The Essex Human Rights Alumni Association (EHRAA) was established at the University of Essex Human Rights Centre’s 25^th Anniversary Human Rights Alumni Conference in July 2008, where the first Executive Committee was elected by some 200 alumni from all continents, representing almost every year since 1983. Its intention is:

To build friendship and co-operation among human rights graduates of the

University of Essex and between all graduates and the Human Rights Centre

The EHRAA’s Executive Committee would like to welcome you to the EHRAA’s dedicated website, where you can keep up to date with EHRAA News and Events and network with other members. The EHRAA is run by alumni for alumni and we cannot continue without you and your support. We very much hope you will join us in ensuring the Association is a success!

And you can now follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @EssexHRAA, and if you're an alumna/us, on LinkedIn.

RECENT NEWS

15/05/2012 Hot off the press: The EHRAA May Bimonthly Update 

The EHRAA May Bimonthly Update has just come out and is now available for members to read in the Newsletter section of the website. Read about the upcoming General Assembly, the EHRAA Student Award, recent alumni socials and how to secure a discount for the Essex Transitional Justice Network's Summer School.

11/05/2012 PhD Studentship at University of Roehampton - Human rights student applications encouraged 

The Department of Social Science at University of Roehampton can offer a studentship for one suitably qualified person wishing to pursue research under the supervision of leading researchers in the fields of sociology, criminology, human rights and international relations. 

The studentship is for three years, with £13,590 to support full-time PhD research studies and tuition fees are paid by the University. The successful applicant will be expected to undertake teaching assistant duties. 

The deadline for applications is 31 May and more information, including further information about requirements and details of how to apply can be found here.

03/05/2012 EHRAA Frontrunner Development Position 2012/13

If you will be an Essex student in the coming academic year (2012/13) and would like interesting, valuable and relevant paid work experience, Frontrunner positions are now available here. The EHRAA Development Frontrunner application can be found under the Human Rights Centre heading. Feel free to send any questions about the position to admin@ehraa.org!

22/03/2012 Essex Transitional Justice Network Summer School

The EHRAA is pleased to promote details of the first Transitional Justice Summer School by the Essex Transitional Justice Network, which will take place at the University of Essex from 10 - 12 September 2012.

The theme of the Summer School will be Understanding the Economic and Social Dimensions of Transitional Justice. 

Teaching on the Summer School programme will be provided by experts in the field of economic and social transitional justice processes and there will be dedicated time for collaborative analysis of case-study material. The ETJN Summer School is designed for professionals in non-governmental organisations, human rights institutions, national and international governmental organisations, field operations, researchers and students.

Further details of the ETJN Summer School, including details of speakers, a provisional programme and a registration form are available here.

10/03/2012 March Bimonthly Update  

The EHRAA March Bimonthly Update is now available on our Newsletter page.

This March edition contains articles on the newly launched EHRAA Mentoring Scheme, a sneak peak of the soon to be published alumni survey results and recent developments at Essex including an Undergraduate field trip and the launch of a new degree scheme. You will also find stories and pictures from local alumni group socials and be introduced to a newly born member of the Essex family. In addition to all this there is a chance to win one year free membership by participating in the naming competition for our bimonthly update. 

03/03/2012 Upcoming Alumni Reunion in Geneva on 7 March 

If you are in Geneva on Wednesday 7^th March there will be a small and informal after-work gathering to have drinks and tapas. The place is provisionally set to the ADN Bar Café - rue de Lausanne 59, 1202 Genève from 6.30 pm.

You will find all up to date information about it on the Facebook event.

It would be great to see as many faces as possible, at least just to say “hi” – rumour has it there are more than 150 alumni in Geneva, and we’d love to be able to confirm it! We’ll make sure to find a way you can find us even if you don’t know anyone. Great if you can confirm by email (aubry.sylvain1@gmail.com) so that we can have an idea of the amount of people, otherwise feel free to just pass by at any point in the evening. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Sylvain and Evie on 0032 4 91 08 63 08 or 0032 4 94 15 19 66.

