Kean University Human Rights Institute
Encyclopedia
The Kean University Human Rights Institute, located on the main campus of Kean University
in Union
, New Jersey
, is an educational, advocacy, and research institute whose mission is to raise awareness of human rights violations across the globe and to create initiatives to battle human rights abuses and produce curricula, material, and seminars that promote tolerance. In May 2010 the Human Rights Institute was formally opened by Kerry Kennedy
, co-founder of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights, thought the institute's work preceded the formal opening. The institute has hosted annual high-profile conferences on human rights since 2008. The institute's work is recognized as a major regional and national resource for developing curricula, seminars, and other materials designed to promote tolerance and understanding, break barriers, and inspire people to take action on behalf of human rights.
for their work on the institute.
The institute dedication ceremony featured Kerry Kennedy, daughter of the late U.S. Senator
and U.S. Attorney General
Robert F. Kennedy
and Ethel Kennedy and niece of President
John F. Kennedy
and Senator Edward Kennedy
. Kerry Kennedy had co-founded the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, one of the world's leading advocacy centers for ongoing education related to human rights issues and individual empowerment. The gallery's first exhibit, "Speak Truth to Power", was Kerry Kennedy's and featured photographs of individual human rights champions from around the globe whom Kennedy personally interviewed for her publication "Speak Truth to Power".
Kean's Holocaust Resource Center, established in 1982, and Liberty Hall, founded in the eighteenth century at the dawn of the American Revolution
by William Livingston
, predate the institute in the fight for human rights at Kean and the institute has stated an intent to build on the Kean tradition of promoting human rights.
-winning New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and former Sudanese slave Simon Deng
and examined ongoing atrocities in Darfur
through eyewitness accounts.
The 2009 conference, Slavery in the 21st Century, focused on the more than 27 million people enslaved in the modern world and addressed the horrors of the issue and steps to combating slavery. International founder of Free the Slaves
, Dr. Kevin Bales
, and former child soldier Ishmael Beah
.
The 2010 conference, Combating Hatred, examined the issue and effect of hate speech and featured Morris Dees
, founder of, and chief trial counsel for, the Southern Poverty Law Center
.
The 2011 conference, Immigration: A Melting Pot No More? focused on the changing nature and divisive issue of immigration in modern America and featured a diverse panel of immigration experts, including former United States Ambassador to the United Nations
John Bolton
and New York Times columnist Lawrence Downes
and was moderated by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jim McQueeny.
Kean University
Kean University is a coeducational, public research university located in Union and Hillside, New Jersey, United States. Kean University serves its students in the liberal arts, the sciences, and the professions with a dedication to intellectual and cultural growth and is best known for its...
in Union
Union Township, Union County, New Jersey
Union is a Township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. In the 18th century, the area that is now Union was then called Connecticut Farms...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, is an educational, advocacy, and research institute whose mission is to raise awareness of human rights violations across the globe and to create initiatives to battle human rights abuses and produce curricula, material, and seminars that promote tolerance. In May 2010 the Human Rights Institute was formally opened by Kerry Kennedy
Kerry Kennedy
Mary Kerry Kennedy is an American human rights activist and writer. She is the seventh of the eleven children of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel Kennedy. She was known as Kerry Kennedy Cuomo from 1991 until 2003.-Early life:...
, co-founder of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights, thought the institute's work preceded the formal opening. The institute has hosted annual high-profile conferences on human rights since 2008. The institute's work is recognized as a major regional and national resource for developing curricula, seminars, and other materials designed to promote tolerance and understanding, break barriers, and inspire people to take action on behalf of human rights.
Founding and mission
The Human Rights Institute at Kean University was designed to broaden the university's longstanding efforts to promote awareness of human rights issues and violations worldwide and to develop initiatives designed to help eradicate these abuses and their root causes. Billed as a "call to action", the institute aims to teach, to educate, and to act on behalf of human rights. In 2008 the institute began hosting its annual international conference on human rights and in 2010 the Human Rights Institute formally opened in a new building adjacent to the Nancy Thompson Library. The new institute's gallery highlights issues, publications, and artwork related to human rights worldwide. The facility’s architects received the Design Honor Award from the New Jersey Chapter of the American Institute of ArchitectsAmerican Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
for their work on the institute.
The institute dedication ceremony featured Kerry Kennedy, daughter of the late U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
and U.S. Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
and Ethel Kennedy and niece of President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
and Senator Edward Kennedy
Edward Kennedy
Edward Kennedy may refer to:*Ted Kennedy, Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy , United States Senator from Massachusetts*Edward Kennedy , journalist who first reported the German surrender in World War II*Edward Kennedy, Jr., son of U.S...
