Human Rights Initiative Funding for 2010-2011

The Human Rights Initiative at the University of Connecticut is seeking proposals for human rights events for the 2010-2011 academic year.

In the past, the Human Rights Initiative has funded speakers, films, workshops, art exhibits and theatrical productions. Applications will be accepted from university departments, faculty, student groups, institutes and cultural centers from all UConn campuses. The Human Rights Initiative is supported by the Office of the Provost and Vice-President for Academic Affairs.

Criteria For Funding Funding Available: Funds for UConn Human Rights Initiative: From Ideas to Action events will normally be limited to a maximum of $2,500.

Under exceptional circumstances, the committee may approve a higher amount depending upon the significance of the speaker or event.

Types of Events Eligible for Support: Funding is available to pay for speaker’s honoraria, speaker travel and meals, for group performances, round table discussions, programs, or promotional materials.

Who May Apply: Funding will be available to representatives of university departments, schools, colleges, student groups, institutes, and cultural centers.

Criteria For Selection: A faculty and student review committee will consider the following criteria when selecting what organizations will receive funding:

  • Clear focus on human rights
  • Creates, fosters and/or expands an interest in human rights
  • Contributes to the UConn Human Rights: From Ideas to Action as a whole, does not significantly duplicate another event, adds to a wide range of types of events
  • Quality of speaker or event
  • Interdisciplinary appeal
  • Appeal to students, faculty, and general public
  • Practical, feasible, well-planned event
  • Reasonable cost and proportional to the impact of event

The criteria and application for funding are both available electronically.

Application Deadline is March 31, 2010

Please contact Rachel Jackson at 860-486-5393 or via email at rachel.jackson@uconn.edu, if you have questions.

2009-2010 Recipients of the Human Rights Initiative Funding

New Research Guides Available!

In addition to the Human Rights Research Guide, there are several new research guides available on the UConn Libraries website:

For a complete listing of research guides, go to http://classguides.lib.uconn.edu/

Human Rights in the USA Film Series: Trouble the Water

Please join the Human Rights Institute and the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center for the February film for the 2009-2010 Human Rights Film Series: Human Rights in the USA.

Film:  Trouble the Water (2008)
Directed by Carl Deal and Tia Lessin

 Tuesday, February 9, 2010
4:00 pm, Konover Auditorium
Thomas J. Dodd Research Center

Trouble the Water, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, and nominated for the Best Documentary Feature Academy Award, revolves around the stories of Kimberly and Scott Roberts who captured the scene inside their attic as Hurricane Katrina raged outside their New Orleans home. Weaving together home video from the Roberts’ camera, news coverage of events as they unfolded in real time and footage they shot of the couple over the course of two years, the film constructs a portrait of a community that had been abandoned long before Katrina hit, and a husband and wife surviving not only deadly floodwaters, armed soldiers and bungling bureaucrats, but also their own past. Trouble the Water follows Kimberly and Scott’s journey through post- hurricane despair and chaos as they struggle to navigate the FEMA bureaucracy, resist eviction from temporary housing, cope with traumatic stress, and try to make a new start in Memphis. 

The full film series schedule and downloadable poster is available on the Dodd Research Center’s website at http://doddcenter.uconn.edu/events/hr_usa_film_series.htm