This course aims to promote a space for interdisciplinary co-learning and practical application in community contexts and social groups where strategies for human dignity are needed. The Critical Approach to Human Rights (CAHR) goes beyond modern theory based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to situate violations as social, cultural and political facts that occur at the intersection between structural frameworks and situated events. Beyond a normative-legal perspective, the violation of rights has components that are dimensioned in aesthetics and ethics as events of production and daily proximity and of the subject's incorporated relationship with the realities lived in their daily lives and from which they experience situations of oppression and/or violation of human rights. This is the involvement of the artistic in Human Rights: in the deconstruction and reconstruction of these everyday events through a pedagogy that integrates Narrative Practises (NP), Artistic Practices (AP) and Participatory Action Research (PAR) and in the proposal of advanced knowledge production in the development of more egalitarian and democratic societies.

This course proposes specialised training in CAHR as a possible alternative to the violation of rights and from a different perspective to normative-legal rationality.

Thus, although the course includes the study and reflection of these approaches, it goes beyond their theoretical limits and moves on to the applied research of Human Rights materialised in everyday practice. To this end, the course pays special attention to methodology from an experiential and embodied dimension.

Course objectives
- To train highly qualified profiles in post-modern and innovative methodologies in the search for creative and participatory alternatives to different types of human rights violations;
- To implement the CAHR as a complement to applied research in contexts of exclusion, stigma and discrimination that require a transdisciplinary perspective;
-  To constitute a space for critical reflection on the praxis of Human Rights today, based on the connections between Human Rights, Artistic Practises and Narrative Practises;
- To provide the necessary knowledge to design, programme and develop projects to raise awareness, prevent and intervene in contexts of human rights violations;
- To enable participants to find and develop their own artistic language in relation to the social issues of intervention and research that they are carrying out or intend to carry out.

Target audience:
This course is aimed at a broad professional and academic profile:
- Professionals in the areas of Social Sciences (Social Work, Social Education, Anthropology and Sociology), Legal Sciences (Law, Arbitration, Legal Advice), Health Sciences (Medicine and Nursing) and Education Sciences.
- Volunteers from the third sector (associations, NGOs, etc.) working in the field of social intervention and human rights.
- Professional artists and teachers interested in applying Artistic Practises and Narrative Practises in the field of raising awareness, prevention and valorisation of Human Rights.

Training methodology
Structured in three parts, the course combines distance learning (Modules I and II, lasting 14 hours and 10 synchronous hours respectively) and face-to-face training (Module III, lasting 20 hours, in Coimbra), to be held on the dates and at the times indicated in the Programme.
The course uses the following methodologies:
- Creative and participatory methodology: Based on a practical outline based on practical and/or professional cases and concrete situations that affect both research and intervention in the field of human rights. Participants will work on real projects or simulations that allow them to apply what they have learnt in practical situations.
- Experiential Learning Method: Based on learning through direct experience from creative corporeality and the search for aesthetics as a production of knowledge that goes from the subjective to the collective.
- Collaborative Teaching: Encourages teamwork for the co-creation of knowledge.
- Critical Reflection: Incorporates spaces where participants reflect on their learning, experiences and future implications in their research and/or intervention contexts.
- Personalised Mentoring: Offers individualised support to participants through mentoring sessions.
- Formative assessment: uses continuous assessment techniques that allow participants to receive constant feedback on their performance.
- Viewing of documentary archives of performances and/or Artivism, readings of case studies and testimonial texts in the field of human rights violations at an individual, collective and community level.

Modules I and II will be taught at a distance in synchronous mode (in real time), with transmission via the Zoom platform.
Module III will take place in Coimbra, at CES Sofia (Colégio da Graça - Rua da Sofia, n.º 136 - Coimbra).
Bibliographic support materials will be made available on the Moodle platform. Instructions on how to use the Moodle and Zoom platforms will be sent out before the course - all you need to use them is a computer with internet access and an up-to-date browser.

Registrations are accepted for the whole course or in modules.
The course will be held with a minimum of 15 participants.
A certificate of attendance will be sent at the end of the course.

Duration
Complete course - 44 hours
Module I - 14 hours distance learning
Module II - 10 hours distance learning
Module III - 20 face-to-face hours

Organisers
UNIFOJ – Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra | unifoj@ces.uc.pt (+351) 239 855 570 / (+351) 914 140 187
Universidad Pablo de Olavide - Sevilla

Certified Training - Associate Laboratory - DL n.º 396/2007, de 31/12 | DL n.º 63/2019, from 16/05 | CES Statutes

Module I - From the legal-normative framework to social action in contexts of human rights violations.
19 May to 16 June 2025 | 18h00 - 20h00
Distance learning module | 14 synchronous hours

19 May | Session 1 - Theoretical foundation of Human Rights from a legal, political and economic perspective
Daniela Nascimento (CES)

26 May | Session 2 - Situation of Human Rights in the national context
Daniela Nascimento (CES)

2 June | Session 3 - Human Rights on the street | Experiences and dilemmas in the context of proximity
Paulo Pereira and Ana Cristina Lopes (International Medical Assistance - AMI)

