MCI’s first Student Advocacy Seminar

Every year, thousands of scholars and educators around the world face imprisonment, torture, persecution and silencing because they raise their voices for human rights and against oppressive political regimes. Scholars at Risk (SAR) is a network of higher education institutions whose mission it is to assist scholars in such situations, working together with experts, students, and others involved in higher education.

MCI | The Entrepreneurial School^® joined the SAR Network in 2021, and students from the master program “Social Work” were the first group to be involved in MCI’s inaugural Student Advocacy Seminar as part of their course “Human Rights & Inclusion”, led by MCI Professor and Social Work Head of Studies Belachew Gebrewold. Student Advocacy Seminars are opportunities for students to get involved in advocacy work on behalf of persecuted scholars, with cases as well as background materials and input being provided by SAR.

In this project, students from the program Social Work took on the case of Ahmed Samir Santawy, a master student from Egypt studying at the Central European University in Vienna. Santawy was doing work on women’s reproductive rights as part of his studies when he was detained in Egypt during a visit in 2021 and has been wrongfully detained since then. After an introduction to SAR and the case through a guest lecture delivered by SAR’s Adam Braver, the students carried out research on the case and identified the human rights violations against Santawy. They then developed advocacy strategies and an action plan for future advocacy work.

On 16 May, the students presented the results of their work to several stakeholders. The presentation was part of the “European Student Advocacy Days” program and streamed online. The presenters first provided background information about the political situation and human rights situation in Egypt and the Arab Charter of Human Rights. The students had identified relevant articles from the Arab Charter, such as those referring to academic freedom, civil rights on liberty, integrity of the person and treatment of people in prison or custody, with relate directly to the case of Ahmed Samir Santawy. They then reported on the specific case, relating the circumstances of Ahmed Samir Santawy’s arrest and wrongful detention since February 2021, his trial, which resulted in a four-year prison sentence that was subsequently squashed, and the recent developments for a retrial.

The students stressed the importance of advocacy work to keep public interests for the case alive, and thus to continue putting pressure on the Egyptian authorities to release Santawy. Based on their research, the students created a petition on Change.org and used social media to communicate the petition. They are now working on a stakeholder report, which will further raise awareness. They also created a short video about their definition of freedom, an action plan for future campaigns, including ideas such as a big banner on the university building and a “Dance for Freedom” video campaign on social media.

The SAR Advocacy Seminar helped the students learn about what advocacy work is and what they could do in practice to help Ahmed Samir Santawy. They stressed that this is not just about the enthusiasm of a group of students but the whole world, and emphasised the importance of creating awareness and action to put pressure on authorities and to set people free.

Supported by MCI’s Center for Responsible Management & Social Impact and led by engaged faculty, Student Advocacy Seminars will continue to be offered at MCI in the next academic year. Helping and advocating for scholars at risk is an important part of MCI’s positive societal impact activities and creates opportunities and impetus for students to get engaged in work and studies with real impact.