ISHR students, faculty, and deputy director attended the Human Rights Education Forum: Unleashing Human Rights, held in Budapest from December 8-11th. Co-organized by the Council of Europe and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, with support from global partners including the Institute for the Study of Human Rights, the Forum brought together youth voices and perspectives from around the world with the aim of setting an ambitious agenda for human rights education (HRE) in a moment when the human rights project faces profound challenges worldwide.
Ariella Kissin (HRSMA ‘26), Bokyung Jeon (GS ‘25), Ava Kreutziger (CC ‘28), ISHR Deputy Director, Gergana Halpern, and Director of Undergraduate Studies, Dr. Glenn Mitoma joined over 200 youth activists, educators, and government and civil society representatives, to share experiences, exchange ideas, and discuss strategies and lessons-learned about the challenges and opportunities for HRE in the current moment. Presentations by participants from Ukraine, Myanmar, South Africa, and the host country Hungary, among others, made clear the stark challenges for human rights educators and defenders, but also provided models of courage, resilience, and creativity in the face of a narrowing civic space.
ISHR participants engaged in all aspects of the conference - from facilitating intensive working groups and serving as rapporteurs over the three-day convening, to contributing perspectives at expert panels. As the only participants from North America, the ISHR group provided insights from their work at Columbia and beyond, and created new connections and relationships with colleagues from around the world.
“A defining feature of the conference was its emphasis on mutual learning. I spent as much time leading working groups as I did learning from journalists and human rights defenders from authoritarian regimes, which fostered a genuinely collaborative space for knowledge exchange and production.” - Ariella Kissin, HRSMA ‘25
During the final day, Kissin, Jeon, and Kreutziger led a highly popular workshop, titled Human Rights Education in the Age of Authoritarianism: Columbia University Students’ Perspectives. Through presentations and facilitated conversations, ISHR students explored the critical role of human rights education as a tool to respond to the global rise of authoritarianism, discussing case studies that drew on their experience in the United States and internationally, and exploring issues as wide ranging as attacks on academic freedom, education and training in the carceral space, and the role of media and the arts as a means to resist oppression.
“Witnessing the tangible present and future of human rights education through the passion, clarity, and solidarity of young activists was incredibly moving and inspiring. Participating in the Forum as part of the Columbia University delegation was a true honor, and it was especially meaningful to engage across age, discipline, and socio-cultural spectrums. As a Buddhist monk who works at the intersection of religion and human rights, this experience opened a broader horizon for imagining how spiritual spaces can contribute to ethical dialogue, education, and collective responsibility.” - Bokyung Jeon, GS ‘25
At the conclusion of the event, Dr. Felisa Tibbits - the Forum’s official Rapporteur, who also serves as an ISHR instructor - shared remarks and key highlights from the convening. Participants adopted a
Forum message, affirming human rights education as a fundamental right, that is emancipatory, transformative, and essential for the realization of all other rights; urging educators to continue centering inclusive HRE practices that are critical, localized, and rooted in the learners’ lived-experiences; and calling on institutions to remove systemic and structural barriers at the local, national, and international level to ensure HRE is accessible in all educational settings and stages of learning. Returning from the Forum, ISHR’s students, faculty, and staff participants are working to apply these and other lessons in their work at Columbia and in their communities.
“I was deeply moved by the diverse stories and lived experiences of the young people at the Forum, and truly inspired by their shared commitment to human rights. It was a privilege to share knowledge and learn from them, to think collectively about human rights education as a vehicle to resist oppression, and to build community and solidarity with each other. More than anything, I was energized to see young people take charge and step fully into their role as drivers of change.” - Gergana Halpern, ISHR Deputy Director
