Isotta Esposito

Following the success of many important activities of our network, the Global Campus of Human Rights published the ninth edition of its seasonal Magazine in English and Italian.   This promotional publication is structured in the following sections: Interviews by the Press Office and Contributions; News and Events of the Global Campus of Human Rights at local and international level. Promotion campaigns to raise awareness of our impact and attract more supporters.   “This year we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 30th anniversary of the 2nd World Conference of Human Rights, which took place in Vienna in June 1993. The two most memorable slogans from Vienna were “All Human Rights for All”, the motto of the NGO Forum underlining the universality, equality, interdependence and indivisibility of all human rights, as well as “Women’s Rights are Human Rights”, one of the most influential demands of NGOs. In retrospective, this might seem surprising, as the equality of women had been strongly rooted from the outset in the legal UN human rights framework, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979 and having entered into force in 1981, had become a milestone in the advancement of women’s rights and the fight against gender-based discrimination. However, while discrimination against women had been gradually eliminated from domestic laws and women had increasingly gained access to all human rights, including the rights to vote, to education, to marry and to justice, the most egregious violations of women’s rights continued to be practiced in the “private” sphere, be it in the family, the work place or in society at large.” Secretary General Manfred Nowak   For more information, contact our Press and Communication Offices:   Elisa Aquino – Isotta Esposito – Giulia Ballarin pressoffice@gchumanrights.org – communications@gchumanrights.org   Read the Magazines in English and Italian on our Open Knowledge Repository http://dx.doi.org/10.25330/2510   #GCHumanRights #GCHumanRightsPress #GCHumanRightsMagazine

Following the success of many important activities of our network, the Global Campus of Human Rights published the eighth edition of its seasonal Magazine in English and Italian.   This promotional publication is structured in the following sections: Interviews by the Press Office and Contributions; News and Events of the Global Campus of Human Rights at local and international level. Promotion campaigns to raise awareness of our impact and attract more supporters.   “ Since its inauguration in 1997, more than 2000 EMA Masterini have graduated in Venice and work as human rights professionals, activists and defenders in governments, inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations, the corporate sector and academia, where they spread the message of human rights as our EMAlumni and EMAmbassadors to all corners of our planet. Jessica Fiorelli, EMA graduate of 2016 and newly elected President of the EMAlumni Association, shares in her interview her belief in the power of the EMA and Global Campus Alumni community to make positive change in our societies. In times of growing economic inequality, climate disaster, disinformation and a brutal war in Europe, such positive visions of young change makers are most encouraging. Next year, we will commemorate 75 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and 30 years of the Vienna World Conference on Human Rights. It is indeed high time for a radical change in our current world order of insecurity and destabilisation. The Global Campus of Human Rights with its seven regional Master programmes as the world’s largest university network of post graduate human rights education is prepared to actively contribute to this urgently needed change towards a new world order based on peace, global justice, democracy, the rule of law, sustainable development and universal human rights, including rights of future generations and rights of nature.” GC Secretary General Manfred Nowak   Read the Magazine in our Open Knowledge Repository   For more information, contact our Press and Fundraising Offices: Elisa Aquino – Isotta Esposito – Giulia Ballarin pressoffice@gchumanrights.org – communications@gchumanrights.org   #GCHumanRights #GCHumanRightsPress #GCHumanRightsMagazine

Following the success of many important activities of our network, the Global Campus of Human Rights published the seventh edition of its seasonal Magazine in English and Italian.   This promotional publication is structured in the following sections: Interviews by the Press Office and Contributions; News and Events of the Global Campus of Human Rights at local and international level; Campaigns to raise awareness of our impact and attract more supporters.   “As a global network of universities dedicated to human rights, we need to step up our joint efforts of promoting and protecting human rights, even in such an increasingly hostile environment. In our core activity, providing post-graduate human rights education, we recently decided to start an 8th regional Master in Human Rights and Sustainablity in the Central Asian region (including Afghanistan and Mongolia), coordinated by the OSCE Academy in Bishkek. During our recent teaching experience at the Summer School on Human Rights and Human Security in Kyrgyzstan, Imke and I were impressed by the professional standards of the OSCE Academy and the high quality of their students.In addition, we are intensifying the social responsibility, advocacy and practical human rights work of our universities, as exemplified by our program, to provide a safe space for Afghan scholars and students at risk and our new project on “reconceptualising exile”, which we are developing in partnership with our donors and friends at Right Rivelihood.” Secretary General Manfred Nowak   Read the Magazines in our Open Knowledge Repository   For more information, contact our Press and Fundraising Offices: Elisa Aquino – Isotta Esposito – Giulia Ballarin pressoffice@gchumanrights.org – fundraising@gchumanrights.org   #GCHumanRights #GCHumanRightsPress #GC HumanRightsMagazine

