The Hidden Heart of Human Rights
The global community has created many historic human rights instruments, passed vital laws, and shaped countless, carefully thought-out policies. But how many of these end up being understood and applied at the local level? Human rights knowledge and ownership can be the foundation for an unprecedented grassroots movement for development and the promotion of peace and well-being in West and East Africa.
Molly Melching, founder of the nonprofit Tostan, will discuss the critical need to complement top-down, abstract policies and laws with large-scale investment in local understanding, deliberation, and ownership of human rights and responsibilities and the deeper values from which they emerge.
Molly Melching is the founder of Tostan, an NGO established in 1991 and headquartered in Dakar, Senegal. Tostan works to empower rural and remote African communities to bring about positive social transformation and sustainable development through a holistic empowering education program.
Having lived and worked in Senegal since 1974, Molly’s early experiences in rural Senegal reinforced her beliefs that many development efforts were not addressing the deeper priorities of African communities. In collaboration with Senegalese villagers, she developed an African-inspired education program that actively involves both adults and youth in promoting positive African values and using traditional ways of learning.
Tostan’s innovative grassroots human rights-based education model has provided the information and skills that have inspired communities to make significant progress in the areas of health, education, governance, the environment and economic growth. To date, more than 10,500 communities in 8 African countries have participated in public declarations to abandon harmful traditional practices.
Molly and Tostan have received numerous awards, including the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize, UNESCO’s King Sejong Literacy Prize, the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship and the Thomas J. Dodd Award for Justice and Human Rights. Molly is also the subject of New York Times best-seller However Long the Night, by Aimee Molloy.