The Venice School for Human Rights Defenders, organised by the Global Campus Training and Project Department on 14 June 2026, opened with a roundtable discussion on the project Despojo y Memoria de la Tierra (Dispossession and Memory of the Land), an investigation developed by the international research agency Forensic Architecture and the Colombian Truth Commission that documented land dispossession and human rights violations in the context of armed repression, massacres and terror carried out by paramilitary forces in the Urabá region, Colombia.
The opening roundtable featured Folco Zaffalon, representing the Colombian Truth Commission, and Hannah Meszaros Martín and Oscar Pedraza representing Forensic Architecture.
The guests provided an overview of Forensic Architecture’s innovative research and archival practices, carried out using spatial analysis, data mining, and 3D reconstruction. In addition, they gave direct testimony of their collaboration with peasant communities, human rights organisations and activists, magistrates, and an interdisciplinary group of historians, scientists, geographers, lawyers, journalists, students, designers, artists and architects. By sharing their firsthand experience and deep involvement in the project, the guests demonstrated how technology and research can become powerful tools for uncovering truth, preserving memory, and advancing recognition and reconciliation for victims.
In recognition of its pioneering investigative methodologies, Forensic Architecture was awarded the 2024 Right Livelihood Award. The involvement of the roundtable guests in the Venice School has been possible thanks to the coordination with Right Livelihood, which supports its laureates in spreading their work in relevant contexts and to engaged audiences.
The Venice School offered a particularly meaningful setting for this exchange. The programme brings together 27 participants from 21 nationalities, including 14 Sakharov Fellows selected by the European Parliament through the Sakharov Fellowship Programme. All participants are young human rights defenders actively engaged in fieldwork, advocacy, and research-based approaches to rights protection, making exposure to pioneering methodologies and firsthand testimonies all the more impactful.
Throughout the week, participants will engage with leading experts on key challenges facing human rights defenders today, including international and regional human rights mechanisms with Manfred Nowak, media advocacy and disinformation resilience with Wiebke Lamer, human rights documentation and evidence collection with Dalila Mujagic, digital and physical security with Gisela Pérez de Acha, and innovative participatory methodologies with Marine Constant and Zala Čas.
A major highlight of the programme will take place on 17 June, a day dedicated to human rights narratives, innovative communication approaches, and the role of the arts in fostering participation and social change. George Ulrich will explore how human rights narratives can engage contemporary audiences and strengthen support in increasingly polarised societies, followed by a workshop led by Thomas Coombes on hope-based communication. His approach moves beyond crisis-driven messaging to emphasise agency, solidarity, participation, and positive change, offering practical tools to help organisations engage broader audiences and sustain support for human rights and social justice.
The day will conclude with Unchilded, an immersive theatre performance by Raizes Theatre, inviting participants to reflect on dignity, identity, vulnerability, and resilience through artistic expression and collective experience. The performance represents a significant moment within the programme, highlighting the role of the arts as a powerful tool for awareness-raising, participation, and reflection on human rights. Through the language of theatre, audiences are invited into an immersive experience that fosters empathy, dialogue, and deeper understanding.
The Venice School for Human Rights Defenders provides a unique international platform for strengthening the skills, networks, and resilience of those working to defend human rights worldwide. In a moment when those rights face mounting pressures across every region, it is precisely the combination of rigorous methodology, lived testimony, and the courage to imagine a different future that makes the work of its defenders so essential.
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