatory workshops lead by a team of academics and activists.

The goal of the conference is to create a forum for bringing together activists, NGOs, politicians and academia to share their experiences in the above mentioned areas. Guests of honour will be dr Nawal El Saadawi and Buthina Canaan Khoury.

Anyone interested can visit the specialised website and register for the event. Don't miss out!

The Training of Trainers workshop of the FATIMA project was completed with great success. The seminar took place in Newcastle-upon-Tyne on 10-11 December 2015. During the 2 days seminar, representatives from the United Kingdom, Sweden, Portugal and Greece overviewed the project tasks, the training material and the role of ethnic minority NGOs in the upcoming pilot activities.

Participants refined their knowledge as they were actively engaged in vivid discussions, interactive exercises and exchange of knowledge and views in order to be fully prepared for the pilot stage, which is the next step of the project.

The United Nations observes Human Rights Day every year on 10 December after the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. 

The theme for this year's UN day is "Our Rights, Our Freedoms, Always".

This year the UN day highlights 'Freedoms' recalling the four freedoms that underlie the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and two major human rights covenants, first articulated in 1941 by President Franklin D Roosevelt in his "four freedoms speech" to the US Congress, according to the UN website.

On Human Rights Day, let us recommit to guaranteeing the fundamental freedoms and protecting the human rights of all," says United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Check out some quotes by famous personalities on human rights below:

• Human rights are not only violated by terrorism, repression or assassination, but also by unfair economic structures that creates huge inequalities. — Pope Francis (Pope of the Roman Catholic Church)
• To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity. — Nelson Mandela (Former African President)
• If a country doesn't recognize minority rights and human rights, including women's rights, you will not have the kind of stability and prosperity that is possible. — Hillary Clinton (Former United States Secretary of State)
• Fundamental violations of human rights always lead to people feeling less and less human. — Aung San Suu Kyi (Burmese Politician)
• No country is 100 percent free of human rights abuses. — Raul Castro (President of the Council of State of Cuba)
• Those religions that are oppressive to women are also against democracy, human rights, and freedom of expression. — Taslima Nasreen (Bangladeshi author)
• The only way to do the human rights thing is to do the right thing medically. — Paul Farmer (Anthropologist)

On #HumanRightsDay we explore the meaning of humanity's inalienable freedoms. We'd like to start with a special tribute to the human rights of women. UNHR new infographic shows that the assault on their fundamental right to education continues in many countries, all over the world.#16Days #orangetheworld

Why This International Day?

• Violence against women is a human rights violation

• Violence against women is a consequence of discrimination against women, in law and also in practice, and of persisting inequalities between men and women

• Violence against women impacts on, and impedes, progress in many areas, including poverty eradication, combating HIV/AIDS, and peace and security

• Violence against women and girls is not inevitable. Prevention is possible and essential

• Violence against women continues to be a global pandemic.

From 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December, Human Rights Day, the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign is a time to galvanize action to end violence against women and girls around the world.

This year, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Campaign UNiTE to End Violence against Women invites you to “Orange the world: End violence against women and girls.” Join the UNiTE campaign and organize “Orange Events” between 25 November and 10 December 2015. Join us! Share your photos, messages and videos showing how you orange your world at facebook.com/The-Fatima-network using #orangetheworld.

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have become essential actors in the social field, and play a crucial role in the fight to protect human rights worldwide. They engage in regular dialogue with public authorities with a view to ensuring better implementation of EU initiatives and policies in the EU countries. But do their actions actually follow human rights principles?