History, Human Rights, and Action: The 2013 HIA Poland Summer Fellowship Begins

What can be done to promote human rights in Poland? Are there lessons to be learned from WWII and the Holocaust? Or can we find inspiration in the Solidarity Movement and the changing of systems? With these questions in mind, this year’s twenty-one Humanity in Action Summer Fellows arrived in Warsaw ready for a month of exploration, inquiry, scholarship, and action.

Representing four countries and even more ethnic and cultural backgrounds, this year’s fellows make up an impressive group. With both highly successful academic careers and impressive volunteer and career experiences, this year’s fellows bring many diverse talents to the HIA Summer Fellowship. From economists to doctors, this year’s fellows span a wide array of interests and career aspirations. However, these future leaders share one thing in common: a dedication to human rights protection and activism.

Throughout the next month, the fellows will have opportunities to expand their thinking and to delve deeper into the complexity of human rights and minority protection. In the first phase of the program, the input phase, the fellows will have opportunities to expand their knowledge and learn innovative strategies using Poland as a case study by meeting with key leaders, thinkers, and activists operating in Warsaw and Poland. In addition, several site visits to important historical and contemporary locations of both commemoration and activism will give the fellows first-hand experience to connect history with human rights work in Poland.

This year’s program will also have fellows put their skills and knowledge into practice for human rights activism. During the second phase of the program, the output phase, the fellows will create tangible plans for educational workshops on key human rights issues in Poland. Intended for audiences of Polish high school students ages 16-19, these workshops will serve to introduce students to disparities present in Polish society with the aim of connecting history with current human rights issues and affairs. With the assistance of speakers from the first phase of the program and trainers on creating workshops, the fellows will present completed workshop scenarios through public presentations at the end of the program, as well as create e-publication featuring the fellows’ completed workshop scenarios with an aim to spur future action and implementation of the scenarios.

Although the program has just begun, there is already an intense energy among the fellows: excitement about the opportunities that Warsaw has to offer, but also dedication to producing tangible solutions towards key human rights issues in Poland, Ukraine, Germany, and the United States. Keep reading as the fellows themselves continue to provide updates here on all of their tips, thoughts, reflections, revelations, and more.