Origins
Human dignity is the foundation of human rights
Peaceful Planet Human Rights Education has its origins in the 1950s, when a disagreement between the democratically elected Iranian Government and the western oil industry brought my grandfather, Sir Arnold McNair, later Lord McNair, into playing a key role as President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague, Holland, and set in motion a train of events whose reverberations have continued until the present time. The ICJ is where countries bring civil cases against other countries.
Rights, national sovereignty, and national dignity were important factors in that dispute. Sir Arnold took a stand in support of those principles and is remembered in Iran to this day for what he did. Peaceful Planet Human Rights Education emerged many years later as a direct result of those events in the 1950s. A request to talk to a Farsi language discussion group in 2014 about my grandfather and also about human rights in the context of those years led to my organising 170 workshops on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in London, most delivered in Farsi.
While developing the “Know Your Human Rights” course on this website, and delivering workshops on the 30 Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, my attention was drawn to the Declaration’s Preamble. It seemed to me that if the principles and spirit expressed in the Preamble were more widely understood and practised, there could actually be less need for the formal protection and enforcement of the individual Articles.
This led to deeper exploration of the foundations of human rights and dignity, including the work of Dr Donna Hicks on human dignity, and the additional focus on dignity gradually developed into broader interests in how education, systems, institutions, science, and community participation affect the ability of individuals and communities to live with dignity, capability, and meaningful agency.
Today, Peaceful Planet brings together work relating to:
- human dignity,
- human rights education,
- participatory research,
- systems understanding,
- Science for Citizens,
- and community empowerment.
Our work encompasses educational resources, workshops, participatory approaches, and collaborative projects intended to strengthen understanding, capability, and constructive participation within both local communities and wider institutional settings. Many sources have contributed to this, in addition to Dr Hicks’ model of dignity. Paolo Freire’s methodology has been a particular inspiration.
Areas of Work
Human Rights Education
Human Dignity
Science for Citizens
Educational work based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its practical relevance to everyday life. Our flagship course is Know Your Human rights.
Work exploring dignity, wellbeing, participation, and constructive human relationships expressed in our Human Dignity Awareness Training Workbook
Approaches that help people understand systems, evidence, institutions, and practical scientific thinking in everyday civic life, based on a new course under development.
Particpatory Research
London Infrastructure Taskforce
International Collaboration
Collaborative and community-based approaches including mapping, citizen science, lived experience inquiry, local capability-building, focused on community empowerment and improving services.
Community-focused work exploring infrastructure, public systems, participation, and wellbeing within local communities.
Applying the same principle and methodology to educational and developmental collaboration with individuals and organisations in different countries and cultural settings.
Advisory Team
Peaceful Planet benefits from the experience, knowledge, and guidance of advisors and collaborators from a range of educational, professional, scientific, governance, and community backgrounds.