AUH Summer School for Human Rights Defenders and Democracy 2024

AUH aims to support a network of African universities to protect human rights and contribute to the expansion of political space across the continent. Its launch celebrates a significant step by the University of the Western Cape’s (UWC) to be involved supporting human rights and strengthening democracy in Africa. AUH aligns with our university’s history and ethos which made it a beacon of resistance against apartheid in the past, attracting activists, academics and students committed to fighting for social justice. “As much as universities have continued their effort to strengthen democracies and defend human rights, we know that many attacks against democracy and human rights, keep coming in various forms. We cannot relax. Activism in defence of human rights and democracy must be strengthened and it must be steeped in academic inquiry. Universities are the right spaces to enliven academic inquiry that supports activism around democracy and human rights”, says DVC Matete Madiba on the significant of AUH’s work. 

AUH supports universities and civil society organisations through various programmes including an annual summer school that aims to develop Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) capacities, a protective fellowship, research and spaces for academia and HRDs to co-create solutions to societal challenges. Our launch also coincides with the first cohort of the of our protective fellowship programme. Therefore, the launch does not only introduce the Africa Hub but also showcases its flagship programmes.  

About the Summer School:

The Summer School brings together human rights activists, lawyers, academics and representatives of government from across the African continent, to reimagine human rights work and protection of Human Rights Defenders in Africa. Leading experts from various fields, including civil society, and academia will lead mini workshops and lectures during the five-day School. The Summer School will be an open and engaging space for critical reflection, learning new concepts and skills, and networking under the theme: “Recentering Human Rights protection: Innovation and Sustainability, beyond the present”.