About the Project
How to best serve justice when crimes are committed by those in power and national justice systems do not deliver? For four days, young people from across the world come together in The Netherlands, to find out during the workshop “Seeking Justice: From Nuremberg to the Hague”.
The programme includes active methods such as research, discussion, group work, presentations, debates, simulations, onsite learning, and interactions with experts and eyewitnesses or victims. It culminates with a visit to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and attendance at a current international criminal trial.
The participants are challenged to identify examples of past injustices and critically assess how these were dealt or not dealt with. They will learn about various aspects of international justice, especially related to genocide and crimes against humanity, and the formal institutes that were established directly after the Second World War as well as into the 21st century.
During a Model United Nations (MUN) style simulation of the UN Security Council the participants will debate if the actions of an actual accused individual merit referral to the ICC. In this activity participants use all the theory they have learned from the preceding days in an authentic and vital setting. Through their research on this current case they are also preparing for the next day’s visit to the court.
Therefore before witnessing a real trial, the participants will have maximised their understanding of what will take place in the courtroom through activities and research on the case and an ICC-led session on how the court functions. The debriefing session which follows is designed to encourage students to revisit the assumptions and understandings with which they had started the workshop.
Our hope is that the entire workshop experience will provide the students with a better grasp on these complex issues and a more nuanced understanding of what justice and injustice are.
Project Partners
This project is facilitated and coordinated by Barry van Driel and Carolyn McNanie.
Barry van Driel is President of the International Association of Intercultural Education (IAIE) and the Senior Editor in Chief of Intercultural Education. He has extensive experience as a consultant in the field of intercultural and inclusive education and has been involved in various working groups in Europe on education policies, as well as in international projects on curriculum development and teacher training.
Carolyn McNanie is an International Baccalaureate Examiner in History and most recently was an IB History teacher at the Rotterdam International Secondary School. She is experienced in Model United Nations school projects and running conferences.
So far, we have also worked with the following partners:
- International School of Stuttgart
- International School of Prague
- European School the Hague
- American International School Cyprus