The Netherlands has its first university professor specialized in human rights education, at the University of Utrecht. This is needed, because research shows that Dutch youths knows less about human rights than others in Europe.

The first professor human rights education in the Netherlands will be Felisa Tibbitts, founder of the Human Rights Education Associates and internationally recognized expert in this area.

She is currently attached to Columbia University's Teachers College. She will be based at the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights (SIM) in Utrecht, but will also closely work together with University College Roosevelt (UCR).

A unique chance

Professor Tibbitts sees her appointment as a unique chance to boost human rights education in the Netherlands:

"It is amazing that the University of Utrecht, the University College Roosevelt and the Soroptimisten make this Chair of Human Rights Education possible. I am looking forward to strengthening the community of teachers and activists around human rights education in the Netherlands. Education is essential for the development of knowledge, attitude and behavior that protect human dignity. Together with my Dutch colleagues, I am delighted to expand the concept and the effective implementation of human rights education in the Netherlands and beyond."

The Carla Atzema-Looman Chair of Human Rights Education, with a special focus on women's rights, was initiated and financed by the Union for Soroptimist clubs of the Netherlands, Suriname and Curaçao, which have over 3,200 members. They are part of Soroptimist International, which is a global volunteer movement working together to transform the lives of women and girls and advance human rights.