. Kerry Kennedy had co-founded the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, one of the world's leading advocacy centers for ongoing education related to human rights issues and individual empowerment. The gallery's first exhibit, "Speak Truth to Power", was Kerry Kennedy's and featured photographs of individual human rights champions from around the globe whom Kennedy personally interviewed for her publication "Speak Truth to Power".
Kean's Holocaust Resource Center, established in 1982, and Liberty Hall, founded in the eighteenth century at the dawn of the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
by William Livingston
William Livingston
William Livingston served as the Governor of New Jersey during the American Revolutionary War and was a signer of the United States Constitution.-Early life:...
, predate the institute in the fight for human rights at Kean and the institute has stated an intent to build on the Kean tradition of promoting human rights.
Events and activities
The Human Rights Institute pursues its goals through seminars, workshops, training, curricular offerings, and the development of major symposia and conferences on peace and human rights.Annual Human Rights Conference
The Human Rights Institute's most prominent signature event is the annual international conference on human rights, the first of which was held in 2008. The first conference, Darfur: the First Genocide of the 21st Century, was headlined by two-time Pulitzer PrizePulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and former Sudanese slave Simon Deng
Simon Deng
Simon Aban Deng is a Sudanese human rights activist living in the United States. He is a victim of child slavery. A native of the Shilluk Kingdom in southern Sudan, Deng spent several years as a domestic slave in southern Sudan.-Biography:...
and examined ongoing atrocities in Darfur
Darfur
Darfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...
through eyewitness accounts.
The 2009 conference, Slavery in the 21st Century, focused on the more than 27 million people enslaved in the modern world and addressed the horrors of the issue and steps to combating slavery. International founder of Free the Slaves
Free the Slaves
Free the Slaves is an international non-governmental organization and lobby group, established to campaign against the modern practice of slavery around the world. Formed in 2001, it is the largest anti-slavery organization in the U.S. It is the sister-organization of Anti-Slavery International...
, Dr. Kevin Bales
Kevin Bales
Kevin Bales is an expert on modern slavery and President of Free the Slaves. Free the Slaves is the US sister organization of Anti-Slavery International, the world’s oldest human rights organization. He is currently based in Washington, D.C....
, and former child soldier Ishmael Beah
Ishmael Beah
Ishmael Beah is a former Sierra Leonean child soldier and the author of the published memoir, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier.-Early years:...
.
The 2010 conference, Combating Hatred, examined the issue and effect of hate speech and featured Morris Dees
Morris Dees
Morris Seligman Dees, Jr. is the co-founder and chief trial counsel for the Southern Poverty Law Center , and a former direct mail marketeer for book publishing. Along with his law partner, Joseph J...
, founder of, and chief trial counsel for, the Southern Poverty Law Center
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is an American nonprofit civil rights organization noted for its legal victories against white supremacist groups; legal representation for victims of hate groups; monitoring of alleged hate groups, militias and extremist organizations; and educational programs that...
.
The 2011 conference, Immigration: A Melting Pot No More? focused on the changing nature and divisive issue of immigration in modern America and featured a diverse panel of immigration experts, including former United States Ambassador to the United Nations
United States Ambassador to the United Nations
The United States Ambassador to the United Nations is the leader of the U.S. delegation, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The position is more formally known as the "Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations, with the rank and status of Ambassador...
John Bolton
John R. Bolton
John Robert Bolton is an American lawyer and diplomat who has served in several Republican presidential administrations. He served as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations from August 2005 until December 2006 on a recess appointment...
and New York Times columnist Lawrence Downes
Lawrence Downes
Lawrence Downes is an American journalist and member of the editorial board of The New York Times since 2004.Downes works principally on editorials for the regional opinion sections which appear in the Westchester, Long Island and city weekly sections...
and was moderated by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jim McQueeny.
Student involvement
Kean University students have have organized a Human Rights Club, based in the institute, which has participated in and organized in fundraisers, lectures, and conferences on and off campus. The club has advocated and raised funds for, among others, women in Darfur refugee camps and the Congo, child slaves and the victims of human trafficking, and the Haiti earthquake victims.See also
- Kean UniversityKean UniversityKean University is a coeducational, public research university located in Union and Hillside, New Jersey, United States. Kean University serves its students in the liberal arts, the sciences, and the professions with a dedication to intellectual and cultural growth and is best known for its...
- Libery Hall, Kean University
- New Jersey Center for Science, Technology, and Mathematics