Following the success of many important activities of our network, the Global Campus of Human Rights published the sixth edition of its seasonal Magazine in English and Italian.   This promotional publication is structured in the following sections: Press Office Interviews with donors and partners, and with speakers of the online Global Campus of Human Rights Conversations as well; Updates on News & Events of the Global Campus of Human Rights at local and international levels; Main Campaigns carried out by the Fundraising Office to raise awareness of our impact, and attract more supporters.   “In my last editorial, I had expressed the hope that «our Afghanistan project is only the beginning of a more ambitious programme to support scholars and students at risk in other countries as well». When I wrote these lines a few months ago, I could not imagine that we would soon be faced with an unprecedented influx of refugees from within Europe. In the few weeks since Russian President Vladimir Putin started an unprovoked military aggression against Ukraine, more than two million Ukrainians, above all women and children, have been forced to flee their country and seek protection in Poland, Romania and other European countries. The Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, which is currently under siege by Russian troops, is a member of the Global Campus and its Caucasus Master programme. Many Ukrainian students and graduates of the Caucasus Master are either caught in the middle of this bloody war or have managed to flee their country. Others have been recruited into the Ukrainian army that is desperately defending their country. Professors and students of our member universities in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and many other European countries are actively supporting and assisting Ukrainian refugees, thereby underlining the social responsibility of universities and the academic community. The Global Campus is ready to provide a safe space for Ukrainian students and scholars and at the same time supports those Russian intellectuals who publicly condemn and stand up against Putin’s war and international crimes.” Secretary General Manfred Nowak   For more information, contact our Press and Fundraising Offices: Elisa Aquino – Isotta Esposito – Giulia Ballarin pressoffice@gchumanrights.org – fundraising@gchumanrights.org   Read the Magazines in English and Italian on our Open Knowledge Repository.   #GCHumanRights #GCHumanRightsPress #GCHumanRightsMagazine

“Supporting the Global Campus of Human Rights has been a very important decision. Your global network and various programmes focusing on human rights have never been more relevant than today.” Josep Borrell Fontelles, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, May 2021   “I very much appreciated the interdisciplinarity of the programme that enabled me to look at concepts, events, and phenomena from different angles and perspectives, engaging in complex thought processes to grasp the essence of humankind. To me, the fast pace of the progress I was making was unfathomable because I could not believe that in a one-year span, a person could grow so much.” Global Campus student, cohort 2020-2021   As members of the Global Campus of Human Rights, our universities recognise their responsibility to provide a safe space for students and scholars, who are persecuted in their own countries for standing up for the values of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Our Annual Report 2021 demonstrates our contribution to empowering current and future human rights defenders through our multiple activities: master’s programmes, vocational training, cross-cultural exchanges, advocacy programmes, and much more. But the year 2021 marks a turning point in our history, driven by dramatic developments on our globe.   On the initiative of the European Parliament, we organised a special training course in July for students from Belarus who were expelled from their universities because they had demonstrated against the election fraud and brutal repression in this European dictatorship.   Our colleagues and students of the Arab Master developed a web series in honour of Lokman Slim, a Lebanese intellectual and anti-Hezbollah activist who had promoted a culture of remembrance and was killed in early February 2021.   The students at the Asia-Pacific Master launched a Facebook campaign to call attention to the arbitrary arrest and disappearance in March 2021 of their fellow student Saw Lin Htet, who had joined a public protest against the military junta in Myanmar while conducting field research.   After the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan in August, we immediately designed an emergency scholarship programme for threatened Afghan defenders to be hosted in a safe environment at our member universities, which is still being carried out thanks to member universities (that are hosting one or more Afghan scholars at their institution), partners and alumni. The European Commission agreed on an emergency support grant and Right Livelihood matched the EU support shortly after.   There is also hopeful news in our Annual Report 2021: young human rights defenders are on the rise. Children and young people are hungry for knowledge and striving to have their voices be heard. Protection of the environment and biodiversity, rights of indigenous communities, antiracism, and protection from big tech are some of the challenges young people are increasingly taking charge of. This year we involved children and young people in some of our core programmes, and, thanks to them, we are increasing and improving the range of initiatives that proactively engage with the younger generation.   The core section of the report is about the outcomes of our regional hubs headquartered in Venice, Sarajevo/Bologna, Pretoria, Bangkok, Yerevan, Buenos Aires and Beirut and their respective master’s programmes. The wealth of initiatives beyond the higher education offer – campaigns, publications, student-led projects, web-series, outreach activities, etc. – testify of the great vitality of our 100+ members and partners across the globe.   Last but not least, the Annual Report 2021 celebrates the connection between human rights and creativity, a connection that is at the core of many of our programmes. Lorent Saleh, Alessandro Ienzi and Raizes Teatro, Oleh Sentsov and Laura María Calderón are some of the featured artists.   These outcomes were possible thanks to the support of the European Union, Right Livelihood, and other donors, as well as the co-funding and unwavering commitment of our partner universities and the dedication shown by our staff at headquarters in Venice and at our regional hubs. We also wish to thank the invited contributors to our Annual Report: Josep Borrell Fontelles, Michele Bugliesi, Jane Da Mosto, José Ramos-Horta, Andrew Jacobs, Yetnebersh Nigussie, David Maria Sassoli, Edward Snowden, Nasrin Sotoudeh and Mary Robinson.   Access the Annual Report: https://gchumanrights.org/about-us/global-campus-of-human-rights/annual-reports.html

