Rights ColLaboratory

Purpose

The Rights Collaboratory is an interdisciplinary, collaborative, experiential learning laboratory that equips the next generation of researchers and practitioners with the research and advocacy skills needed to tackle 21st century human rights challenges. Housed within the University of Minnesota Human Rights Program in the Institute for Global Studies, College of Liberal Arts, the Rights ColLab trains students to be civically engaged changemakers.

Mission

To bridge the gap between human rights scholarship and practice by engaging students in research, policy, and advocacy practices that strengthen understanding of human rights, reduce inequality, and increase access to justice locally and globally.

Values

We believe that human rights work should strengthen people’s understanding of their rights, amplify the power of their voices, and build their capacity to make change in their own communities by co-creating the tools that make human rights fulfillment possible.

Our Work

Student researchers document and advocate around local, domestic, and international human rights. We work from the foundational idea that human rights research and advocacy is for everyone. We are committed to open and accessible knowledge production and dissemination. Our ColLab has a dual purpose: to disseminate research on human rights and to train students in effective practices of human rights research and advocacy.

In its pilot year (2025-2026), the Rights Collaboratory is building student-centered resources including an online human rights resource library, a virtual advocacy toolkit, and training tools. These tools will be housed in a publicly accessible online platform where students, educators and the general public can access practical tools to address human rights challenges facing our campus and community.

Our Team