Human Rights Week 2021

Would you like to take part in the celebration of Human Rights Week?

Every year we mark the importance of human rights with our Human Rights Week, which coincides with international human rights day on December 10th. This year's programme is organised around the theme of combatting hate through human rights.  

Human Rights Week 2021 takes place from 10 - 16 December and the Human Rights Centre along with the University of Essex Human Rights Society have some amazing events for you to participate in. 

Human Rights Week Schedule 

Friday 10 December 8am-9am GMT

Chalking of the Steps

We are starting off the week with the annual chalking of the steps between Squares 3 and 4, with the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in as many different languages as possible. Staff and Students from both the Human Rights Centre and along with students from the Human Rights Society will be taking part.

Register your attendance here.

Friday 10 December 5pm GMT

Firstsite screening of ‘Rebel Dykes'

Runtime 1hr. 22mins

This is a collaborative event between the HRC and Firstsite as part of our joint efforts to promote a better understanding of human rights amongst the local community.

‘Rebel Dykes’ is a film that follows a tight-knit group of friends who met at Greenham Common peace camp and went on to become artists, performers, musicians and activists in London. A heady mash-up of animation, archive footage and interviews tells the story of a radical scene: squatters, BDSM nightclubs, anti-Thatcher rallies, protests demanding action around AIDS and the fierce ties of chosen family. This is an extraordinarily privileged glimpse into a bygone world by those who not only lived out their politics with heartfelt conviction but lived to tell the tale.

Life with Art: Benton End and the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing Exhibition

First Site following film screening 

Following the screening please join us for the opening celebration of Firstsite’s new exhibition ‘Life with Art: Benton End and the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing’. This exhibition showcases the inspiring role Benton House and its founders Cedric Morris and Arthur Lett-Haines played in influencing the artists who lived and worked there, celebrating the beauty of the East Anglian scenery and the importance of creative spaces.

Wednesday 15 December 3pm-4pm GMT

Zoom Webinar:
From Prosecution to Re-direction: modalities to address hate speech on social media

This Webinar will examine the international legal framework relevant to hate speech as well as the role social media plays in stoking and fomenting various forms of hate and xenophobia. Drawing on his experience as a former international prosecutor, Dr. Matthew Gillett will assess the state of international law applicable to hate speech and the legal avenues for redress against hateful speech on social media platforms. As an experienced practitioner at Moonshot who has delivered different strategies to disrupt those authoring hate speech on social media and safeguard at-risk individuals, Charlotte Kathe will describe the methods being employed by Moonshot online. This includes approaches such as Moonshot's Redirect Method which uses targeted advertising to connect people searching online for harmful content with constructive alternative messages 

Speakers

Dr. Matthew Gillett is an international lawyer and academic with extensive experience practicing before the international courts, including the International Criminal Court ("ICC") and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia ("ICTY"). He worked primarily as a Prosecution Trial Attorney and Appeals Counsel and has also conducted investigations in various conflict zones, including as a Human Rights Officer with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan ("UNAMA"). Matthew researches and writes on subjects including hate speech (for which he co-produced the Hartford Guidelines on Speech Crimes), international criminal law; human rights; terrorism; the environment; and aggression.  

Charlotte Kathe is a manager leading Moonshot’s work on far-right extremism in the UK and conspiracy theories. Her work is focused on understanding the right-wing extremist ecosystem online, including key communication tactics and recruitment efforts employed by different groups and actors. Prior to her work at Moonshot, Charlotte supported London communities in safeguarding at-risk individuals from extremism and worked on online counter-narrative projects to address hate speech online. She holds an MA from King’s College London in Terrorism, Security and Society.

Register via Zoom here

Thursday 16 December, 6.30pm GMT

Film Screening of Pride.

Cine 10, Colchester Campus 

The screening of Pride is part of the Human Rights Centre's programme of events to mark Human Rights Week. This year, we are focusing on the role which human rights can play in combatting all forms of hate. Pride is an inspirational film which depicts how communities of marginalised peoples united against the injustices they faced.

Register for your free ticket here