Activism for academic freedom: Applied workshop in research advocacy

All over the world, academics face human rights abuses including unjust restrictions, prosecution or imprisonment for pursuing knowledge in their area of expertise and exerting their freedom of speech as public intellectuals. This unit provides you with a real-world opportunity to partner with the international advocacy network Scholars at Risk (SAR) to advance its work on behalf of threatened and imprisoned scholars around the world. Working in teams, you will gain applied experience in creating an advocacy campaign on behalf of a scholar at risk, in consultation with industry mentors. Teams will conduct research on an at-risk individual, and monitor their case and the human rights situation of the country in question; organise advocacy initiatives, including social media campaigns, videos, outreach to news outlets, awareness raising on campus, and conducting government advocacy; and report their findings to SAR to serve as a basis for future advocacy. You will gain workplace-ready skills in human rights research and advocacy, professional writing and collaborative project work.