EarthRights International: EarthRights School (ERS) 2025 Community Leadership and Advocacy Training
May – November 2025
The EarthRights School (ERS) is a unique training program in the Mekong Region for community-based advocates from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam who are working on environmental and human rights issues. The goal of ERS is to train grassroots and community leaders about the impacts of large-scale development projects on communities and the environment and how they can advocate for more equitable development in their communities. Students shall ideally come from or work with communities directly impacted by harmful development projects or working on these issues. ERS enables participants to return to their communities with the knowledge and skills to help empower communities to play a more significant part in local decision-making and the protection of their environment.
Target group and eligibility
- Individual working for an organization associated with EarthRights alumni and community partners or individuals with proven community work experience in environmental and human rights advocacies.
- Community leaders, organizers, trainers, advocates, campaigners, researchers, and junior lawyers with a minimum of 2-3 years of field experience who wish to develop further their skills.
- Individual working with a community affected by harmful development projects or those employed by an organization that collaborates with local communities on human rights and environmental rights issues.
- Individual must demonstrate a commitment to returning to their organization or community or to a similar initiative with the intention of supporting local communities after completing the program.
- Participant’s organization must agree to support their participation before, during, and after ERS and help plan to integrate the acquired learnings into the organization’s future activities.
- Participant will be away from work for 7 ½ months and must participate in in-person classes and assigned fieldwork.
- Able to communicate the fundamentals of human rights and environmental justice in English, as well as topics related to a participant’s work, and be willing to make an effort to improve their English language skills as needed.
- Participant has a desire to work with other activists and respect diversity and other people’s knowledge, background, and experience.
**ERS encourages applications from women, members of indigenous groups, and those living and working in rural communities. We uphold a policy of non-discrimination based on race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, political belief, age, gender, physical ability, or sexual orientation.**
KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
By participating in this training program, you will gain:
Understanding of environmental and human rights issues: You will develop a deep understanding of the environmental and human rights challenges faced in the Mekong Region and globally.
Advocacy skills: You will be equipped with skills to raise awareness for protecting human rights and the environment.
Community organizing and resource mobilization skills: You will learn to co-develop with communities to identify environmental issues, organize collective actions, and resource mapping and mobilization.
Stakeholder analysis: You will gain the ability to identify and analyze the roles of various stakeholders involved in earth rights abuses, as well as the financial systems and power structures that support them.
Strategic planning: You will create a clear and actionable plan to address the challenges your community faces, adapting and enhancing existing initiatives.
Research skills: You will enhance your ability to conduct evidence-based research and explore local, regional, and global contexts related to environmental and human rights issues, enabling you to identify root causes and stakeholders involved in these challenges.
Legal knowledge: You will acquire a basic understanding of your legal rights and know how to use them to protect yourself and the community from any human rights threats.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion: You will learn to respect the differences and appreciate the similarities of others in terms of values, culture, backgrounds, and experiences.
•Security practices: You will learn to integrate risk assessment and management strategies and prioritize the security of yourself and the communities you work with.
•Self-care and community well-being: You will gain insight into the connection between mental, emotional, social, legal, and physical health essential for your well-being and others.
•Networking and collaboration on the regional level: You will create a strong connection with other earth rights defenders in ERS and in the larger network.
Dec. 6, 2024 – Application deadline
