2019

17th Oxford Human Rights Festival programme
ACTIVISM 4 - 22 March 2019 Oxford Brookes University
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​Other Human Rights events at Oxford Brookes University
Oxford Brookes has a great reputation for hosting and presenting events highlighting the plight of people whose human rights have been violated.
​In October the University celebrated Black History Month and in February it is LGBT History Month. More information can be found on the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion pages of the Brookes website. CENDEP presents a weekly programme of Work in Progress Seminars, which showcase the research done in the school and in related institutions. Everyone is welcome and this semester's programme is available on the blog.The theme of the 17th annual Oxford Human Rights Festival was ACTIVISM and it took place here at Oxford Brookes University from 11th to 15th March 2019. The centerpiece of the festival was the collaborative exhibition in the Glass Tank on LGBTQ+ ACTIVISM, which was co-curated by Jayne Stuart, Chair of Oxford Brookes LGBTQ+ Staff Forum. We were thrilled to welcome acclaimed film director Mike Leigh to headline the festival, answer audience questions about his latest film Peterloo, and talk to Film Studies students. Other highlights included Fair Fashion! Our closing night event in collaboration with the Brookes Union Fashion Society, a talk and screening by Peace One Day founder Jeremy Gilley, and a screening of the documentary Barbara Harrell-Bond: a life not ordinary, with the film maker in conversation.
Mike Leigh headlined 2019
On Tuesday 12th March 2019 we were thrilled to welcome acclaimed film director Mike Leigh to Oxford Brookes University to talk to Film Studies students (image right, with Senior Lecturer Dr. James Cateridge) and answer audience questions about his latest film Peterloo.
In the year of the 200th anniversary of the protests and massacre, he describes Peterloo as "One of the most significant acts of protest in British history," and highlights the relevance of the film today, noting that the screening was happening while our elected members of parliament were voting on the most important changes in our politics in recent times. He said "In these ever-increasingly chaotic times, human rights abuses are frighteningly rife world-wide. The Oxford Human Rights Festival at Brookes University will doubtless be confronting many aspects of this catastrophe, and it is a privilege to be asked to headline it."
2019 Programme announced
Our 2019 programme ACTIVISM is here! Check out the highlights now on our programme page, including exhibitions looking at LGBTQ+ Activism, and Modern Slavery, a workshop by Peace One Day Founder Jeremy Gilley, lecture on what we can all do to attain a more peaceful world by Nobel nomiee Dr. Scilla Elworthy, screenings of documentaries Barbara Harrell Bond: a life not ordinary and The Silence of Others, an ethical and Fairtrade Fashion Show, and a screening of Mike Leigh's acclaimed Peterloo.
You can download the full programme here.
New ticketing partner announced
Our 2019 programme ACTIVISM is now finalised! We'll be announcing it soon, so watch this space! Our exhibition LGBTQ+ ACTIVISM opens in the Glass Tank on Monday 4th March and the main festival runs from 11th to 15th March. All events take place here at Oxford Brookes University and are open to everyone. All events are free but ticketed. You can make an optional donation to help us continue to put on great informative for years to come. We're pleased to announce that our 2019 ticketing is with Citizen Ticket. Citizen Ticket are a socially conscious group of individuals who run their business in a way that will help achieve social objectives. They believe event ticketing can be turned into a force for good and donate 50% of their booking fees to charities chosen by the event organisers they work with.
LGBTQ+ ACTIVISM
An exhibition in the Glass Tank featuring a wide range of LGBTQ+ ACTIVISM artifacts and images, including the scrapbooks of Tom Guy, Brookes alumnus and founder of Student Pride, who was recently honoured by the Prime Minister, pin badges through the decades, Altrincham FC's Football v Homophobia shirt (photo left © Michael Ripley / Altrincham FC), moving oral histories from Queer Britain, stunning photographs of Drag Synrome, fascinating images from the LSE Glad to be Gay project, thought provoking artwork and photographs from Beirut Pride and Istanbul Pride, and much more.
9:00 - 17:00 Monday 4 - Friday 22 March 2019 Glass Tank
A collaboration with Oxford Brookes LGBTQ+ Staff Forum.
Exhibition open to the public, no ticket necessary.
INVISIBLE PEOPLE
An exhibition in The Lab (ground floor Abercrombie, opposite the Glass Tank) of photographs by Oxford Brookes and Oxford Human Rights Festival committee alumnus Rory Carnegie (MA Development and Emergency Practice 2015) highlighting the iniquity of modern slavery in the UK. The photographs and associated campaign has won several awards, toured twelve cities across the country, led to a 25% increase in calls to the modern slavery helpline, and led to the release of two modern slaves.
9:00 - 17:00 Monday 4 - Friday 22 March 2019 The Lab
Exhibition open to the public, no ticket necessary.
CRAFTIVISM
Using You Are So Very Beautiful as an exemplar, this is a special Craftivism workshop with Rev. Kate Harford. Come and embroider your favourite protest slogan, or make something to give away as a random act of kindness. All skill levels encouraged to come and give it a go. Materials provided.
12:00-14:00 Friday 8 March 2019 Glass Tank
No ticket necessary. Open to everyone.
2 GIRLS
This documentary tells the story of Lota and Tigist, two girls living in two very different countries, Bangladesh and Ethiopia, who are linked by the same journey. They were both born in rural areas, they both faced poverty or abuse. Their only option was to run away. Their next destinations were the mega-cities of Dhaka and Addis Ababa. They embark on parallel, incredibly harsh journeys through which they meet their destinies. Yet, despite their tough lives, they reveal an inner strength and great dignity. They come from poverty, but both fight for a life that – maybe tomorrow – will be better.
Film screening with film maker Katarzyna Grabska.
12:30 Monday 11 March 2019 Glass Tank
No ticket necessary. Open to everyone.
