Nobel Laureates To Speak Truth To Power In Chicago Public Schools

2011-11-17

At a conference today, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that Chicago will host the 12th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates—the first such World Summit to be held in North America—April 23-25 at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The three-day summit, themed “Speak Up, Speak Out for Freedom and Rights,” will place a special emphasis on engaging and empowering youth to action through a series of plenary sessions and breakout discussions. Summit organizers are also partnering with the Chicago Public Schools and the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights to connect Nobel Laureates in sharing their powerful stories directly with Chicago students in the classroom. RFK Speak Truth To Power launched 32 human rights lessons as part of this partnership.

On November 17, Speak Truth To Power will launch 32 new lessons as part of a human rights curriculum in partnership with Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union. Earlier this summer, Chicago Public School teachers from 14 different schools across the city met for a three-day workshop to develop lessons based on the lives and work of 14 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates. The stories of these 14 heroic individuals, including familiar names like Lech Walesa, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Jody Williams, not only serve as the jumping off point for a larger examination of human rights, but also, through concrete activities, give the students a way to identify as human rights defenders themselves. The online curriculum is aligned with the Illinois State Standards and the national Common Core standards that have been adopted in 45 states across the U.S.

Every year, Nobel Peace Prize winners get together to attend the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates and this spring that gathering will take place in Chicago. During their time in Chicago, the Nobel Laureates will travel out to schools across the city to meet with the students who have been learning about their lives and their lessons. However, these students will not be the only lucky ones. Thanks to a partnership with Safari Live, the interaction between the Nobel Laureates and the students will be broadcast across the nation and will even feature an interactive question and answer session.

• Read Mayor Emanuel's Press Release [PDF Format]
• Learn more about the Speak Truth To Power Chicago human rights curriculum
• View video messages from today's conference

Attachments:

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