Turn yourself into an agent of change with our new online course on the UDHR

Defending Dignity: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is open for enrolment and will begin 21 January. The three-week course created by Amnesty International provides an introduction to the revolutionary declaration.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights relates to all aspects of our lives, whether it is work, education, health, food or housing. When human rights are respected, they often go unnoticed and only become visible when they are being denied.

With Amnesty International’s new course, in partnership with FutureLearn, you can turn yourself into an agent of change and equip yourself with knowledge and skills that will enable you to know and claim your rights, and the rights of others, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Topics covered on the course include: dignity and human rights, promoting equality and non-discrimination in a society based on human rights principles.  

This short course is designed to take approximately 3 hours to complete. If you have less time – you can choose the content and activities that mean the most to you. The course is self-paced.

You will be challenged to think critically and devise effective actions to defend and promote human rights. You will be able to apply the rights enshrined in the UDHR to real-life situations and learn to challenge cases where people are denied their rights.

In this course you will learn to:

  • Assess how the Universal Declaration of Human Rights relates to your daily life
  • Explain the significance of the UDHR to promoting human dignity
  • Argue for the importance of upholding the key principles of human rights
  • Analyse cases of discrimination
  • Assess inequality in your community
  • Identify ways to promote equality and non-discrimination
  • Recognise the impact of people standing up for human rights
  • Take action for a more inclusive and participatory society
  • Describe how the UDHR influenced the development of human rights law and standards

 For more information on the course, and to register, visit the FutureLearn website.

FutureLearn is an online social learning platform owned by The Open University. Learn more about our partnership here.