On December 1, 2025, the The World As It Could Be Human Rights Education Program, led by "Hope For Children" CRC Policy Center's Chair Yvonne Vissing and her colleague Sandy Sohcot, was announced the winner of the 2025 Edward O’Brien Award for Organizational Achievement in human rights education. The Edward O'Brien Award is a recognition by Human Rights Educators USA. Yvonne Vissing and Sandy Sohcot accepted the award at the HRE USA's Human Rights Day celebration on December 10.
Established in 2015 in memory of Edward O’Brien, pioneer human rights educator, the O’Brien Human Rights Education Awards annually honor outstanding contributions to human rights education (HRE) in the United States.
Since 2006, The World As It Could Be Human Rights Education Program (TWAICB) has inspired people of all ages to take actions that lead to equality, justice, and dignity for all. These initiatives use the creative arts to deepen learning about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). TWAICB’s unique curriculum culminates in a Rite-of-Passage-like presentation for participants’ school or organization and its extended community that expresses their ideas about the significance of the UDHR and its connection to their lives.
Founded and developed by Sandy Sohcot in San Francisco Bay Area schools, TWAICB is now under the leadership of Yvonne Vissing, founding director of the Center for Childhood & Youth Studies at Salem State University, where she is a Professor of Healthcare Studies. Together they seek to make TWAICB’s resources more available and accessible to a global audience and to emphasize children’s human rights and how communities can support young people’s well-being.
TWAICB’s resources and examples of student presentations are available here.