New Tactics | alternative social institutions

alternative social institutions

Using cultural resources to provide an alternative to mainstream perceptions of human rights

The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), as regional human rights institution work in the Arab world, has adopted an approach that seeks to reconcile prevalent Arab culture with human rights principles and values.

Building corporate capacity to create constructive relationships based on a respect for indigenous people’s rights

First People’s Worldwide (FPW) focuses on building and supporting positive, human rights-focused relationships between indigenous interests and the business sector. Through an alliance with Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), FPW provides business partners with capacity-building training in this area, thus increasing corporate capacity to recognize and address human rights issues arising from their business practices. FWP’s corporate capacity-building training encourages businesses to take an alternative approach and initiate dialogue where both communities and companies work together to more accurately assess the cost-benefits, explore ways to mitigate the costs and maximize the benefits, and find out together what this would look like for the community and the extractive industry.

Providing parents with funds that allow them to send their children to school rather than to work

The Bolsa Escola program in Brazil provides families with a monthly stipend so that children can attend school instead of work in the streets. The program, which began in the city of Brasilia, was created with the realization that the working children of today are the poor adults of tomorrow. Bolsa Escola was expanded to a federal program in 2001.