- Amnesty International is partnering with edX, a global leader in online education founded by Harvard University and MIT, to deliver a new series of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)
- The free online courses will be designed by human rights and education experts from across Amnesty International
- They will provide a high quality, cutting-edge learning experience, capitalizing on the latest technology revolution in education, MOOCs
- This will be the first MOOC ever provided by Amnesty International
Amnesty International and edX are partnering together to offer a brand new series of Massive Open Online Courses – or MOOCs – the first of which will be made available to learners later this year, the organizations announced today.
A MOOC is a massive open online course:
It is massive in that it is not limited by the four walls of a school building; hundreds of thousands of people can take a MOOC at one time.
It is open in that anyone, regardless of social status, income, or academic affiliation may sign up and participate in the courses.
It is online in that all course videos and materials are available to anyone with Internet access.
“People often ask me where they can go to learn more about human rights—and these new courses provide a perfect answer,” said Salil Shetty, Secretary General, Amnesty International.
“From the seasoned activist who has marched in a hundred rallies and wants to know more about human rights to the technology entrepreneur whose interest has been piqued by the surveillance and privacy debate.
“These new courses will have something for everyone. They also have the brilliant ability to attract a new kind of human rights defender to our cause.”
Founded by Harvard University and MIT in 2012, edX is a leading MOOC provider and offers highly rigorous online courses from more than 75 top universities and institutions. EdX is the only major MOOC provider that is non-profit and open source.
“EdX is honoured to partner with Amnesty International to bring human rights education to learners across the globe. We are aligned in our shared mission to increase educational opportunities worldwide,” said Anant Agarwal, CEO, edX.
“We hope that our global platform, with more than 4 million people from every country in the world, will be an ideal place for the organization to amplify its message of justice for all.”
Amnesty International is canvassing opinion from potential subscribers to the course about their learning preferences. Its experts on human rights and education will use this information as they design and deliver the courses.
Human rights education is key to addressing the underlying causes of injustice around the world. The more people know about their rights, and the rights of others in society, the better equipped they are to protect them.
Salil Shetty