09/02/2012 Launch of the EHRAA Mentoring Scheme  

The EHRAA is proud to announce the launch of the EHRAA Mentoring Scheme:
 

The project aims to promote the sharing of experience, ideas and knowledge on human rights issues between alumni currently engaged in human righs work and students currently studying at the Essex Human Rights Centre. The idea of a mentoring scheme was presented in the EHRAA Survey and received wide support from over 50% of participants. The EHRAA Executive Committee is therefore very happy to launch this innovative project. 

The project will provide Alumni with the possibility to keep in contact with Human Rights Centre and the academic community whist sharing their experience and knowledge of the Human Rights Professional world with passionate students.

Find all the details you need in our Mentoring Scheme Fact Sheet 

If you wish to sign up for the Mentoring Scheme, please follow the instructions to fill out the respective registration forms: 
1. Alumni Registration Form

2. Student Registration Form 

Please read the Terms & Conditions for rules and details.

23/01/2012 HRC launches new BA in Human Rights from October 2013 

The Essex Human Rights Centre is launching a three-year BA in Human Rights which will be taking applications from September 2012, for a start date in October 2013. You can see the Course Outline here and read more about the Human Rights Centre's offers to undergraduates on the Human Rights Centre website.

23/01/2012 HRC Director Rainer Schulze opens Holocaust Memorial Week 2012

Director of the Essex Human Rights Centre, Professor Rainer Schulze, will be giving the opening talk for Holocaust Memorial Week 2012 at the Minories Art Gallery in Colchester on Monday, 23 January, 6.30 pm. The talk will introduce the theme of this year's Holocaust Memorial Week: Disability and Euthanasia, and will be followed by a discussion. 

A full programme of events for this year's Holocaust Memorial Week can be found here, or here if you have a slightly slower browser.  

21/01/2012 ESRC Studentships 2012/13  

The University is offering 16 fully funded ESRC studentships for talented postgraduates. To read more and find out how to apply, please click here.

28/12/2011 December Bimonthly Update  

The EHRAA December Bimonthly Update is now available on our Newsletter page with information and pictures from the Kevin Boyle Memorial Conference and the ensuing alumni dinner, in addition to other news and updates from alumni and the Essex Human Rights Centre.

21/12/2011 Workshop: Human Rights and Police Reform in the Western Balkans 

The University of Roehampton Crucible Research Centre for Human Rights and the South East Europe Working Group of the British International Studies Association invite you to an International Workshop on ‘Human Rights and Police Reform in the Western Balkans’ on 28 January 2012.

Please see our "Events" page for more details.

26/11/2011 Results of the EHRAA Executive Committee elections 2011

24/11/2011 Live Streaming of Kevin Boyle Memorial Conference 

For those of you who are not coming to the Kevin Boyle memorial conference tomorrow, we are pleased to inform you that it will be possible to watch the conference live online. The EHRAA will be broadcasting the event through the free online streaming website USTREAM. In order to watch the live stream please access http://www.ustream.tv/channel/kevin-boyle-memorial-conference-2011, or if does not work go to http://www.ustream.tv and search for the "Kevin Boyle Memorial Conference 2011" channel in the "search for users and events" box.

Should you require further directions or encounter problems with the live stream please contact Alice at admin-projects@ehraa.org.

In addition, the EHRAA will be Tweeting live about the conference on its Twitter account @EssexHRAA, hashtag #KevinMemorial. If you are attending the conference,  you are very much encouraged to Tweet using this tag!

We hope you will be able to join in what promises to be a day of stimulating discussions!

17/11/2011 EHRAA Executive Commitee elections 2011

We now have the 5 candidates for the 2011 EHRAA elections. You can elect 3 of them to sit on the Executive Committee for 2 years. Elections will take place from Saturday 19th November 10am GMT to Saturday 26th november 6pm GMT. All the information about electonic voting will be sent to the members by email. There will also be the possibility to vote in person at the Kevin Boyle memorial conference on 26th November.

In the meantime, you can have a look at the candidates' manifestos, Bana Husseini, Evie Francq, Enricah A. Dulo, Mary Snow, and Rachel Chhoa-Howard here!

