Historical Legacies: Human Rights Today Summer Academy
Kraków, Poland
June 17–June 30, 2016
Human Rights Today Summer Academy (HRT) is a two-week credit-granting program in Kraków, Poland that offers students and young professionals an academic framework, practical exposure, and hands-on training in the human rights field. Poland's dynamic history makes it a unique location to study historic and contemporary human rights issues—from the Holocaust to the modern refugee crisis.
HRT uses Polish-Jewish relations as a background case study, allowing participants to examine activism and social change locally through experienced histories, individuals and institutions. The Academy's utilizes a three-phase approach:
THEORY: Develop an academically-oriented historical, sociological and legal framework of inequality and prejudice through lectures, readings, discussions, and in-depth study tours including Oświęcim (Auschwitz-Birkenau); meet local and visiting scholars; cultivate a theoretical framework of human rights in Poland and Eastern Europe.
ENGAGEMENT: Meet NGO leaders from local minority communities; engage in intercultural dialogue and Q&A sessions with activists; visit institutions such as POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw and meet with educational staff; examine historical and contemporary minority issues through the eyes of practitioners; select a topic for the Interest to Action (ITA) project.
ACTION: Conduct guided independent research on ITA topic through interviews, meetings with staff and mentors, and field research; engage in practical workshops on grant writing, fieldwork, networking, and resume-building; present ITA research at Jewish Culture Festival event.
This approach addresses broad concepts in the human rights field by focusing on historical and contemporary Poland, which offers lessons that can be applied globally, providing practical hands-on training, mentorship, global conversation, and an international professional network.
APPLY NOW
DEADLINE: Rolling through May 9
COST: $1,700*
The program fee includes 3 US credits (6 ECTS credits), activities, facilitation, and field trip expenses. Meals, housing, and transportation to/from Poland are not included. *Financial aid may be available.
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