The Global Campus of Human Rights (GC) has launched a new partnership with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to strengthen the integration of climate perspectives across its global work in human rights education, research and advocacy.
The partnership, launched by BMZ representative Annette Windmeißer and Global Campus Secretary General Manfred Nowak during the European Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation (EMA) Graduation Ceremony in Venice on 20 September, marks a new step in the Global Campus’ commitment to addressing the growing links between human rights, climate change and environmental protection.
“I am very happy to announce that our commitment to the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment has recently been strengthened by a partnership with the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, aimed at mainstreaming climate perspectives in all our education, research and advocacy activities”, said Manfred Nowak.
“The Global Campus has built a strong international network around human rights education. Our Ministry brings long-standing experience in development cooperation and close relationships with partners in the Global South. Connecting these fields gives us an opportunity to examine climate justice as a question that must be addressed in practice.
The task before us is demanding. Our approach therefore relies on our ability to cooperate and to learn from experience beyond our own countries. This partnership can contribute by bringing human rights education into closer contact with the realities of climate policy. If we succeed in doing that, we will have created something of lasting value”, declared Annette Windmeißer.
The three-year cooperation will support the Global Campus and its eight regional programmes in developing a stronger and more systematic human rights-based approach to climate action. The initiative builds on the Global Campus’ international university network of more than 100 institutions and its global community of students, researchers and alumni. The Global Campus currently brings together universities and researchers across more than 70 countries and has a global alumni network of more than 4,500 human rights experts.
From classrooms to global climate governance
A central component of the partnership will be mainstreaming climate perspectives across the Global Campus Master’s programmes, equipping a new generation of human rights professionals with the knowledge and practical skills to address climate-related challenges.
The programme will support the development of new teaching and learning resources, innovative and practice-oriented educational formats, scholarships and internships, as well as accessible online learning opportunities, including MOOCs on climate governance and climate-induced migration. Climate perspectives will also relate to cross-cutting issues including the rights of women, children, Indigenous peoples and marginalised groups.
Research will form a second major pillar of cooperation. Two cross-regional research projects will examine global climate governance from a human rights perspective and the drivers and responses to climate-induced migration towards Europe through the Mediterranean region. The research will focus on legal obligations, policy responses, and the experiences and rights of vulnerable groups, with findings translated into accessible and policy-oriented outputs.
Putting young people at the centre of climate action
The partnership will also strengthen the role of students and alumni as young ambassadors for climate action. A cross-regional learning and research lab, alumni projects and support for youth-led climate initiatives will create new opportunities for young people to connect research, education and action in their own communities.
A further strand of the programme will focus on capacity development in Moldova, building on the Global Campus’ existing cooperation with the State University of Moldova and its Human Rights Education Lab, which brings together human rights education, sustainable development and green transition.
The new cooperation reflects the Global Campus’ broader commitment to linking human rights education with some of the defining challenges facing current and future generations.
Global Campus of Human Rights and BMZ Partnership: Interview with Manfred Nowak and Annette Windmeißer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQr8gIryuAg