The Nuts and Bolts of Doing Human Rights Work
The Center launched its newest lunchtime lecture series, "The Nuts and Bolts of Doing Human Rights Work," this past September. The events were all designed to provide a glimpse into the real-life experiences and challenges that face human rights practitioners.. Panels featured students, faculty, and guest speakers who shared their insights and stories. The topics of these lectures ranged from founding an NGO to the grant writing process to experiences working in conflict zones.
Check back for additional events in the future.
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War Stories (And More) from the Field
<Click here for podcast>
<Click here to download the poster>
Date: Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Time: 12-1:20 pm
Location:
Rm. 603
This international Week event discussed "the good, the bad, and the ugly" of working abroad in the field of human rights. The panelists shared stories of their experiences working in the field:
- Hadar Harris, Executive Director, Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
- David Hunter, Professor, WCL
- Ann Jordan, Program Director, Human Trafficking and Forced Labor, Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
- Rahim Sabir, Human Rights Watch
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Grant Proposal Writing Skills Session
<Click here to download the poster>
Date: Thursday, September 25, 2008
Time: 12-1:20 pm
Location: Rm. 601
Patricia Pasqual, director of the DC office of the Foundation Center, conducted a skills session providing the ins and outs of grant proposal writing.
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Realizing Your Vision: Founding an NGO
<Click here for webcast>
<Click here to download the poster>
Date: Tuesday, October 21
Time: 12-1:20pm
Location:
Rm. 503
WCL student Erik Swanson discussed the journey he took from working as director of a secondary school in Guatemala to eventually founding Roots and Wings International, an NGO that promotes higher education in impoverished indigenous regions of Guatemala. He described the practical steps he took from first having only a vision to actually establishing an NGO that currently provides 17 university scholarships to indigenous students as well as afterschool tutoring to 250 elementary school students in the surrounding area. To learn more about Roots and Wings, click here.
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"The Cool Human Rights Work I Did on My Summer Vacation"
<Click here for webcast>
<Click here for the handout>
<Click here to download the poster>
Date: October 30, 2008
Time: 12-1:20 pm
Location: Rm. 602
WCL students described their summer experiences and gave advice on working both here in the United States and abroad on human rights issues. Co-sponsored with the Office of Career and Professional Development (OCPD), the Office of Public Interest (OPI), and the Women and International Law Program (WILP). Speakers:
- Shiwali Patel (2L), Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, Washington DC
- Sara Ramey (2L), Reebok Human Rights Fellow, Amnesty International, Paraguay
- Jabeen Reza (2L), Al-Quds University Human Rights Clinic, East Jerusalem
- Alvir Sadhwani (2L) , Centre for Human Rights and Peace Advocacy, Bemenda, Cameroon
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"The Nuts and Bolts of Doing Human Rights Work on the Gulf Coast"
<Click here to download the poster>
Date: November 13, 2008
Time: 12-1:20pm
Location: American University McDowell Formal Lounge
Derrick Evans, founder of Turkey Creek Community Initiatives, and Steve Spires, organizer of the AU Alternative Spring Break trip, discussed how to get involved with helping out on Gulf Coast recovery projects.
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"Effective Activism Beyond the Courtroom"
<Click here to download the poster>
Date: February 6, 2009
Time: 10AM-3PM
Location: Room 601
American University chaplain and civil rights advocate Joe Eldridge and AU adjunct professor Robert Tomasko conducted a morning seminar that focused on strategic thinking, message-shaping, and advocacy. Jeremy Woodrum, director and co-founder of the US Campaign for Burma, presented an afternoon case study focusing on his organization's far reaching efforts to promote human rights, 
accountability, and democracy in Burma.
