Four students this May will have the opportunity to travel to Norway to participate in the international Oslo Freedom Forum as part of a new initiative launched this semester by the Institute for Global Leadership (IGL) and the Human Rights Foundation.
The Oslo Scholars Program this week will select four students to attend the third annual human rights forum, in which dozens of activists lend their perspectives to a certain aspect of the politics and study of human rights, Vice President of Strategy at the Oslo Freedom Forum Alex Gladstein (LA '08) said.
The program will also match the selected students with human rights activists for internships, according to senior Michael Niconchuk, the program's co-coordinator.
Niconchuk said a total of 20 students applied to the program.
This year's Oslo scholars will have the opportunity to intern with Izzeldin Abuelaish, a doctor from Gaza; Justine Hardy, a journalist who has written about Kashmir; Vincent Manoharan, an activist for Dalit rights in India; and Busi Kheswa, a LGBT rights' activist in South Africa, according to Oslo Scholars Program co-coordinator Alisha Sett, a junior.
Niconchuk said the program will allow participating students to network and provide them with a base for a practical education in the study of human rights.
"The [objective of the] Oslo Scholars Program is to directly engage with and work for the advancement of both international and local-level human rights campaigns around the world," Niconchuk said.
Senior Molly Dow, who applied to the program and is waiting for notification of her acceptance, said she was impressed with the program's caliber.
"I think it's a really high-rate opportunity for students and it's surprising how high-level it is," Dow said. "I'm happy that IGL is taking on this kind of project."
The forum typically attracts policymakers, business leaders, public intellectuals, journalists, social entrepreneurs and legislators who are passionate about human rights issues, according to Gladstein.
He said the interdisciplinary nature of the event sets it apart.
"From my perspective, the reason why I think it's unique is that it [the Oslo Freedom Forum] really brings together completely diverse community of people to talk about human rights," Gladstein said.
Gladstein said he first envisioned the Oslo Scholars program two years ago during a conversation with IGL Director Sherman Teichman.
Sett, who attended last year's forum with Niconchuk, said Oslo was an appropriate location for the event.
"Being in a city where you have so many human rights symbols all around you is … great," she said.
This year's Oslo Freedom Forum, scheduled for May 9-11, will feature about 40 speakers who will give individual presentations and lead panels, Gladstein said.
Niconchuk said that the forum will be publicized across Europe.
According to Niconchuk, the program gives students opportunities they wouldn't otherwise find at Tufts to directly interact with human rights leaders and conduct an intensive study of the discipline.
"The IGL doesn't have a program yet that is exclusively dedicated to human rights," he said.
The Human Rights Foundation helped the IGL to fund the students' trip and stay in Norway.
"We're trying to cover most of the funding for both the forum and the internship," Niconchuk said. "[The] Human Rights Foundation is providing a very large subsidy."
Niconchuk said the program will bring a personal feel to the forum for its student participants.
"No students other than Tufts [students] will be participating," he said. "You're not competing for endless attention, and it's a very intimate thing."
