Events

Beyond Conventions: A Ford Forum on Human Rights

In our final 75th anniversary Ford Forum, we gather activists, rights defenders, government and private sector leaders, artists and writers to challenge us all to think beyond conventions and to reimagine what human rights can and should be in an era of transformation. “Beyond Conventions: Reimagining Human Rights in a Time of Change” will be held at the foundation on Sept. 20, 2011.

Blog

Resources

• Follow @FordBeyond on Twitter and the hashtag #FordBeyond
• View Ford-supported documentaries about human rights issues
• Learn about the event’s live bloggers:
  • Sonal Bains (Lead Blogger)
  • Mark Belinsky, President and Founder, Digital Democracy
  • Megan Izen, multimedia reporter, New York City News Service
  • Steve Katz, Publisher, Mother Jones
  • Ayofemi Kirby, Director of Strategy and Programs, Mobilize.org
  • Sonny Singh, Blogger and Organizer
  • Ishaan Tharoor, TIME
• Read the Ford Foundation president’s opening remarks and the remarks by Maya Harris, vice president for Democracy, Rights and Justice
• View the complete program (PDF, 1 MB)
• Learn more about our work in Human Rights

Images from the Day

About the Event

Session One: Human Rights on Trial (9:20-10:40 a.m.)

The global human rights movement has achieved tremendous success. It has reshaped international and domestic policy worldwide, confronted authoritarian regimes, supported dissidents and defended the rights of millions. It has grown from a mere handful of organizations to a powerful global network, winning passage of standards-setting conventions, securing breakthrough legal victories and capturing the imaginations of people everywhere. But it also has unfinished business. How will the movement confront the challenges of implementing rights? Effectively tackle the increasing role of non-state actors? Build a movement of inclusion and diversity? Embrace economic and social rights as a next frontier? In this curtain-raising session, we will interrogate these propositions and explore the future direction of this vital movement.

Portrait	Name	Title and Address
	Geoffrey Robertson QC (Moderator)	Human Rights Lawyer
	Jackie Dugard	Co-Founder and Executive Director Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa
	Jeremy Heimans	Co-Founder and CEO Purpose
	Diego Luna	Actor and Activist
	Anthony D. Romero	Executive Director American Civil Liberties Union
	Salil Shetty	Secretary General Amnesty International

Session Two: Women of the World (11:15 a.m.-12:00 p.m.)

At the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing in 1995, then-First Lady Hillary Clinton proclaimed that “human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights.” Where are we today, and where are we headed? Are women’s rights the defining cause of the 21st century? Has heightened global awareness of women’s equality improved the lived realities of women and their families? Two leading voices for human dignity come together to explore how women everywhere can work across sectors and movements to solve the world’s most intractable problems.

Portrait	Name	Title and Address
	Cynthia McFadden (Moderator)	Anchor and Correspondent ABC News
	Michelle Bachelet	Executive Director UN Women
	Melanne Verveer	U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues

Live Performance by Sussan Deyhim (12:00-12:10 p.m.)

Sussan Deyhim is an Iranian composer, vocalist and performance artist who is known around the world for creating a unique sonic and vocal language imbued with a sense of ritual and the unknown. Deyhim was part of ballet companies in Iran and Europe before moving to New York in 1980 and embarking on a multifaceted career involving music, theater, dance, media and film. She has collaborated with a wide range of artists including Peter Gabriel, Talvin Singh, Branford Marsalis and Shirin Neshat.

Portrait	Name	Title and Address
	Sussan Deyhim	Composer, Vocalist and Performance Artist

Lunchtime Discussion: We Hold These Truths to Be Self-Evident (12:35-1:30 p.m.)

After 235 years, the United States is still striving to fulfill the promise of rights set forth in its Declaration of Independence. As a leading voice on human rights around the world, what is the next generation of achievements needed at home? From criminal justice to immigration and education, what are the priorities and the paths that define a new era of rights? This lunchtime conversation will explore the issues we must confront to achieve “a more perfect union.”

