Celebrating the Human Rights Movement at the Inaugural Human Rights Day Symposium
On Tuesday, December 10, 2024, the world celebrated Human Rights Day, honoring the day in 1948 when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This landmark document set forth a vision of equality, justice, and dignity for all.

In honor of Human Rights Day, the Human Rights Program, in partnership with the Human Rights Initiative, held its first annual Human Rights Day Symposium, Celebrating the Movement, Charting Change. This inspiring event brought together more than 100 members of the human rights community, students, faculty, and staff from across the University of Minnesota, to explore the progress, challenges, and future of the human rights movement.
The event kicked off with a student poster session featuring research on critical human rights issues. 25 graduate and undergraduate students presented on a wide range of topics including human rights and climate change, the right to healthcare, refugee rights, worker rights, and more. Students and attendees enjoyed lively conversation on these timely and important topics.

A faculty panel discussion, “Rights in Focus: Exploring the Intersection of Creativity and Human Rights,” featured recent recipients of our Human Rights Initiative grants. The presenters included Dr. Luis Ramos-Garcia, Spanish & Portuguese Studies; Dr. Emily Winderman, Communication Studies and Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies; Dr. Sonja Kuftinec, Theatre Arts & Dance; and Dr. Brenda Child, American Studies and American Indian Studies. Human Rights Initiative Manager Amelia Shindelar moderated the discussion. The panelists shared how they are mobilizing creativity and the arts to advance work on reproductive rights, systemic violence, and Indigenous approaches to climate change.

The event concluded with a keynote address, “International Law and Justice in a Time of Genocide,” by Dr. Simon Adams, President and CEO of the Center for Victims of Torture. While acknowledging the ongoing challenges to the prevention of genocide and mass atrocities, Dr. Adams emphasized the role that we all play in holding governments accountable, and the small acts of courage and decency that we can all contribute. “We don’t need more bystanders for human rights,” he said. “We need more upstanders. So be an upstander.”
The Human Rights Program is grateful to everyone who participated in the event, and for the support of the Institute for Global Studies, the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, the Master of Human Rights Program, Global Minnesota, the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and the College of Liberal Arts for making this event possible.