07/11/2011 KB Memorial Conference: Coach return London-Essex 

On the occasion of the Kevin Boyle Conference on Saturday 26 November, the EHRAA is organising a coach from London, to do the return journey on the day. The price will be £20 per person and places will be limited.

For more details on the coach trip and information on how to secure your place see the Kevin Boyle Memorial webpage. 

07/11/2011 EHRAA Student Representative Elections 

The EHRAA is currently accepting nominations for the election of new student representatives. There are two places open for election and all students are invited to apply (though priority will be given to EHRAA members).

This is a great way to get more involved with both the EHRAA specifically and the Essex human rights community generally. The deadline is Thursday 10 November at 5pm.

You can find more information about the elections here and download the nomination form here.

We look forward to your applications!

03/11/2011 EHRAA Executive Committee Elections 

The EHRAA Executive Committee elections will be held the week preceding the Kevin Boyle Conference, with the final day of voting being the actual day of the Conference (26 November).
The deadline for nominations is Monday 14 November. 

If you wish to run for a position, or simply would like more information about the elections and the Executive Committee, please see our General Assembly page for more details.  

27/10/2011 Honorary Graduate Dora Love passed away yesterday

It is with sadness that the EHRAA informs you that Honorary Essex Graduate of 2009, Dora Love, passed away yesterday afternoon. Dora was a Holocaust survivor from Lithuania who settled in Colchester and spent her life educating younger generations about the Holocaust. You can find more information about Dora here.

 

The EHRAA would like to offer its deepest condolences to her family and friends. 
Dora was a great friend of the University and she will be missed terribly. 

10/10/2011 EHRAA social for new students, PhD and alumni

The new human rights students have arrived, and former human rights students, undergraduates and current PhDs, are still around! Let's all meet for a drink at the Greyhound in Wivenhoe. See our Events page for details of the time and place.

05/10/2011 The EHRAA starts a wide-scale survey of Essex human rights alumni

The EHRAA recently created a survey with the aim to better understand what Essex human rights graduates do after they leave Essex, get a better sense of alumni's diversity and achievements, and to improve EHRAA's services. This survey is open to all alumni; please contact us to take it. 

01/10/2011 Essex Alumnus appointed to Working Group on           Transnational Corporations 

At the eighteenth session of the Human Rights Council, Essex alumnus Dr. Michael Addo (LLM '85) was appointed member of the Working Group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises. 

The EHRAA would like to congratulate Dr Addo and wish both him and the Working Group the best of luck with their important work.

The official announcement from the Human Rights Council can be found here.

30/09/2011 Alumni Dinner after Kevin Boyle Conference

On the occasion of the Kevin Boyle Memorial Conference to be held on Saturday 26 November in Colchester, the EHRAA is organising an alumni dinner which will take place straight after the close of the Conference.

Please see our Events page for more details on the dinner and information on how to register your attendance.

12/09/2011 EHRAA Award winners' biographies

At the Human Rights in Asia Conference in June, the EHRAA presented its Student Award to Postgraduate student Rachel Chhoa-Howard and Undergraduate student Alice Lixi, for their outstanding contribution to human rights-related activities during their period of study at Essex.

You can read more about Rachel and Alice, their contributions to the human rights community at Essex and their plans for the future on our Bursaries and Awards page.

12/09/2011 Kevin Boyle Memorial Article by Essex Alumnus

In the latest edition of Sur - International Journal on Human Rights (Issue 13), Essex alumnus Borislav Petranov (LLM '93) has written an article in memory of Kevin Boyle.

If you wish to have a look, you can find the article by clicking here.

11/09/2011 September Bimonthly Update out now! (members only)

The second issue of our bimonthly updates has been circulated to our members and is also available for our members to view on the website. The update gives you a glimpse of what the Executive Committee has been working on for the past two months, what has been happening in the Essex human rights community, and the latest developments at the University.
Our September update is available now on our Newsletter page.