Portrait	Name	Title and Address
	Jeffrey Toobin (Moderator)	Staff Writer The New Yorker
	Wade Henderson	President and CEO Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
	Harold Hongju Koh	Legal Adviser U.S. Department of State

Live Performance by Universes (1:55-2:05 p.m.)

Universes is an international ensemble company of multi-disciplined writers and performers who fuse poetry, theater, jazz, hip hop, politics, down-home blues and Spanish boleros to create theatrical works that are moving, challenging and entertaining. The group breaks the bounds of traditional theater to set forth their own brand, inviting old and new generations of theater-crafters and theater-goers to reshape the face of American performance.

Portrait	Name	Title and Address
	Universes	International Ensemble Performance Company

Session Three: Technology — The Next Frontier (2:05-3:10 p.m.)

How are human rights defended or denied in an online world? In this conversation, we tackle the role technology can play in advancing the human rights agenda. What do freedom of expression and the right to privacy mean in the digital environment? What is the role and what are the limitations of technology in fueling social movements? What are the threats that human rights defenders face online and how can they protect themselves? A provocative panel of technologists and human rights defenders offers thoughtful conclusions about how the movement can activate the digital space and get wired for change.

Portrait	Name	Title and Address
	Sewell Chan (Moderator)	Deputy Editor The New York Times
	Tim Berners-Lee	Inventor World Wide Web
	Rebecca MacKinnon	Senior Fellow New America Foundation
	Elisa Massimino	President and CEO Human Rights First
	Andrew McLaughlin	Executive Director Civic Commons
	Danny O'Brien	Internet Advocacy Coordinator Committee to Protect Journalists

Session Four: On the Frontlines of Human Rights (3:10-3:55 p.m.)

Throughout their distinguished careers, Madeleine K. Albright and Desmond Tutu have been leaders and game-changers. They have witnessed some of the worst atrocities and greatest triumphs of the 20th century. In this special conversation, they will share their collective wisdom as they discuss what they’ve learned over decades of intense engagement with global struggles for human rights, reflect on unfinished business and look ahead to the challenges facing the next generation.

Portrait	Name	Title and Address
	Charlayne Hunter-Gault (Moderator)	Foreign Correspondent NPR
	Madeleine K. Albright	Former U.S. Secretary of State
	Desmond Tutu	Chair The Elders

Session Five: Paths to Prosperity (4:25-5:20 p.m.)

The significance of human rights conventions as tools on the road to justice is well-established. And the growth of democratic movements and governments across the globe brings hope. But these successes have failed to create a path to economic prosperity that is more broadly shared. Billions of people are denied economic opportunity and access to resources. An equal number continue to face discrimination and exclusion. Can traditional human rights strategies deliver justice for those who are excluded and marginalized not just politically but socially and economically? This conversation will explore the new opportunities and voices that are offering answers to fundamental questions about the future of the human rights movement and its ability to move a globalizing world toward dignity for all.

Portrait	Name	Title and Address
	Lyse Doucet (Moderator)	Correspondent BBC World Service
	Hossam Bahgat	Founder and Director Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights
	Nonkosi Khumalo	Chair Treatment Action Campaign
	Angélique Kidjo	Founder Batonga
	Balakrishnan Rajagopal	Director MIT Program on Human Rights and Justice
	Kenneth Roth	Executive Director Human Rights Watch

Live Performance by Angélique Kidjo (5:20-5:30 p.m.)

Angélique Kidjo has cross-pollinated the West African traditions of her childhood in Benin with elements of American R&B, funk and jazz, as well as influences from Europe and Latin America. Her internationally acclaimed repertoire includes collaborations with Carlos Santana, Alicia Keys and Joss Stone. Kidjo’s album “Djin Djin” won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Album in 2008 and her most recent album, “Oyo,” was nominated for the same award in 2011.

Portrait	Name	Title and Address
	Angélique Kidjo	Grammy Award-Winning Recording Artist

Media Contacts

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(+1) 212-573-5128

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(+1) 212-351-3643

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pressline@fordfoundation.org

Joshua Cinelli

Media Relations Chief

Email

j.cinelli@fordfoundation.org