Section 1

Introduction

Welcome to this internet edition of DOmino

When DOmino was produced back in 1994-95, access to the internet was restricted basically to academics, big business and governments – none of us had e-mail and we contacted each other using the post, fax and telephone. Nowadays, access to internet is still not available to everybody and we need to be doing more to combat this new form of exclusion. Still, things are improving and the opportunities to use the internet to share ideas and make publications more accessible are – thinking back to 1995 – incredible. Contributing to an evolving community of practice on human rights education throughout the world certainly assists in creating links and solidarity.

With the successful launch of Compass on-line, it made sense to update the publications which formed the core of the educational effort of the "all different – all equal" campaign and to make them more widely available within the context of the Human Rights Education initiative. And it made sense to use the possibility to make relevant links between Compass, the Education Pack “all different all equal”, Alien 93 and this one – as you click through them you will find much which is complementary. Especially exciting is the chance to make links between more reflective pieces and activities, so that each enhances the other.

DOmino was produced back in 1994-95 in the framework of the Council of Europe Youth Campaign "All different - All equal".

With the successful launch of "Compass, a Manual on Human Rights Education with Young People" it made sense to update the publications which formed the core of the educational effort of the "all different - all equal" campaign and to make them more widely available within the context of the Human Rights Education Programme of the Directorate of Youth and Sports of the Council of Europe.

So what has changed here? The bulk of the text remains unchanged. We have updated references and examples; and deleted ones which are now irrelevant.

We hope you will find this edition easy to use and challenging to put into practice!

The Council of Europe Youth Campaign "all different - all equal" aimed to mobilise the public in favour of a tolerant society based on the equal dignity of all its members. Young people played - and continue to play - an important role in promoting the messages of the campaign.

The potential of young people in acting for other young people and adults to create the societies of tomorrow is often underestimated and rarely taken into consideration by adults. The marginalisation of the 'youth' as a particular sociological and easy-to-define group in society often leads to the assumption that young people's action is taken only in a protected, isolated space within European societies.

The value of education for young people by young people has always been a central concept of the youth work within the Council of Europe and the co-operating youth organisations. The strong influence members of peer groups insert on each other determines both formal and informal education to a great extent. Planned and conscious application of these mechanisms in educational approaches and concepts have proven particularly successful in the fields of health education, sex education and drugs prevention.

However, only few elaborate programmes exist on peer group education as a means to promote tolerance and accept diversity. This publication 'DOmino' tries to promote peer group education within formal and informal educational settings. DOmino is aimed at youth and social workers, teachers and youth leaders, as well as young people wishing to get involved in such programmes.

How to work with DOmino

Recipes for educational work do not really exist, particularly not recipes of similar value for all European societies. Youth and social workers, youth leaders and teachers most constantly adapt and react to the special requirements of young people and their particular social environment. DOmino tries to give some assistance to those working or planning to work with young people on peer group education projects.

The different sections of DOmino contain some theoretical background on peer group education as well as different project descriptions, methods and quotes and stories from young people. The references to resources used have been put in brackets and the sources can be found in the bibliography at the end of this publication.

DOmino is the result of different youth work practices in several European countries, both, in the formal and informal educational sector. The editors have drawn from experiences in youth organisations, youth initiatives and schools. The existing diversity in Europe is also reflected in the presentation of different practical approaches, aimed at enriching the dialogue between and amongst young people and adults.

It is up to you to choose the most appropriate way to implement a programme in your own social environment and the editors of DOmino hope to have been able to assist you in your important work in empowering young people to build the Europe of tomorrow with dignity for all its people.