A Brief History

IHRE was founded in 2000 as a partnership among 14 South African and U.S. colleges and universities plus three civil society organizations working in the area of human rights.   For five years, IHRE offered a month-long intensive course that was scheduled during the U.S. summer semester break. 

In 2007, IHRE became a joint semester program of Bard College and the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits).  The program makes possible a deep and multifaceted engagement with human rights and opens up possibilities for substantive participation in human rights work in the form of internships and research projects. 

IHRE was created in response to the findings of a Ministerial Committee review of national education in South Africa that took place in June 2000.  The Committee noted the important challenge of creating educational opportunities that "promote integration and conceptual coherence with a human rights approach which pays special attention to anti-discriminatory, anti-racist, and special needs issues."  As the Committee concluded, it is imperative to find new and innovative ways to "infuse human rights education and education for civic responsibility throughout the curriculum."  We at IHRE, on both sides of the Atlantic, embrace and practice this challenge.