Human Rights and Global Justice

Human rights are under attack across the globe. Together with our partner organizations, Bard College Berlin is committed to defend human rights. Students learn the skills and methods to analyze problems in a multidisciplinary and intersectional way. Together they develop strategies to organize and drive change for global justice - in everyday attitudes and actions as well as in national policies and international law.

Students in a panel discussion during Real Talk

Real Talk

Real Talk is a series that renders visible the political discourse of the young, resistance-oriented, democratic and activist diasporas in Berlin and provides space for its debates. Panel discussions, lectures, short films and performances, make evident the transnational realities and struggles between ‘here’ and ‘there’; ‘then’ and ‘now’, realities which Nationalism seeks to deny and erase, and which reveal themselves in the diasporas. It is a platform to explore the young, uprooted generation's own thoughts and reactions to these realities, aiming to create a space where Syrian, Afghan, Yemen, Iraqi and other students and experts in various discursive and artistic disciplines can discuss with their communities and perform their work.

Spreading Evidence-Based Knowledge

"The foundation of civic engagement is raising awareness by spreading evidence-based knowledge about the unspoken and silenced, by engaging with the community not only to discuss the issue at hand but to explore and determine a tangible solution."
-- AISHA , Ethics and Politics 2025

Atudents at the launch of the VASA-OSUN platform

Afghan Student Voices

Voices of Afghan Students Across the Open Society University Network (VASA-OSUN) is a civic engagement project led by OSUN TSI scholar Aziza Sarmast and a group of young Afghan student leaders at BCB that report on the work that Afghan students are doing across the OSUN network. A platform for sharing experiences and strengthening connections across the network, the project holds information on conferences, initiatives and workshops on Afghan politics, education and youth participation.

Network Courses

How do you advocate for human rights?

Course Spotlight: Human Rights Advocacy/Scholars at Risk

Academic freedom is usually considered a basic human right, yet scholars around the world are routinely threatened, jailed, or punished. In this OSUN network course, students collaborate with peers in Bard Annandale and the American University of Central Asia as well as refugee and host community leaders to develop projects and campaigns aimed at releasing scholars from detention or securing refuge for them.

Syllabus

OSUN Certificate in Human Rights

Bard College Berlin offers an OSUN Certificate in Human Rights that provides a structured path for students interested in deepening their knowledge and understanding of human rights in theory and practice. Students participating in the program will pursue a series of courses that enable them to develop new connections between the history and theory of human rights and the practical deployment of the human rights framework; and develop firsthand experience with that framework through co-curricular activities outside of the classroom.

Contact: Prof. Dr. Kerry Bystrom

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Institutional Engagement

At a Scholars at Risk Conference (c) SAR/Humboldt Foundation/David Aussenhofer

Threatened Scholars

The Threatened Scholars Integration Initiative at Bard College Berlin aims for the proactive integration of scholars forced to seek alternative teaching, research, or advanced study positions at OSUN institutions outside their home countries due to threat from authoritarian regimes, persecution for their views and identities, or other risks. The Initiative also provides affiliation and support for those who cannot relocate.

Digital Verification Corps

Working with Amnesty International’s Digital Verification Corps, Bard College Berlin is one of eight universities in the world where students take part in the hands-on work of using open-source digital evidence for human rights accountability. Meeting regularly during the academic year, students get trained in open source techniques and contribute to projects by NGOs, media, international organizations and others. In Academic Year 2024-25 this work happens alongside a set of connected events and courses in open source investigations.

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Quick Links

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Contact

Contact the Office of Civic Engagement
Phone: +49 (0)30 43733 -121 / -141
Email: [email protected]

Get involved in Civic Engagement

Inquire about BCB