Max van der Stoel Human Rights Lecture 2023
Event dedicated to International Human Rights Day. Keynote by Prof. Dr. Rianne Letschert. Followed by the 26th presentation of the Max van der Stoel Human Rights Award. (English / SG-Certificate*)
Time: 15:30-17:00 hrs. From 15:00 hrs. welcome with coffee & tea, drinks afterwards
Admission is free after registration (required).
International Human Rights Day
This bi-annual event consists of a keynote by an expert in the field of Human Rights, followed by the presentation of the Max van der Stoel Human Rights Award. The event is dedicated to International Human Rights Day. This is to celebrate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which was adopted and proclaimed on December 10th 1948 by the United Nations General Assembly. This year the UDHR turns 75.
Keynote address
The keynote address will be delivered by Prof. Dr. Rianne Letschert, president of Maastricht University. As this year also marks the 60th anniversary of Tilburg Law School, it is a great honor to welcome professor Letschert, alumnus of the Law School and former PHD candidate of Max van der Stoel. Prof. Letschert will present the Max van der Stoel Human Rights Lecture entitled:
Human rights research and impact 75 years after the adoption of the UDHR: stronger together it is!
In her keynote address, Rianne Letschert will emphasize the importance of a strong link between scientific research and impact driven activities in the field of human rights. What can we say about the recognition and rewards of these activities 75 years since the adoption of the UDHR? She will do so by presenting her own personal story and struggles in pursuing this and by explaining the necessity of a fundamental reorientation of the way academics are being recognized and rewarded in their work.
Rianne Letschert
Prof. dr. Rianne Letschert is the President of Maastricht University where she previously was Rector Magnificus. Professor Letschert studied international law at, inter alia, Tilburg Law School and wrote her PHD dissertation under the supervision of Max van der Stoel and Willem van Genugten. She served as director of the International Victimology Institute (INTERVICT/Tilburg University), where she established a master's degree in Victimology and Criminal Justice. In May 2015, she and her team were awarded a Vidi grant by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research to study the impact of international tribunals on societies and individuals that have been confronted with serious human rights violations and international crimes.
Prof. Letschert has always dedicated a lot of time to translating scientific knowledge into societal impact. For example, she was an expert consultant on behalf of the victims at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, she gave several public lectures and her extracurricular positions are related to socially relevant themes. Moreover, one of Professor Letschert’s ambitions is to fundamentally reassess the career paths and opportunities of academic staff.
Max van der Stoel Human Rights Award
After the keynote, the Max van der Stoel Human Rights Award will be presented for the best PhD and the best Master-thesis or article in the field of human rights in the Netherland and Belgium.
Since 1995, this prize is awarded. The award, which serves as an incentive for human rights scholarship, is named after Max van der Stoel, former OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorites and professor of International and European Law at Tilburg University.
More information
This event is organized by the Netherlands Network for Human Rights Research (NNHRR) and Tilburg Law School in cooperation with Studium Generale.
Contact: Annelieke Koster (Studium Generale).
Picture above: Eleanor Roosevelt holding a poster of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (in English). Lake Success, New York, circa November 1949.
* For students, this event may count towards the SG-Certificate. Check the SG-Certificate website for all the terms and conditions.
*Photos will be taken during this program, and visitors may appear in them.
