In 2022, MLS Professor John Tobin launched the Human Rights Community, a diverse, inclusive and active student community which allows students to express their passion for human rights in practical, meaningful ways.
If you’d like to use your legal training to benefit the community, or find out more about a possible career in human rights, get involved in the HRC this coming semester.
What is the Human Rights Community?
The Human Rights Community is a student-led initiative that is supported by the University, and overseen by Professor John Tobin. John is a human rights extraordinaire who has undertaken amazing work to advance the rights of children, and the right to general health. The Human Rights Community is an amazing opportunity for students to engage with experts like John in an educational setting where they can learn more about important issues in the human rights sphere.
In 2022, the Human Rights Community organised a range of educational events, including film screenings, discussions with notable public figures such as Jon Faine AM and Dr Michelle Telfer, and even a book launch.
Students were also invited to partake in the Human Rights Portrait Gallery, a project which allowed current MLS students to interview and profile MLS alumni who have made significant contributions to human rights, both domestically and internationally. Students were able to interview notable alumni including a current judge on the International Court of Justice, a civil rights lawyer defending incarcerated and condemned prisoners in the USA, and an Oxford professor researching the interdisciplinary issues raised by artificial intelligence. The Gallery Project is ongoing, and students will be able to sign up to interview a notable MLS alum at the start of semester one.
The Community also provides opportunities for students to engage in meaningful volunteer work that makes a real difference in the local community. In 2022, these volunteer opportunities included a homework club for children of migrant and refugee backgrounds, and a Human Rights Workshop for students from secondary schools around Victoria.
The initiatives undertaken by the HRC are driven by the interests of members. Students with particular interests or passions within the field of human rights can organise their own events as HRC members. If there is a human rights issue that matters to you, or a notable figure who you would love to interview or profile, the HRC can work with you to make it happen.
How do I get involved?
While some clubs and societies require you to commit to hours of work each week, or regular compulsory meetings, the HRC does not require you to commit any amount of time, and you get involved only in those initiatives, events or meetings that are interesting to you.
To join the Human Rights Community, email Nuria Khasim – MLS Human Rights Fellow – at nkyu@student.unimelb.edu.au. By joining the community, you will receive updates on new and exciting initiatives, as well as invitations to the HRC’s meetings throughout the semester.
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