4th June | Session 4 - Human Rights and Social Intervention
Maria Irene de Carvalho (ISCSP - University of Lisbon)

9 June | Session 5 - Critical Approach to Human Rights (CAHR)
Manuel Muñoz Bellerin (Universidad Pablo de Olavide and CES)

11 June | Session 6 - Participatory Action Research and Human Rights
Cláudia Pato de Carvalho (CES)

16 June | Session 7 - Arts and Human Rights | Theoretical dimension and experiences on the international social and academic scene
Manuel Simões (Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal)

Module II - The practice of human rights from the Critical Approach to Human Rights (CAHR)
18 June to 02 July 2025 | 18h00 - 20h00
Distance learning module | 10 synchronous hours

18 June | Session 1 - Project Design
Cláudia Pato de Carvalho (CES)

23 June | Session 2 - Social Sciences perspective - participatory and collaborative methodologies. Community involvement strategies for the social and cultural participation and collaboration of marginalised groups
Cláudia Pato de Carvalho (CES)

25 June | Session 3 - The narrative and testimonial perspective | Treatment of accounts from the hermeneutics of human rights
Manuel Muñoz Bellerin (Universidad Pablo de Olavide and CES)

30 June | Session 4 - Application of Arts-Based Research (ABR) in CAHR: Artistic Practises (AP) in contexts of prevention and enhancement of Human Rights
Manuel Muñoz Bellerin (Pablo de Olavide University and CES)

2 July | Session 5 - Citizen Science and Research - Participatory Action
Rita Campos (CES)

Module III - Creative Methodology in the Application of Human Rights
15 to 19 September 2025 | 9h30 – 13h30 | Face-to-face module (CES Sofia - Coimbra) | 20 hours
Manuel Muñoz Bellerín and Cláudia Pato de Carvalho

This 20-hour, face-to-face module is carried out through collaborative learning, putting into practice a transdisciplinary process of collective creation within the group of participants. This process constitutes an experience through the techniques acquired by the participants, which will be put into practice in the context of intervention in the violation of human rights.
 

Cláudia Pato de Carvalho | Researcher at the Centre for Social Studies (UC), develops research projects in the fields of community participation, cultural mapping, community co-creation and urban intervention. Cláudia integrates Research Line 5. Urban Cultures, Sociability and Participation. She completed her PhD in Sociology, specializing in Sociology of Culture, Knowledge and Communication, at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra, in collaboration with the Center for Reflective Community Practice, now Community Innovators Lab (MIT, USA). Academically coordinated the REDE ARTÉRIA I project, a Teatrão-CES partnership. REDE ARTÉRIA was an action-research project, coordinated by the theater company O Teatrão, which aimed to develop a network of cultural programming in the Centro Region (Portugal) and the creation of artistic intervention projects in eight cities in this Region. Between 2010 and 2018, in the context of Teatrão's educational service, she developed a European network in the field of artistic education in contexts of social exclusion, with several projects approved under the Youth in Action Program and ERASMUS+. She was a member of the CES research team for the CREATOUR project: Developing Creative Tourism Destinations in Small Towns and Rural Areas and is a member of the CREATOUR Observatory (culture and tourism observatory for local development). Cláudia is a member of the CES team for the H2020 UNCHARTED project: Understanding, Capturing and Fostering the Societal Value of Culture (2020-2024), coordinated by the University of Barcelona. She is also part of the CES coordination team for IN SITU: Place-based innovation of cultural and creative industries in non-urban areas (2023-2026) and co-coordinates the CC.EDU - Working Group on Citizen Science and Education at CES. She is an invited assistant professor at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra where she teaches Applied Sociology (Bachelor in Sociology) and Critical Intercultural Dialogue (Master in Sociology).

Manuel Muñoz Bellerín | Graduated as a Sociocultural Animator (1994) after gaining social and political awareness as a Human Rights activist (Human Rights Association). In 1998 he graduated as a Social Worker. On the basis of this academic training, he began informal research into the interdisciplinary nature of theatre pedagogy and social work applied to adolescents and young people. Since then, Muñoz Bellerin has gained a great deal of professional experience for his learning as a human being and professional: Coordinator at the Seville Municipal Reception Centre, Social Mediator-Assistant in the Family and Intergenerational Mediation Service, Social Worker and Educator in community Social Service Centres and specialised centres in Social Transformation Zones, EDUSI and ERACIS programmes (Seville City Council). At the same time, since 2007 he has been an Associate Professor of Social Work at Pablo de Olavide University. Muñoz Bellerin studied for master's degrees in “Mediation and Family Guidance” (UNED), “Human Rights, Interculturality and Development” (UNIA) and “Social Sciences and Social Intervention” (UPO). In March 2019, he completed his PhD in the Social Sciences PhD programme and, in December 2023, he completed a post-doctoral research project at the Centre for Social Studies (University of Coimbra). Muñoz Bellerin is currently a lecturer in the Department of Social Work at Pablo de Olavide University.

