This unit will explore human rights, the rights of children and youth participation that form the basis of the Victorian approach to youth work practice. Students will gain an understanding of how this is a distinctive approach to youth work in contrast to other current and historical philosophies, methodologies and social policy frameworks. Human rights language has become increasingly dominant throughout global settings including that of youth work. The course aims to expose students to the Christian worldview which spawned human rights and the current language of human rights while looking at how the youth sector broadly and individual youth workers specifically can use it to shape policy and practice. The unit will have a particular focus on child rights while exploring the diverse history and moral grounding of the concept of human rights. Students will be exposed to human rights law, exploring international treaties, and conventions as well as UN reporting mechanisms. A focus on the interaction between international law and domestic law and politics will be explored using the charter of rights and responsibilities as a framework. Various interdisciplinary perspectives and research that underpin human rights will be explored and particular focus on what it means to be participatory in youth work will be examined in some depth. The implications of this strengths-based approach to youth participation will also be explored. Topics: + Introduction + What are Human Rights + Human Rights and Politics + Three waves of human rights + CRoC + Human Rights Critique + Power – I + Power – II + Participation – I + Participation – II + Participation – III + Review