FILM MAKING AS A RESEARCH TOOL
Workshop with film maker Katarzyna Grabska.
15:00 Monday 11 March 2019
Workshop for CENDEP students and staff. If you are not part of CENDEP but would like to attend please email OxHRF@brookes.ac.uk to reserve your place. Attendance at the screening of 2 Girls is a prerequisite for this workshop.
BARBARA HARRELL-BOND: A LIFE NOT ORDINARY
Through the prism of an extraordinary life, this documentary explores the achievements of Barbara Harrell-Bond – academic, refugee activist and life-long advocate of refugee rights. The film takes us on a personal journey of a not-so-ordinary woman born in a remote town in South Dakota during the Great Depression. It traces her career from her initial engagement with the civil rights movement in the late Fifties, to her move to the UK in the mid-Sixties where she studied social anthropology at the University of Oxford, and then to her travels in West Africa where she carried out much of her academic research.
Film screening followed by panel discussion with Dr. Katarzyna Grabska and Professor Patricia Daley.
19:00 Monday 11 March 2019 Kennedy Room
Book your free ticket, or make an optional donation, here.
EDUCATION TO EMPLOYMENT
A majority of refugees find themselves in protracted situations of displacement with no solution in sight. In this context there is much focus on the need for refugees to access employment. But with restrictions on rights to work, employment for refugees may not be a straightforward issue. CENDEP Director Prof. Cathrine Brun launches a new project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council which will work with Lebanese, Palestinian and Syrian youth in Lebanon to understand the role of their legal status in understanding their paths from different forms of education into different forms of employment.
Talk followed by audience Q&A with Cathrine Brun and Johanna Waters.
12:30 Tuesday 12 March 2019 Glass Tank
No ticket necessary. Open to everyone.
PETERLOO
Made to mark the 200th anniversary of the notorious Peterloo Massacre, Mike Leigh's film stars Maxine Peake and Rory Kinnear. On 16 August 1819, a crowd of some 60,000 people from Manchester and surrounding towns gathered in St Peter’s Fields to demand Parliamentary reform and an extension of voting rights. The meeting had been peaceful but in the attempt to arrest a leader of the meeting, the armed government militias panicked and charged upon the crowd.
Film screening followed by audience Q&A with director Mike Leigh.
18:30 Tuesday 12 March 2019 John Henry Brookes Lecture Theatre
Book your free ticket, or make an optional donation, here.
ACTIVISM THOUGH INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEERING
Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) and its impact then and now. This session will tell the story of a charity that started with young British volunteers setting out in 1958 to work in Sarawak, Ghana and Nigeria and which today describes itself as the world’s leading independent international development organisation offering volunteers the chance to share their skills in tackling poverty and marginalisation. Hear first-hand from VSO about how today’s global strategy for changing lives works - and the experience of former volunteers.
Talk followed by audience Q&A with BBC journalist Mike Wooldridge and Heather Alcock from VSO.
12:30 Wednesday 13 March 2019 Glass Tank
No ticket necessary. Open to everyone.
PEACE ONE DAY: HOW FILM MAKING CAN CHANGE THE WORLD
During this session, Jeremy Gilley will talk about Peace One Day and the 20 year journey he has taken across 123 countries. Most importantly, he will illuminate how the film camera and story telling played a crucial role in manifesting Peace Day 21st September, establishing a cease fire in Afghanistan and informing billions of people around the world about Peace Day.
Workshop with Founder of Peace One Day Jeremy Gilley.
14:00 - 16:00 Wednesday 13 March 2019 SKW Lecture Theatre
Book your free ticket, or make an optional donation, here.
THE BUSINESS PLAN FOR PEACE
Many of us feel powerless in the face of what we see on television or read in the news - a world in crisis, with wars and violence taking place across the globe. Nobel Peace Prize nominee Dr. Scilla Elworthy will show us how to step out of helplessness and apply our own personal skills to do something about the challenges now facing the world.
Lecture by Dr. Scilla Elworthy.
18:00 Wednesday 13 March 2019 John Henry Brookes Lecture Theatre
Part of the Oxford Brookes Open Lectures series.
Reserve your free ticket here.
THE SILENCE OF OTHERS
This documentary reveals the epic struggle of victims of Spain's 40-year dictatorship under General Franco, who continue to seek justice to this day. Filmed over six years, the film follows the survivors as they organize the groundbreaking 'Argentine Lawsuit' and fight state-imposed amnesia of crimes against humanity, and explores a country still divided four decades into a democracy. Seven years in the making, The Silence of Others is the second documentary feature by Emmy-winning film makers Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar.
Film screening followed by audience Q&A with the film makers.
19:00 Thursday 14 March 2019 John Henry Brookes Lecture Theatre
In partnership with the Oxford Brookes Documentary Club.
Book your free ticket here.
LOCALISATION AND LOCAL INITIATIVES: A NEW AGENDA FOR CHANGE IN THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
The Central African Republic is currently facing one of the worst humanitarian situations as 54% of the population is in need of emergency relief and more than 25% is displaced. As in most protracted conflicts, relief operations are ongoing despite the fact that we all know that they do not provide sustainable solutions. The debate on localisation and on the nexus relief-development-peacebuilding is also high in the humanitarian agenda. CENDEP is collaborating with Caritas Centrafrique for the last 20 months, aiming at building on local agencies to bring innovation and change.
We therefore started a reflection on the specificity and the ambitions of national NGOs in the humanitarian system and through action research, started building on tacit local knowledge in order to identify new ways of working. This is still a work in progress and we aim to share with you our first reflections.
Talk by Dr. Brigitte Piquard.
12:30 Friday 15 March 2019 Glass Tank
No ticket necessary. Open to everyone.









