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A unique training program for civil society advocates from China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
The EarthRights Mekong School is making great progress in training the next generation of grassroots human rights and environmental activists. Sabrina, ERI's Mekong School Program Coordinator, provided a detailed summary of the school's June 2009 activities.
"Something is about to change in my life, from getting to know more friends, learned more about Mekong, our history, and environment. These would make me understand more and more about our region and especially learn more about myself- why I am here and what I can do for myself and for all people that live in this world." –Thai student
Date(s): June 2-5, 2009
During the first week of June, Mekong School staff conducted orientation to introduce the students to each other, the Mekong School staff, and their new home in Chiang Mai. Orientation activities were designed to enable students to learn about one another's work, the issues they are face in their home countries, and their personal motivations to work on environmental and human rights issues. Conversation was lively, and students established a good rapport with one another. Orientation included a boat trip to study the ecology of the Ping River and a trip to the sacred mountain Doi Suthep, where several controversial development projects are being planned. Students wrote stories about their first impressions of Chiang Mai and the Mekong School, and shared their observations with the class.
"Yesterday morning, we had a trip along the Ping River. It's just like many trips I used to join in the Southwest Vietnam but it's the first time I sang, listened foreign songs and danced on the boat. Everything was very splendid!" –Vietnamese student
Date(s): June 8-10, 2009
Following orientation, EarthRights International Executive Director Ka Hsaw Wa led a three-day workshop on intercultural communication and team building, providing students with basic cross-cultural skills to maintain open communication, develop strong teamwork, and work effectively together throughout the Mekong School session. This strong foundation empowered the students to work together across cultural and linguistic boundaries towards their common goals as members of the Mekong region.
"I'm especially interesting in learning about other cultures so it was really impressive to meet 10 classmates of 5 other countries. Everyone is very friendly and lovely, along with Mekong School's amicability and dedication, I feel we are like a big family in the Mekong region." –Vietnamese student
Date(s): June 11-17, 2009
Dr. Rachel Morris, a human rights lawyer, taught a five-day session on EarthRights protection and promotion to provide the theoretical background for the Mekong School course. Rachel focused on helping the students identify and understand the linkages between human rights and the protection of the environment, a dominant theme in the Mekong School curriculum. In this course, students also became familiar with the World Commission on Dams (WCD) guidelines.
Date(s): June 18-19, 2009
Facilitated by Boonthan T. Verawongse, from the Peace and Human Rights Resource Center, this new class was introduced at the Mekong School with the goal of examining the history of nationalism in the Mekong region, the harmful effects of nationalism, and the barriers that nationalism poses to regional solidarity and activism. Students learned to forge positive relationships based on cross-border collaboration for the common interests of Mekong communities.
"From our conversations I learn many new things. I began to thinking about the whole world not only China or Tibet. I think this is the first lesson I had in Mekong school." –Tibetan student
Date(s): June 22, 2009
Mekong School alumni Meach Mean, Coordinator of the local NGO 3SPN in Ratanakiri, returned to the school to present a case study of the impacts of the Yali Falls Dam in Vietnam on indigenous people downstream in Cambodia. Students learned about the complex factors involved in cross-border environmental conflicts and examined the gaps that exist in environmental and human rights laws at regional and national levels.
Date(s): June 23-30, 2009
Anthony Fontes taught a week-long seminar on development-induced displacement, with a focus on international human rights and housing rights, and legal strategies and advocacy. Anthony's class included several lively role-plays, including one in which a company attempted to forcibly evict Mekong School students from their dormitories. The students responded with a comprehensive campaign, in which community members, NGO lawyers, media groups, and local politicians and businessmen vied for their interests. This lively class ranked among the student's favorites.