Students for Human Rights

Third Student Advocacy Seminar at MCi

Every year, thousands of academics and university lecturers around the world are persecuted, imprisoned or silenced because of their commitment to human rights or their criticism of repressive regimes. The Scholars at Risk (SAR) network works to protect them and promote academic freedom. An important part of this work is the Student Advocacy Seminars, in which students deal with specific cases and develop strategies to support those affected.

MCI | The Entrepreneurial School® has been a member of the SAR network since 2021 and has already held such a seminar for the third time as part of the master's degree program in Social Work, Social Policy & Management. Under the direction of Prof. Belachew Gebrewold, the students dealt intensively with the case of Prof. Rahile Dawut, a renowned Uyghur anthropologist who was abducted by Chinese authorities in 2017 and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2023.

After a guest lecture by SAR coordinator Adam Braver, the students researched the background to the case, analyzed the relevant human rights violations and developed targeted advocacy strategies. They presented their findings on China's political and human rights situation, examined international conventions on the protection of academic freedom and ethnic minorities and presented measures to raise public awareness.

As part of the project, they created a petition on Change.org, an Instagram page and a comprehensive report with further advocacy strategies. Their aim is to raise international awareness of the case in order to put pressure on the Chinese authorities and campaign for Prof. Dawut's release.

“The extent of the human rights violations in the case of Rahile Dawut not only shocked us - it motivated us to act. We were very grateful for the opportunity to turn our theoretical knowledge into practical action with an important goal. Sign our petition to #freerahiledawut!”

Project group, students of the master's program in Social Work, Social Policy & Management

“It is inspiring to see how our students are so committed to academic freedom and human rights. Their commitment to the case of Prof. Rahile Dawut not only shows their determination, but also reflects the values we want to convey as a university.”

Prof. Dr. Belachew Gebrewold, Head of Department & Studies of Social Work

“I admire the passion of our students to work for a fairer world. Their commitment to this project illustrates the power of education as a driver of social change and underlines our aspiration at MCI to integrate a sense of responsibility and social impact into education.”

Regina Obexer, Head of the MCI Center for Responsible Management & Social Impact

The project results will be presented at the end of April at the SAR Initiative's European Student Advocacy Days in Dundee, Scotland. This annual event will take place next year at the MCI in Innsbruck.