IHRP hosts a range of events, workshops and guest lectures which students are free to attend. These events are designed to build the skills of both students and visiting field workers from organisations around Thailand. Recent events have been organised collaboratively with the United Nations, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
IHRP also works with other universities and institutions in the region to organise academic conferences where staff and students can present research and build connections with human rights defenders, academics and activists working on a range of projects.
The Global Classroom
The Masters of Human Rights and Democratization at IHRP is one of 7 regional courses which make up the Global Campus of Human Rights. Each year faculty and students from each of the regional courses meet in Venice, Italy, for a week of discussions called the Global Classroom. This year, for the first time, the Global Classroom event was held away from Venice, choosing instead to come to Mahidol University.
2 Faculty members and 4 students from each of the 7 regions, as well as representatives from organizations in Thailand, met at IHRP in May to discuss the topic, ‘Securitization and the Impact on Human Rights and Democracy: Human Security in a time of Insecurity”. Throughout the week the participants held discussions and presented research and case studies on trends in securitization, such as regulating human mobility and anti-terrorism law and policy, and their effects on human rights in their regions.
The event included a field trip to Thai Union Group, one of the world’s biggest seafood distributors, to see how they approach protecting migrant workers’ rights and counter-trafficking. The group also visited several Thai community organizations working on supporting migrant workers’ families. The week ended with a press conference given by the group at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT) on their research and the discussions which had taken place during the event.
By bringing together students and faculty from around the world, the Global Classroom allows participants to learn about the problems and solutions found in different cultures, economies and political systems.