Movement for Colonial Freedom - Rt Hon Tony Benn

http://www.sas.ac.uk/832.html

The Institute of Commonwealth Studies was delighted to welcome the Rt Hon Tony Benn to speak on the Movement for Colonial Freedom, as part of the Institute's 60th Anniversary Lecture Series. This event was filmed as is now available on-line to view.

One year on from graduation - 5 lessons learnt

It suddenly dawned on me this morning that it's been almost exactly one year since I graduated from ICS. I thought I'd jot down a few things I learnt from the course (you know, other than all the fancy schmancy book learnin'):

1. No human rights issue that exists in isolation to any other - this sounds obvious, but it was consistently reinforced when I was trying to separate out which were the most 'important' rights that supported all others.
2. Environmental rights (especially around climate change) are going to be the 'new frontier' of human rights - I remember having some pretty terse debates with a researcher from Amnesty who argued that environmental issues have no 'violator, violated, remedy' scenarios and therefore cannot be counted in the same bracket as civil and political rights. I disagree completely and think that we're going ot see more and more legal, social and NGO activism/advocacy around environmental rights - new organisations like Client Earth, for example.
3. Empowerment through acknowledging people's autonomy and agency is important - Another obvious one, maybe, but I've seen too often in NGOs, development and public opinion the idea that 'victims' need to be 'taught' how to 'develop' and get 'rescued' from poverty. Luckily, I work for an incredible development research institute (Institute of Development Studies) in a team developing genuinely collaborative approaches with partners in the majority world (i.e. 'developing' countries) on climate change adaptation.
4. It's not what you say, it's what people hear - this is especially important in communications and advocacy, which I work with. People generally can't deal with overtly negative and demoralising images and messages, they just switch off mentally. We in human rights, development and environmental rights need to be aspirational and positive in our communication, even with issues that are heavy and bleak. That doesn't mean glossing over things or sugar-coating things, just speaking to our audiences in ways that mobilises thier sense of justice and motivates them to act.
5. While you make plans, the gods laugh - One of the most important lessons I learnt at ICS was to try and develop a flexible mind and a determined patience with the unpredictable. Studying a masters, working part-time in the public sector and going through some serious health problems meant that I had to rely much more on the kindness and patience of my fellow students; ICS staff; my friends and family; and, sometimes, complete strangers. I also had to be open to changing my plans - I went in wanting to focus on gender rights and came out with a thesis written on environmental rights (and gender).

New Beginnings

Welcome to the School's New Alumni Blog!