About the Editor
About the Authors
About the Project Partners
About the Project Funder
Nancy Flowers is a writer, editor, and human rights activist. She has worked to develop Amnesty International USA’s education program and was a co-founder of Human Rights USA. Recent publications include Compasito, a Manual for Children’s Human Rights Education (Council of Europe, 2007) and Local Action/Global Change: Learning about the Human Rights of Women and Girls, (Paradigm Press, 2007). She has served as consultant to governments, NGOs, and UN agencies and edits the University of Minnesota Human Rights Resource Center’s Human Rights Education Series.
Joelle Balfe is an independent consultant with an extensive practice area that includes disability issues, international public health, and human rights law and policy. She has developed human rights education curricula and materials for a range of non-governmental organizations and spearheaded national and international advocacy campaign initiatives. Ms. Balfe provided core analytical and advocacy support to both governments and civil society participants in the development of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Her diverse consulting practice provides analytical, communications, advocacy, and writing services to individuals, organizations, and institutions in the public and private sectors.
Katherine Guernsey is an attorney with a practice focusing on public international law, human rights, disability, and international development. Her clients include the World Bank Group and Disabled Peoples’ International. She is also an adjunct professor at the American University School of International Service, where she teaches human rights. Ms. Guernsey served as legal counsel to a variety of disabled people’s organizations and governmental delegations throughout the drafting of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and continues to work on issues related to ratification and implementation of the Convention. She has designed and implemented human rights education and awareness-raising initiatives for people with disabilities in Central and South America, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Valerie Karr is an expert in the field of child education with a strong clinical background in special education and extensive experience in international education programming, including consultancies for UNESCO’s inclusive education sector. Currently a Ph.D. candidate at Teachers College, Columbia University, Ms. Karr is a specialist in qualitative and quantitative program analysis, including assessment and evaluation and the development of measurement tools and strategies.
Janet Lord is a Partner in the international law and development firm Blue Law LLP and an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Maryland School of Law. A human rights educator with more than ten years of experience, Ms. Lord has designed and delivered human rights education programs in all regions of the world, most recently in Yemen, Egypt, and Liberia. She participated in all sessions of the negotiation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, drafting proposed treaty text and advising civil society and governments alike on complex legal and technical matters. A leading expert on international human rights law and disability, Ms. Lord has implemented human rights programming for a number of national and international organizations, including the UN Office of the High Commission for Human Rights, UNDP, UN DESA, the US National Council on Disability, Disabled Peoples International, and IFES.
Advocating Change Together (ACT) is a grassroots disability rights organization run by and for people with developmental and other disabilities. ACT’s mission is to help people across disabilities see themselves as part of a larger disability rights movement and make connections with other civil and human rights efforts.
Blue Law, LLP is a service-disabled, veteran-owned law firm specializing in international law and international development programming. Based in Washington, DC, Blue Law’s human rights and disability practice group works with disabled peoples organizations, international human rights institutions, and governments to advance disability inclusion in international development programming worldwide.
Disabled Peoples’ International (DPI) is the only global, grassroots, cross-disability network of national organizations and assemblies of persons with disabilities. The goals of DPI are to advance the human rights of persons with disabilities through full participation, equalization of opportunity and development; promotion of the economic and social integration of persons with disabilities; and development of and support to disabled peoples’ organizations (DPOs). Established in 1981 and based in St. John’s, Canada, DPI has a presence in more than 140 countries.
The Harvard Project on Disability (HPOD), located at Harvard Law School, is an interdisciplinary law and policy center dedicated to improving the circumstances of persons with disabilities, primarily through implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Person with Disabilities. HPOD advises governments and national human rights institutions regarding domestic disability laws and policies, provides capacity building and human rights training to international and local disabled persons and their representative organizations, and conducts academic research. HPOD acknowledges support from a grant by the Foundation Open Society Institute (Zug).
The University of Minnesota Human Rights Resource Center, an integral part of the University of Minnesota Human Rights Center, works to create and distribute human rights education via electronic and print media; to train activists, professionals, and students as human rights educators; and to build advocacy networks to encourage effective practices in human rights education.
The Shafallah Center for Children with Special Needs, located in Doha, Qatar, is a Center of Excellence designed to provide comprehensive services to children with developmental disabilities, their families and the community. Established as an initiative of the Chairperson of the Supreme Council of Family Affairs, Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Bin Abdullah Al-Missned, the Shafallah Center reflects her belief in the vitality and importance of the family’s and the child’s role in society. The Center provides state-of-the-art services, educational facilities, and a dedicated staff to enable students to learn, grow, and integrate successfully into their community. The Shafallah Center’s dedication to the human rights of all persons with disabilities is clearly demonstrated by its very generous support of all stages of the development of Human Rights. YES! educational materials.
*Design contributions by Timothy Gana, Sairam Kuchibhatla and Leah Marks.