Glasgow Human Rights Network Bulletin 20 October 2011

Please send any items for the next e-bulletin to ghrnadmin@glasgow.ac.uk by Tuesday 1 November

1. Events

We are in the process of finalising the GHRN Seminar Series for 2011/12.  More information, including times and venues will be posted on our events website in due course. In the meantime, please note the following in your diaries!

  • 3 Nov:  Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought Panel Discussion (details below)
  • 24 Nov:  Jennifer Welsh (Co-director, ELAC and Professor of International Relations, University of Oxford)
  • 29 Nov: Helena Kennedy (barrister and an expert in human rights law, civil liberties and constitutional issues)
  • 1 Mar 2012:  Hugo Slim (Visiting Fellow, ELAC, University of Oxford)

Document 9 - International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival: 2011 A Year of Protest

  • Launch Event: Thursday 20 October, 7pm onwards, CCA - with live music from Andrea Marini & opening film: Soy Libre – I am free
  • Student Forum: Friday 21 October, 10am – 2pm, CCA.  Download: 111021 Doc 9 Student Forum
  • Creative Advocacy: From Issues to Screen: Friday 21 October, 10.00am-12.00pm, Glasgow Media Access Centre
    This collaborative event will facilitate connections between established and emerging film-making talent and charities and NGOs in Scotland who wish to creatively communicate Human Rights issues to the general public.

For full details please download: Document 9 Brochure  or visit the website: http://documentfilmfestival.org/

BEMIS Conference: Human Rights Education And Active Citizenship in Scotland
27 October 2011, Glasgow City Chambers

A few key aims of this event:

  • Broaden Scotland’s horizons in terms of Human Rights and global citizenship 
  • Promote the importance of Human Rights Education and Active Citizenship in making a more equal, more dignified more tolerant and just society
  • Initiate a sensitization campaign and raise awareness at all levels and in all settings about HRE and DAC

For more information, please conference programme: http://www.bemis.org.uk/docs/HRE%20Conference%20Programme.pdf

GCID and CR&DALL Public Lecture: “Leprosy – challenges for public health policy and social justice”
5.30pm Tuesday 1 November 2011, Wolfson Medical School Building, Seminar room 1 (Yudowitz),  University of Glasgow (C8 on Campus Map) 

Speaker:  W Cairns S Smith, OBE (Emeritus Professor of Public Health, University of Aberdeen)
Professor Cairns will talk on the broad subject of social justice in relation to leprosy and his work, in that context, with the World Health Organisation.
Further details to follow.  Event organised in collaboration between Glasgow Centre for International Development (GCID) and Centre for Research and Development in Adult and Lifelong Learning (CR&DALL)

The event will conclude with a reception in the Atrium.  Free and open to the public.
For catering purposes please email Lauren Roberts at gcidadmin@glasgow.ac.uk or call 0141 330 1989 if you plan to attend.

GHRN & European Parliament Office in Scotland: Sakharov Prize 2011 Panel Discussion
Thursday 3 November 2011, 17.30 – 19.30, University of Glasgow, Wolfson Medical School Building, Seminar Room 2 (Hugh Fraser)

The European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is awarded annually to honour exceptional individuals who combat intolerance, fanaticism and oppression.  Like Andrei Sakharov himself, all the winners of the prize have shown how much courage it takes to defend human rights and freedom of expression.  The European Parliament Office in Scotland and the Glasgow Human Rights Network host this event at which students will mirror the process by which MEPs choose the winner of the Sakharov Prize.  Students will present and argue the case for each nominee to receive the prize.  Presentations will be followed by a discussion and vote among those present to determine the shortlist.  After a further discussion, a vote will be taken to choose a winner - and we will see if the choice in Glasgow is the same as the choice made in Brussels!
All are welcome – event is free of charge.  To register please email GHRNadmin@glasgow.ac.uk 
Download: 111103 Sakharov Panel Discussion Flyer

Re-forging Rwanda’s Identity: The Case of the Rwandan Government’s Ingando Camps
Mon 7 Nov 2011, 17.30 – 19.00, University of Glasgow, Lecture Room (209), 2 University Gardens
D15 on campus map: http://www.gla.ac.uk/media/media_1887_en.pdf

