The Human Rights Action Lab
The Human Rights Action Lab will be using systemic and human-centred design methods to prototype policy and advocacy solutions to three main human rights challenges. These issues were identified during stakeholder input sessions convened in June 2021.
- How might we remove the socioeconomic barriers to rights?
- How might we protect marginalized groups from the impacts of climate change?
- How might we eliminate the racism and intolerance that is being driven by misinformation and amplified by technology?
The Lab will be structured as a progressive series of exercises to help participants problem-solve. Participants will be provided with background resources and primers to support their work.The Lab will include team-based exercises to: A) Identify the core struggles/aspirations experienced by most impacted communities relative to each design challenge (Empathy Stage); B) Map the system to identify the factors and dynamics creating these challenges; C) Identify potential leverage points where policy-making or advocacy could shift these dynamics (Define Stage); D) Develop concrete recommendations aimed at a particular policy, practice or mental model (Prototype Stage); E) Test and refine their ideas using some clear criteria. This includes applying an intersectional lens and a power lens to proposed recommendations; and F) Present their final prototypes to the larger Lab (Solution Showcase and Celebration Stage).
Action Lab Resources
Human Rights Action Lab Report
Constitutional Primers
Poverty Policy Briefs
Racism Policy Briefs
Environment Policy Briefs
Human Rights Action Lab Report
Constitutional Primers
Poverty Policy Briefs
Racism Policy Briefs
Environment Policy Briefs
Policy Presentations at the Conference
Prototypes for Action - Report from the Human Rights Action Lab (November 8, 12:30-1:30 MST)
Presenter: Vasant Chotai
Presenter: Dr. Pieter De Vos
Prototypes for Action - Report from the Human Rights Action Lab (November 8, 12:30-1:30 MST)
Presenter: Vasant Chotai
Presenter: Dr. Pieter De Vos
Responsibilities of Canadian Human Rights Commission and Identifying Barriers and Building Solutions (November 10, 12:30-1:30 MST)
Presenters: Rajvir Gill (Global Centre for Pluralism, Ottawa) and Parveen Parmar (John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights)
The presentation “Responsibilities of the Canadian Human Rights Commission and Identifying Barriers and Building Solutions” is based upon the key findings of the research project supported by the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights (“JHC”) and Judge Gurcharan Bhatia. The presentation will explore the current federal human rights complaint mechanism to determine if they are meeting the needs of the most vulnerable Canadian communities, through examining the Canadian Human Rights Commission and Canadian Human Rights Tribunal from the complainants’ perspectives. The objective of the research project is to provide recommendations to strengthen and improve the accountability and transparency of federal human rights remedy mechanisms. In this session, researchers will share the outcomes of their research and together with participants will set forward strategy on how we ensure these recommendations move into reality and ensure our human rights mechanisms work for those that need them most.