06/09/2011 The Human Rights Centre and the History Department have concluded a Memorandum of Understanding with Yerevan State University

The Human Rights Centre and the Department of History have concluded a Memorandum of Understanding to promote co-operation with Yerevan State University, Armenia. This follows a visit by Professor Rainer Schulze in May.

This co-operative agreement will initially target students at the Centre for European Studies enrolled in either the current MA in European Studies or the new MA in Human Rights and Democratisation. It will include advice on quality assurance, including curriculum review, for the new MA, and support for the development of resources for academic research.

Professor Schulze is currently in Yerevan to sign the Memorandum and conduct a three-day training workshop for CES staff teaching on the new MA programme. He will also hold talks with the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia about a joint conference and publication on the Armenian Genocide whose centenary is coming up in 2015.

20/08/2011 EHRAA Membership and Facebook group for new students

All current University of Essex students, including those due to start their degrees this autumn, get the first three months of membership for free. This means that all students who pay £10 (the usual annual fee) become members until 31.12.2012. 

There is also a newly created Facebook group for the 2011-2012 Postgraduate students. If you are about to start your Postgraduate degree at Essex, then feel free to join the Facebook group here to get a head start on meeting and connecting with your new classmates.

17/08/2011 Codified criteria and entitlements for local groups

If you are part of a local group or thinking of starting one you may wish to look into the Association's newly drafted document on local groups. This can be found in the Satellite EHRAA groups section of the website.

26/07/2011 Memorial Conference to honour the life and work of Professor Kevin Boyle

There will be a Memorial Conference to honour the late Kevin Boyle on 26 November 2011. Anyone who wishes is welcome to attend.

If you wish to register your interest, please see here for more details on how to secure your place at this event.

25/07/2011 Essex Professor Rainer Schulze helps develop a new  human rights-related degree program in Armenia 

Head of the History Department at Essex and partner of the Human Rights Centre, Dr. Rainer Schulze recently visited Armenia to help develop a new degree programme in Human Rights and Democratization for four former Soviet republics.

Schulze had been invited to visit the Center for European Studies to initiate close cooperation between the Center and the University of Essex, and to assist with developing teaching methods, syllabi and learning outcomes for the new Regional Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation. This involved addressing issues concerning academic honesty and plagiarism and assigning appropriate literature. He also conducted training for future lecturers on the programme to ensure the programme would successfully integrate western educational standards.

Whilst visiting the Yerevan, the Armenian capital, Schulze also found time to meet up with the local EHRAA group.

See the MA Programme's website for more details about the programme and Dr. Schulze's contribution to its development.

12/07/2011 London EHRAA group social event

The London EHRAA group is hosting a social event on Thursday 28 July at the Strongroom Bar from 18:00 - late.

See our Events page for more details.

11/07/2011 EHRAA recruits new assistant

In June the EHRAA recruited a part-time assistant to support the growth of the Association and enhance the services provided to our members. The June recruitment was made possible thanks to the generous support of the Human Rights Centre. The position is now kindly funded by a Frontrunner grant until September 2011.

The new assistant is Hanne Gundersrud, who is a 3rd year LLB Law and Human Rights student. She can be contacted at admin@ehraa.org.

09/07/2011 Human Rights Centre Graduation Ceremony

The Human Rights Centre graduation ceremony will take place on Thursday 21 July at 1pm.

After the ceremony there will be a departmental reception which provides an opportunity for students to celebrate their degree with academic and departmental staff and current students.

Please see our Events page for more details on time and place.

28/06/2011 Origins Festival 28 June - 9 July

** Exploring the world's indigenous cultures **

Explore the world's indigenous cultures and enjoy live music, theatre, art, comedy and film by artists from across the globe. 

See more details and links to the main website and the full events listing on our Events page

28/06/2011 June Bimonthly Update available now

In addition to our annual newsletter, we have decided to keep you informed with a bimonthly update. The aim of this update is to give you a regular glimpse of what the Executive Committee is working on, what is happening in the Essex human rights community, and of the latest developments at the University.
Our June update is available now on our Newsletter page.