The Global Campus of Human Rights published the fourth edition of its seasonal Magazine (English and Italian versions) following the success of the fourth online Global Campus of Human Rights Conversation.   This promotional publication is structured in the following sections: Press Office Interviews with donors, partners and speakers of the online Global Campus of Human Rights Conversations; Updates on News & Events of the Global Campus of Human Rights at local and international level. Fundraising Office main Campaigns to raise awareness of our impact and attract more supporters. Special Contributions   “We are living in a period of severe global crises, but also at a time of transformation. Scientists have been telling us for decades, and politicians slowly seem to start grasping that global warming will make our planet uninhabitable if we are not taking swift and decisive action to address the root causes of our global environmental crisis, including the deliberate destruction of our rainforests, emitting greenhouse gases that contribute to accelerated climate change, a rapid loss of biodiversity etc. The COVID-19 Pandemic has contributed to strengthen our belief and opening even the eyes of most skeptical politicians that we can no longer leave the solution of our global problems simply to market forces, as was the mantra of neoliberal economists and politicians for almost half a century. Most people realize today that we need robust and well-functioning democratic states, regions and cities with accountable politicians willing to take responsibility to protect our human rights to life, health and a sustainable environment as well as the same rights for our children and future generations, if necessary against powerful business interests. Since the voices of human rights defenders and academics are usually not loud enough and often overheard by politicians and business corporations, human rights need to join forces with the arts in order to reach out to a broader public. I do not know any place which would be better suited to combine the arts with human rights as Venice! For 1,600 years, Venice has established itself as one of the most fascinating cities of arts in the world. Wherever you walk in Venice, you see, feel and breath the beauty of arts: in architecture, sculptures, paintings, music and many other forms.” Secretary General Manfred Nowak   For more information, contact our Press and Fundraising Offices: Elisa Aquino – Isotta Esposito – Giulia Ballarin pressoffice@gchumanrights.org – fundraising@gchumanrights.org Read the Magazines in our Open Knowledge Repository   #GCHumanRights #GCHumanRightsPress #GC HumanRightsMagazine #GCHumanRightsPartnerships #GCHumanRightsConversations

The Global Campus of Human Rights published the third edition of its seasonal Magazine (English and Italian versions) following the success of the third online Global Campus of Human Rights Conversation.   This promotional publication is structured in the following sections: Press Office Interviews with donors, partners and speakers of the online Global Campus of Human Rights Conversations; Updates on News & Events of the Global Campus of Human Rights at local and international level. Fundraising Office main Campaigns to raise awareness of our impact and attract more supporters. Special Contributions   “As a city built in the Lagoon, Venice is particularly threatened by the rise in sea level caused by climate change. The Global Campus of Human Rights is fully dedicated to supporting the various movements of children and young people aimed at changing European and global climate policies and mitigating the effects of climate change. At next year’s Festa della Sensa, which is dedicated to the traditional relationship between Venice and the Sea, we may organize a symposium on the effects of climate change on the future of Venice in our Monastery of San Nicolò, with the active participation of children and young people. We are grateful to President Piero Rosa Salva for his interview and his interest in cooperating with the Global Campus on this and other ideas, how our human rights-related activities could be linked to some of the traditional cultural events taking place in this beautiful city with its magnificent 1600-year history. For example, together with the European Parliament, we are planning to organize a high-level annual Venice Conference on the State of Human Rights around the time of the Redentore Festival. We sincerely hope that EU Vice-President and High Representative Josep Borrell Fontelles, who expressed his full support for the Global Campus in his excellent interview, will participate in our Venice Conference. We are equally grateful to Ambassador Umberto Vattani for his very kind interview and his offer to strengthen the cooperation between Venice International University and the Global Campus in relation to our partnership with countries and universities in the North African and Middle Eastern region. Since the Arab Master of Democracy and Human Rights is the youngest of our seven regional Master programmes, we may jointly organize a conference on issues of democracy and human rights in the Mediterranean region. These and similar events aimed at putting students and young people at the centre of developing Venice into a Human Rights City, also through drawing on the necessary lessons learnt from the COVID-19 Pandemic, could also be supported by the Government of Italy and the City of Venice, as the interviews with the Italian Minister for Public Administration, Renato Brunetta, and the Deputy Mayor of Venice Andrea Tomaello underlined. Finally, I wish to thank our EMA student representatives Naomi van den Broeck and Charles-Antoine Leboeuf for their suggestion of using the COVID-19 Pandemic as a window of opportunity aimed at transforming Venice from a city of mass tourism to a more sustainable city welcoming higher numbers of international students rather than hit-and-run tourism. The Global Campus stands ready to assist the City of Venice in implementing such human rights-based reform policies”. Manfred Nowak, Secretary General of the Global Campus of Human Rights   For more information, contact our Press and Fundraising Offices: Elisa Aquino – Alice D’Este – Giulia Ballarin pressoffice@gchumanrights.org – fundraising@gchumanrights.org   Read the Magazine (full English version) at: http://doi.org/20.500.11825/2255   #GCHumanRights #GCHumanRightsPress #GCHumanRightsMagazine #GCHumanRightsPartnerships #GCHumanRightsConversations