Maria Irene Carvalho | Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Social Work from the Higher Institute of Social Work of Lisbon (ISSSL). PhD in Social Work from the Higher Institute of Labour Sciences and Enterprise – University Institute of Lisbon (Iscte-IUL). Associate Professor at the Higher Institute of Social and Political Sciences of the University of Lisbon (ISCSP-UL), in the Social Work and Social Policy Unit, in the Bachelor's degree in Social Work, in the Master's in Social Work (ADVANCES) – Erasmus+ – and in the PhD in Social Policy. Scientific Coordinator of the Bachelor's degree in Social Work and the Postgraduate programme "Social Work in Health, Intervention and Innovation". Integrated researcher at the Centre for Administration and Public Policies (CAPP) of ISCSP-UL. Member of national and international associations representing the profession, teaching and research in Social Work. Author of more than 40 peer-reviewed scientific articles and book chapters on Social Work. Coordinator and Author of books on Social Work published by Pactor.

Ana Cristina Lopes | Psychiatrist with a degree in Medicine from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra, with specific training in Psychiatry. She worked for seven years in the Psychiatry and Mental Health Service of the Entre Douro e Vouga Hospital Centre, facilitating psychotherapeutic groups with a Rogerian approach in Day Hospital and coordinating the suicide prevention consultation. She currently practises at the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health of the Local Health Unit of the Aveiro Region, where she coordinates the Community Mental Health Team for the North Aveiro region. She is interested in psychosomatics, the social determinants of psychological distress and the political dimension of mental health diagnosis.

Daniela Nascimento | PhD in International Politics and Conflict Resolution from the University of Coimbra, Master's in Human Rights and Democratisation from the European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation in Venice, and a degree in International Relations from the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra. She is an Associate Professor with Habilitation in the International Relations Department of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra, where she teaches in the first cycle of International Relations, the Master's in International Relations - Peace Studies, Security and Development, and the PhD Programme in International Politics and Conflict Resolution. She is a researcher at the Centre for Social Studies, integrating the Democracy, Justice and Human Rights Thematic Line, and was Deputy Director for Postgraduate Education and Advanced Training at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra. She is a Counsellor of the Council of Higher Military Education, under the Ministry of National Defence. Her research interests focus on Critical Peace Studies, post-conflict reconstruction, human rights, and humanitarian action, especially in the African context and East Timor. She has published chapters in books and articles in national and foreign scientific journals and has participated in various research projects with national and international funding.

Rita Campos | Researcher at the Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra, member of the Thematic Line CULTURS-Urban Cultures, Sociabilities and Participation and the Observatory of Education and Training Policies (OP.Edu), and co-coordinator of the Methodology Cycle Knowledge Wheel and the Working Group on Citizen Science and Education (CC.Edu). She holds a PhD in Biology from the University of Porto, on the topics of evolutionary biology and population genetics. Since 2009, she has become interested in the areas of Science Communication and Non-formal Science Education, having dedicated herself exclusively to these areas since 2016. Her current research interests focus on the study and production of science communication tools, active learning and public engagement with and in science (citizen science) on the themes of relationships between biodiversity and human health, interconnections between systems (natural, social, cultural...) and sustainability (environmental). She is interested in interdisciplinary approaches and methodologies that enhance public inclusion and participation, such as context-based education or visual methodologies, and in mixed methods for evaluating the tools produced. She has regularly collaborated with national and international institutions (CIBIO-InBIO, UC Science Museum, COI, UFRN). Her work has received national and international recognition, notably the Distinction Award given by the House of Sciences and the "New Ideas Scheme" pass awarded by ECSITE.

Paulo Alexandre Machado Pereira | Graduated in Social Work from the then Higher Institute of Social Work of Coimbra (ISSSC), now Miguel Torga Higher Institute (ISMT). Postgraduate degree in Drug Addiction and Psychosocial Pathologies at the Miguel Torga Higher Institute. As a social worker, he has been working daily with people in situations of high social vulnerability, poverty and social exclusion since 2000. He is the Director of the Porta Amiga Centre in Coimbra of the AMI Foundation (International Medical Assistance), since 2001. He was a Lecturer at the Miguel Torga Higher Institute between 2002 and 2009. He has been involved in Cultural and Social Associations for 30 years. He is a musician, Artistic Director and producer of the Amazing Arts Company of Arts of Coimbra, Founder of the Coimbra Gospel Choir. As a citizen, he is a political activist.

Manuel Simões | Graduated in Artistic Promotion and Cultural Heritage, with a Postgraduate degree in Education, Artistic Practices and Inclusion, from the Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal. Senior Animation Technician in the Youth Division of Setúbal City Council. Trainer at the Institute of Employment and Professional Training of Setúbal, in modules of the Youth Technician and Sociocultural Animation Technician Courses. He lived for ten years in Mexico City, where he developed Arts and Human Rights activities at the Tlatelolco Arts Unit of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He is an activist and member of "boa Criação", a Cultural Cooperative, with community intervention in the Villages of the Municipality of Mértola.