Joint Seminar of the Glasgow Human Rights Network (GHRN) and Glasgow University Global Security Roundtable
Speaker: James Kearney (United Nations Association for the UK)

James Kearney is UNA-UK’s Peace and Security Programme Coordinator.  James has a breadth of experience in the peace and security area, having worked for the Africa Educational Trust in London, Nairobi and Rumbek, southern Sudan; for John Grogan MP as a parliamentary researcher; and in the Office of the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict for nearly two years.  During his time at the UN he wrote the first report on the feasibility of forming a ‘watchlist for children and armed conflict’, which has now been established. 
This is an open event and all are welcome – the event is free of charge.
This seminar is sponsored by the University of Glasgow Global Security Roundtable (GSR) and the Glasgow Human Rights Network.  Please direct any questions to eamonn.butler@glasgow.ac.uk or GHRNadmin@glasgow.ac.uk 

Being-In-Human: The Critical Theory and Law of Human Rights
17 - 19 November 2011, Room B01 Clore Management Centre and Room B04 Birkbeck Main Building
A three-day Conference hosted by Birkbeck School of Law, and sponsored by The Leverhulme Trust, Birkbeck Law School and LSE Law Department, and the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities (BIH). Download: 111117 Being In-Human progFor full details visit: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/bih/news/hrconference

The London International Human Rights Congress 2011: "Immigration & Integration in an Age of Austerity: Challenges and Opportunities"
London, November 22nd - 25th, 2011
The London International Human Rights Congress is an international Conference held annually by the ICD and other leading organizations in a different global capital city. The aim of the conference this year is to reflect on the operation and application of Human Rights with particular focus on Immigration and Integration. The program will consist of lectures, seminars, debates and panel discussions that will feature leading figures from international politics & diplomacy, academia, civil society, and the private sector.  The conference is open to applications from diplomatic and political representatives, civil society practitioners, young professionals, students and scholars, private sector figures, journalists, and other interested stakeholders in international relations from across the world.
To apply please visit: http://www.culturaldiplomacy.org/gphr/index.php?en_bihrc-2011_application-form

3rd Annual International Symposium on Preventing Human Trafficking: Integrating the European Knowledge
Thursday 24 November 2011, The Silken Berlaymont Hotel, Brussels
The problem of human trafficking is an increasingly disturbing phenomenon in Europe with terrible consequences for victims, the majority of which are forced into prostitution, street crime, domestic servitude or other forms of labour exploitation. With a new directive on trafficking in human beings adopted by the European Council in March this year, the 3rd Annual International Symposium on Preventing Human Trafficking offers a timely opportunity for local, regional and national authorities to gather comparative knowledge, discuss the latest challenges and share examples of cross-border best practices.
For further details, please see the event website: http://publicpolicyexchange.co.uk/events/BK24-PPE2.php

Workshop: Interrogation in war and conflict: between liberty, security and justice
Tuesday, 29 November 2011, at the University of Reading
Professor Hilary Footitt and Dr Simona Tobia.
For full details please visit http://www.reading.ac.uk/spirs/Leverhulme/spirs-leverhulmeevents1.aspx 
If you wish to register, please send your name, institution and contact details to: s.tobia@reading.ac.uk

The British Institute of Human Rights: National Human Rights Tour 
‘Making Human Rights Happen’ 16 Rights | 16 Cities | 16 Weeks 
"The Scottish Human Rights Commission is delighted to be co-hosting the ‘Making Human Rights Happen’ Tour events in Scotland. The first of these events on 30th November will be taking place in Glasgow, with the second event on 1st December planned for Dundee. Raising awareness of human rights underpins all of the Commission’s work. The workshops will help participants understand the practical implications of human rights in policy and practice, and help to build the capacity of civil society groups in Scotland." Chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission, Professor Alan Miller

During the events, we will celebrate the Human Rights Act, look at how human rights relate to the Coalition's plans, and address human rights issues both throughout the UK and specific to each region that we visit. 