Championing Education on Human Rights and Democratisation in Times of Uncertainty   In an unprecedentedly challenging year, both for human rights and for us, the Global Campus embraced — and strengthened — its ties as a global network of almost 100 universities, proving that collaborative efforts can take us further.   Thanks to the resilience of our members based in seven regional hubs – Africa, the Arab World, Asia Pacific, Caucasus, Europe, South America and the Caribbean, and South East Europe – we achieved our main goals for 2019/2020.   Through interdisciplinary insights, creativity and cross-cultural exchanges, we added almost 200 graduates from our seven Master’s programmes to our 4,000-plus worldwide alumni. We also organised dozens of professional training programmes, including free online courses (MOOCs), and hundreds of internships, seminars, workshops and events across the different regions.   The Global Campus inaugural Annual Report features a bit of history; the achievements of our members around the world; how we responded to the pandemic; our focus on the rights of children; our deep connections with the arts; research; and data on our activities. A sneak peek at 2021 gives you a taste of what we are working on.     The people we most wish to celebrate are our students and alumni. They trusted in us, maintaining their commitment and achieving excellent results. They embody the Global Campus vision, which is to foster new generations of human rights defenders able to contribute to a world in which human dignity, equality, freedom, human security, sustainable development, democracy, the rule of law and respect for all human rights are realised.   «The Arab Master’s in Democracy and Human Rights provided me with an incredibly unique set of skills in an increasingly challenging job market. It opened my eyes to the reality of the people we are trying to help, going beyond the traditional theory-driven approach other programmes usually adopt» Global Campus Arab World student «The programme gave me insights into the human rights situation in so many countries… You don’t get this experience anywhere else» Global Campus Asia Pacific student «The skills and experience I gained in the Global Campus internship programme had a major impact on shaping my global perspective and equipped me with the right tools to fight global challenges locally» Global Campus Caucasus student «It has been an invaluable international experience, with exposure to lecturers and other students, cross-curricular approach and regular focus on practical skills all incorporated into academic content.” Thank you so much. Despite all the difficulties it was the best year of my life. I have met so many amazing people, professors and classmates and made many friends. I have changed a lot. I think I have grown personally, morally, spiritually and intellectually»   Global Campus Europe student   We wish to thank the European Union, the Right Livelihood Foundation, and many other donors. None of our efforts would have been possible without them. In addition, we are grateful to the invited contributors to our Annual Report, prominent figures from international agencies, politics, philanthropy, and the arts, all committed to the promotion and protection of human rights: Michelle Bachelet, EamonGilmore, Jutta Urpilainen, Michael O’Flaherty, Ole von Uexküll, Vandana Shiva, Julian Fiferand, Koen Vanmechelen.   «One of my personal priorities is tohave more young people involvedin shaping and implementing EUexternal action. Young people are thechange makers.I would invite the Global Campus to further reach out to young people in countries where civic and political space is closing» Jutta Urpilainen, European Commissioner for International Partnerships   «I am proud that the EU has supported, for more than 20 years, regional Master’s programmes in human rights and democracy, now embedded in the Global Campus of Human Rights, and based on the founding values and principles of the EU: dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, rule of law and respect for human rights» added Eamon Gilmore, European Union Special Representative for Human Rights   «Through its academic programmes and network, the Global Campus of Human Rights contributes to the human rights education global initiative by nurturing young people’s interest and passion for human rights, so that they can be positive agents of change towards a just and peaceful future for all, particularly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic» Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights   «Bringing together cutting-edge academia and grassroots activism is the core of our education work. In our long-term partnership with the Global Campus we’re taking this aspiration to a new level» – Ole von Uexküll, Executive Director of the Right Livelihood Foundation     The Annual Report can be downloaded here: http://doi.org/20.500.11825/1935