Bard College Berlin secures new grant to advance digital human rights investigations

Bard College Berlin (BCB) has received a new grant from the German Postcode Lottery to expand the Digital Verification Corps (DVC) in Germany for the 2025–26 academic year. The funding will help grow a network of student investigators using open-source tools to document human rights violations — with an exciting new focus on collaboration with technical universities.

Through hands-on training, expert mentorship, and real-world research, DVC students learn to investigate and verify evidence of human rights abuses using open-source and digital verification methods. Over the past year, BCB’s DVC team has contributed to projects with Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the Iran Archive Coalition, supporting investigations into drone attacks in Ukraine, unlawful attacks in Gaza, and protests in Iran.

Since 2024, Bard College Berlin has placed a strong emphasis on open-source human rights investigation — combining courses, workshops, and projects to link classroom learning with active fieldwork. This initiative equips students and practitioners with both foundational and tech-driven skills for human rights reporting, while building partnerships with NGOs, media, and international organizations.

The DVC is part of Amnesty International’s global network of eight partner universities, including UC Berkeley, the University of Cambridge, the University of Essex, Ibero University, the Hertie School, and the Geneva Academy for International Humanitarian Law.

With this new grant, Bard College Berlin will expand the program to include two technical universities in Germany, bringing in new expertise in computer programming, data science, and AI — and strengthening the role of technology in human rights research.

Post Date: 10-20-2025