23/06/2011 Human Rights and Drugs Talk at Birkbeck University
                    

28 June: Talk on drugs, social control and social exclusion.

The session will explore the inter-relationship between drug-control laws, human rights and social exclusion. It will comprise an overview of the key issues, an expert panel discussion and audience Q;&A. It will be of interest to anyone concerned about the way in which the state regulates drugs and drug use, and the impact of this on the full enjoyment of human rights.

More details and information can be found on our Events page

21/06/2011 Essex PG students visit Europe

The Human Rights Centre is organising its third trip to "Human Rights Institutions in Europe" with current PG students at Essex. They will be in The Hague, Strasbourg and Geneva next week. For each city they would like to invite alumni in those cities to join them for dinner or drinks to meet current students.

For more details please click on the corresponding city.

13/06/2011 Memorial Conference for Kevin Boyle

On 26 November 2011 the University of Essex will hold a memorial conference for Kevin Boyle.
More details will follow shortly on our Events page.

11/06/2011 International Conference in Honour of Kevin Boyle

A tripartite video-conference to recall, recount and explore some of the key areas of work and contribution made by the late Professor Kevin Boyle.

See a more detailed description and programme for the day on our Events page.

04/06/2011 The EHRAA annual students award delivered

The 2011 EHRAA annual students award were delivered during the Human Rights in Asia conference on Saturday 4th June. The recipient of the Undergraduate Award is Alice Lixi, a third year student who was particularly successful at leading the MUN society on campus. The Postgraduate Award was given to Rachel Chhoa-Howard, who has p;layed, through her engagement in multiple projects, a leading role in creating a stimulating environment for
the study of human rights at Essex.

Congratulations to both of them!

More information about the recipients will be uploaded on the website soon.

25/12/2010 Memorial Page for Professor Kevin Boyle

To leave a message on the Kevin Boyle memorial page, please click on 'Memorial webpage' to the left of this screen.

 In Memoriam: Professor Kevin Boyle

It is with great sadness that EHRAA members learn of the death of Professor Kevin Boyle, Honourary President of the EHRAA.  

Kevin was a friend to us all.  At our most recent General Assembly in November 2010, he was able to participate via skype to accept our invitation for him to become Honourary President.  On that occasion, several members stood up to give their thanks to Kevin for his support to them during their studies at Essex and thereafter.  Kevin had encouraging words for each and every one, fulfilling as always his important role as teacher and mentor.  

Kevin worked very hard to help create the EHRAA.  He knew well that we were united not just by a university or a programme of study, but by a global project  - to realise human rights for all.  Kevin’s contribution to this project was immense.  He was a visionary, an enabler, a builder of institutions and careers, an innovator and an advocate. He was particularly focused on “free thought” rights - freedom of thought and conscience, religion and expression - through speech and action. Among his many achievements was the creation of the leading international NGO, Article 19, where he was its first director. He was a major driving force behind the World Report on Freedom of Religion and Belief.  He built up the Essex Human Rights Centre to help make it the internationally respected institution it is, a hub of innovative research, teaching and practice in human rights, with over 1600 alumni working in all corners of the world.   He was senior advisor to Mary Robinson in her capacity as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and was jointly awarded the Human Rights Prize by Liberty and The Law Society Gazette in recognition of work at the European Court of Human Rights on a series of cases concerning the Kurds in Turkey. He was deeply engaged with the peace process in Northern Ireland, from his student activism in the late 1960s, to later research and advocacy. Most recently he served as Chair of the International Council of Minority Rights Group International.  

Most of the EHRAA members knew him as Professor of Law at the University of Essex, where he was much admired and appreciated by the hundreds of students he taught over the years. He also helped to pioneer inter-disciplinary education in human rights, collaboratively developing both the collection of undergraduate degrees in Essex on human rights and the long-standing MA in the Theory and Practice of Human Rights, which he himself was awarded in 2010.

He was also a tremendously warm, generous and supportive man on a personal level to all those who knew him.  The field of human rights has lost a great contributor and leader.  His former students and colleagues have lost a great friend.  

We send our condolences to his family, who have lost a wonderful husband and father.