For further details, and to book onto an event, please visit: http://www.bihr.org.uk/events/bihr-national-human-rights-tour-information-page


2. Opportunities & Funding

ESRC: Follow on Funding Scheme
This scheme offers awards of up to £100,000 (at 80 per cent fEC) for a maximum of 12 months. Provides the opportunity to apply for knowledge exchange and impact generating activities that follow on from a specific piece of research. The scheme is designed to be flexible, applications for either a single activity or a combination of activities are welcomed, and applicants are encouraged to think creatively about the format of the knowledge exchange. Follow on funding should be thought of as an extension and complement to the 'Pathways to Impact' section of a research grant and should involve research users from the earliest stages of proposal development.
Deadline: 27 October 2011

ESRC: Knowledge Exchange Opportunities scheme
 Applicants can apply for any amount between £2,000 - £100,000 (non fEC-full economic cost) per application for knowledge exchange and impact generating activities.  The scheme provides the opportunity to apply for funding for knowledge exchange activities at any stage of the research lifecycle, and is aimed at maximising the impact of social science research outside academia. The flexibility built into the scheme is intended to encourage applicants to think creatively about knowledge exchange, and applications are welcomed for either a single activity or a combination of activities; be it setting up a network to help inform the development of a research proposal, arranging an academic placement with a voluntary or business organisation, or developing tools such as podcasts and videos aimed at communicating the results of research to non-academic audiences. Some examples of knowledge exchange activities can be found on the website.
Deadline: 27 October 2011


3. Call for papers

Protecting Human Rights: Duties and Responsibilities of States and Non-State Actors
University of Glasgow 18-19 June 2012
The conference format will be a mixture of small panels (no more than 3 papers) with plenary keynote sessions.  We hope that small panels will facilitate discussion and interchange among the participants, and the overall conference format will contribute to an intimate and relaxed two days.  Confirmed keynote speakers to date include:

  • Edward Luck, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on the Responsibility to Protect
  • David Mepham, UK Director, Human Rights Watch
  • Alan Miller, Chair, Scottish Human Rights Commission
  • Henry Shue, Professor of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford

Submission information: Full details can be found on the ISA website - please note you will need to create a MyISA account if you do not already have one. 

For questions about paper submissions and other aspects of the program please contact the Program Chair, Clair Apodaca, at HR@isanet.org 
For all other queries related to the conference, please contact the Conference Chair, Kurt Mills, at ResponsibilityConference@glasgow.ac.uk

Deadline for submission of papers: 1 November.
Notification of acceptance will be sent by e-mail by 1 December. 
Registration, accommodation and facilities: Please see the Conference section of the GHRN website 

Human Rights and the Humanities, Beirut, May 9-11 2012
The International Conference on Human Rights and the Humanities will be hosted by American University of Beirut May 9-11, 2012.
While at its core this conference engages with systemic issues and the globalization of human rights, particular interest will be paid to the ME/NA region in the midst of the ongoing Arab Spring.  Beirut’s location as a crossroads of cultures (Phoenician, Roman, Ottoman, French, and Arab to name a few) coupled with its modern cosmopolitan flair provides a unique setting for such a vital conversation.

Some possible topics include:

  • W(r)i(gh)ting Rights
  • Who is the human in human rights?
  • What role does narrative play in constructing a subject of rights
  • The universal / particular dichotomy
  • Pedagogical approaches for human rights in the humanities classroom
  • What are the origins of rights and what does that suggest about human rights today?
  • The globalization of human rights
  • Comparative approaches to human rights
  • The role of critique in human rights discourse
  • The ethics of reading and representing trauma / atrocities
  • Aesthetics and human rights
  • Alternative approaches to a Eurocentric rights model
  • Film and human rights
  • Indigenous rights and the nation-state
  • Commodification of human rights
  • Humanitarianism vs. human rights

Abstracts (maximum 300 words) or session proposals (maximum 500 words) and brief CV are to be submitted by 15 Nov 2011. Notifications will be sent by 15 December 2011. On your abstracts and session proposals please include your name, institution, city, state and / or country, email address and phone number. E-mail your abstracts/session proposals as a Word file. Please note that each presentation is limited to 25 minutes (including questions).

For information on where to send abstracts etc, please contact the conference chair: Dr. Alexander Hartwiger at humanrightsandthehumanities@gmail.com