Our work is grounded in the belief that a transformative human rights education requires more than teaching about rights, it demands meaningful and reflexive engagement that can lead to action. Central to this is critical legal literacy, which enables individuals to identify, understand, and challenge breaches of rights, holding duty-bearers accountable and challenging participants to critically engage with the realities of authoritarianism and systemic injustice. Without the ability to recognize violations and pursue redress, HRE risks becoming symbolic rather than transformative. Bridging the gap between legal scholarship and educational practice aims to ensure that we are not only aware of rights but are also equipped to defend them.
With our advocacy work, we seek a human rights education that transforms passive learning into critical, reflexive action. Our approach draws on Paulo Freire’s pedagogy of liberation to cultivate transformative learning that reshapes worldviews. We encourage learners to deeply reflect, question power structures, and develop the legal and moral awareness necessary to recognize rights violations and consider appropriate responses (Mezzanotti, G.; Håndlykken-Luz; Å; Ben Achour, M.; Shange, S.; Aricapa, LMG; Nduta Miring'u, C. 2025).
We will not forget, we will not remain silent, we will struggle for the possibility
of another world
Anti-Racist Statement 2025 (.pdf)
We are inspired by Freire’s (1970) powerful questions on the meaning and importance of dialogue: “How can I dialogue if I always project ignorance onto others and never perceive my own? How can I dialogue if I regard myself as a case apart from others—mere ‘its’ in whom I cannot recognize other ‘I’s’? How can I dialogue if I consider myself a member of the in-group of ‘pure’ [persons], the owners of truth and knowledge, for whom all non-members are ‘these people’ or the ‘great unwashed’? How can I dialogue if I start from the premise that naming the world is the task of an elite…? How can I dialogue if I am closed to—and offended by—the contribution of others?”. These questions guide our commitment to dialogue, critical reflection, and collective action that may lead to a path towards pluriversal approaches to human rights (Mezzanotti, G.; Håndlykken-Luz; Å; Ben Achour, M.; Shange, S.; Aricapa, LMG; Nduta Miring'u, C. 2025).
- Master in Human Rights and Multiculturalism
- Human Rights and Diversities Research Group
- Cross-disciplinary Research on Latin America (CLA)
References
- Freire, P. 1970 [2005]. Pedagogy of the oppressed (30th-anniversary ed.). London, New York: Continuum.
- Mezzanotti, G.; Håndlykken-Luz; Å; Ben Achour, M.; Shange, S.; Aricapa, LMG; Nduta Miring'u, C. 2025. “Why Do You Fear My Way So Much?” Artivism as a path toward pluriversality in Human Rights Education: our escrevivência. Journal of Human Rights Practice, Oxford Academic
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Join us at student.advocacy@usn.no on this incredible journey as we champion academic freedom, defend human rights, and create a more inclusive and supportive academic environment. At SAR at USN, your voice matters, and together, we can make a significant difference in the global fight for intellectual freedom.
