Launch special

Learn at your own pace with our new asynchronous option — enjoy 10% off for a limited time.

 

Description

Have you ever felt that some policies or services are disconnected from the people they are meant to serve? What if human rights could be used as a practical lens for designing and delivering more people-centered, inclusive, and effective solutions?  

In this one-day workshop, you will explore human rights and rule of law not as abstract legal ideas, but as practical tools that are applicable in everyday work and life, and that guide how policies are designed, services delivered, and public trust built.  

You will begin by reflecting on your own values and goals, and on what matters most to you, your family, and your community. From there, we will connect your personal insights to the universal human rights framework, using non-legal language, real-life examples, and interactive activities.  

Together, we will unpack what the rule of law really means in practice, how substantive equality can be built into everyday systems, and how rights-based approaches can shift the way we plan, deliver, and evaluate our work. You will leave with a practical understanding of the human-centered and rights-based framework that you can apply in your everyday work, life and community and that will help you make inclusive, fair and effective decisions.  

This workshop is a space for reflection, insights, dialogue, and action. You will engage with peers, analyze real-world scenarios, and walk away with tools to help make human rights real and life better for everyone. Whether you work in public service, education, healthcare, municipal planning, community development, or advocacy, this session is designed to meet you where you are and offers a powerful foundation for an effective and people-centered decision-making.

This course is also available in an asynchronous, self-paced format.

Partner

In partnership with the International Commission of Jurists

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Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course the participant will be able to:
  • Connect personal and professional values to the core principles of human dignity and rights.
  • Explain the core principles of universal human rights and the rule of law using plain language.
  • Know how these principles can influence inclusive, effective and people-centered work.
  • Differentiate between human-centered and object-centered planning.
  • Identify invisible and structural inequalities and discrimination in everyday work and life environments.
  • Use an innovative framework to assess whether a policy or a program is human-centered.
  • Reflect on their role as professionals or community members in upholding human dignity and justice for all.

Duration

  • In‑person: 6 hours
  • Asynchronous: 12 hours (self‑paced)

 

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Instructor

Lead instructor
Slava Balan is an international lawyer, human rights and gender equality consultant and advisor. Slava worked with governments, national human rights institutions, civil society groups, and the United Nations in the areas of human and minority rights, gender equality and women empowerment, elections, democracy and rule of law. He advised and consulted the development of several major strategic policy documents within the United Nations and in Europe. Slava taught a course on Human Rights-Based Approach to Governance, Law and Policy-Making at the University of Ottawa and abroad. Slava finalizes his PhD in Law at the University of Ottawa and serves as the Executive Director of the International Commission of Jurists – Canada.

 

Course advisor
Professor Errol P. Mendes is a lawyer, author, professor and has been an advisor to governments, corporations, civil society groups and the United Nations. He has acted as a human rights Tribunal and Boards of Inquiry adjudicator in Canada under the Ontario Human Rights Code and as a member of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. In 2005-2006, he served as a Senior Advisor in the Privy Council Office of the Government of Canada. He also served as a Visiting Professional at the International Criminal Court in 2009. He was appointed as a Visiting Fellow at Harvard Law School in 2013 and a Visiting Scholar at Oxford University in 2020-2021.

His areas of expertise include private and public sector governance law and policy, international business and trade law, public international law, constitutional law and human rights law. He has taught in these areas at law schools across Canada and is presently a full professor of Law at the University of Ottawa in the nation’s capital He was a Commissioner on the Ontario Human Rights Commission from 2009-2019 and National President of the International Commission of Jurists, Canadian Sections since 2014. He is the author, co-author or editor of eleven books in his area of expertise. He was invested into the Order of Ontario on January 20, 2016. On May 25, 2016, he was awarded one of the highest honors of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Law Society Medal. In November 2019, he was appointed as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.