Technological
advances have made communicating across borders incredibly easily--as simple as
logging on through email and clicking that strange little green button
resembling a video recorder. With such tools at our fingertips, we have
unprecedented potential for strengthening human rights networks that transcend
spacial and political obstacles.
Human rights students at the University of Antioquia in Medellin, Colombia, and at the University of Minnesota have initiated a collaborative project that looks to take advantage of the new possibilities presented through innovations in communication technology.
These
young individuals seek to spark international dialogue among university
students surrounding human rights issues and philosophy, which will supplement
their human rights classes and add rich dimension to their studies. Such
conversation provides an opportunity to gain genuine multicultural
understanding of social justice issues, and to create a fortified and united
global student body, a body well-suited for addressing the extremely powerful
global forces shaping injustice, poverty, and violence across the world today.
On April
25th, 2014, ten students met via Google Hangout to begin an intercultural
student conversation on human rights. These students discussed their interests
and backgrounds, and imagined what new possibilities could be achieved through
fortifying non-institutionalized, international connections between young human
rights activists. They shared their frustrations with the limitations of
existing legal mechanisms and with the current inaccessibility of human rights
discourse to those of low socioeconomic status. They also discussed celebratory
elements of international human rights, stressing the potential efficacy that
such rights could gain through the spread of interdisciplinary and
multi-directional approaches--through building horizontal (i.e. characterized
by equitable distribution of power and participation) human rights networks
across classes, cultures, races, disciplines, and ideologies.
The
students look forward to beginning regular meetings, and are excited to
continue engaging in the dynamic exchange of ideas. They hope to build an
increasing student base at their universities, and aspire to incorporate more
schools as time goes on. As a generation quite distinctly characterized by
advances in technology, these students wish to harness the networking power
offered through this progress to usher in a new era of social justice activism.
If you are interested in learning more, please contact Anna Meteyer at metey001@umn.edu
Nota publicada en mayo de 2014 disponible en: CLIC AQUÍ
