Wilberforce Institute

Do you want to contribute to critical debate on human rights?   The Wilberforce Institute is pleased to invite submissions to the third round of the Subedi Essay Prize where the winner will be awarded £500. https://lnkd.in/eZWbTZBM   The prize was established through the generous support of University of Hull alumnus, Professor Surya Subedi. Surya is now a Professor of International Law at the University of Leeds and a visiting faculty member on the international human rights law programme at the University of Oxford.   The prize will be awarded each year to the author of the best original essay on the abolition of modern forms of slavery or the protection of human dignity worldwide.   Last year’s winner was Yelyzaveta Monastyrova and her essay can be read here. https://lnkd.in/eTv_3xaR Key points: ·      Essays must be between 3,000-5,000 words and written in English by one author. ·      Authors must be a graduate in law, social sciences or humanities and below 40 years old at the age of submission. ·      Submissions should be made via email to subediprize@hull.ac.uk before the deadline of midnight on 31st December 2024. ·      Full terms and conditions available here: https://lnkd.in/eZWbTZBM

An early University of Hull graduate Barbara Canham Turner left a great legacy at the university. Overcoming gender and disability discrimination, the Canham Turner Building and the Canham Turner Annual Lecture are dedicated to her. Discover more about our KE work in this film: https://lnkd.in/eqdZe-83

How do we fight for social justice and equality within our Faculty of Arts, Cultures and Education? https://lnkd.in/erf7-WpA This film showcases knowledge exchange at every stage of the academic journey. Thanks to all partners for their vital work.

Since November 2023, the multi-award winning Homelands exhibition, co-produced by Dr Nick Evans, the Hull Afro Caribbean Association and Hull Museums started its tour of sites across Sierra Leone. This film considers the importance of engaging with the global majority of communities. https://lnkd.in/erHfFge5

Dr Judith Spickley retiring this month, provided research with significant implications for the historiography of slavery In our latest blog, Dr Nick Evans pays tribute to the significant contribution Judith made to the Wilberforce Institute team in the fight for social justice https://lnkd.in/egz9jnEY Judith's research met the challenge of investigating attitudes towards the ownership of people over time, examining the justifications that societies have given for the ownership of people, by considering the customs and laws that regulated it. The research provides a new framework for understanding why the ownership of people came to be accepted, and why it eventually came under attack. Find more information about the research here: https://lnkd.in/eGMByC-W Judith is widely recognised for supporting two successful research clusters examining forced child migration and the consequences of modern slavery, helping to launch the careers of the next generation of historical and contemporary slavery researchers. She was also prolific in supporting the communication needs of the Wilberforce Institute and curating a successful public lecture programme. View the recordings of the public lecture programme here: https://lnkd.in/eAsT_43i

To Heal a Butterfly: the researcher and the artist reflect Dr Cassandra Gooptar, Wilberforce Institute researcher and artist Deanio X share their experiences of working on and their insights into the ‘To Heal a Butterfly’ exhibition in this blog: https://lnkd.in/eHs_3Gwm Through the project, the artist and researcher shared their “perspectives on freedom fighters in the Caribbean and the importance of emphasising resistance, agency and emancipation coming from the enslaved people themselves”. The artworks “seek to highlight an area of research in Britain’s imperial past through a combination of improvisational portraiture, digital animation and sculptural installation and have been created as a visual response to the Wilberforce Institute's research on the Sea Islands & Jamaica enslavement records”. The exhibition, developed with Hull Museums with support from the award-winning Wilberforce House Advisory Group is on display at the Wilberforce House Museum until April 2025. Arrange your visit to the exhibition https://lnkd.in/eFmDuACn

Submissions for the Subedi Essay Prize close on 31st December. Get the information: https://lnkd.in/eZWbTZBM Don’t miss this opportunity to add your voice to critical debate on human rights. A £500 prize will be awarded to the winner.

In this blog, https://lnkd.in/exD_FfSy Dr Isabel del Pilar Arce Zelada looks back on her PhD research activities at the University of Hull, as she moves on to a Postdoctoral Researcher position. The experience allowed her to think, challenge and write and led her “closer to the people who matter, the ones exposed to, and fighting, different oppressive forms of governance."

The time has come to take the risks of climate-induced modern slavery seriously For UN Human Rights Day, Dr Daniel Ogunniyi, Modern Slavery Lecturer at the University of Hull, discusses the impacts of climate change on human rights and argues that the time for action is now. Read the article. https://lnkd.in/eztXPxyC UN Human Rights Day marks the anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December 1948. “Unlike the traditional forms of human rights violations attributable to state agents and other private actors, climate change has rather emerged as the invisible actor with severe and sometimes more devastating human rights impacts.” Dr Daniel Ogunniyi, Modern Slavery Lecturer, University of Hull

For last week’s International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, Professor Simon Green, Wilberforce Institute, Director, talks about the four interlocking themes of vulnerability to modern slavery: desperation, entitlement, isolation and disruption, in this interview aired on Voices of Islam. The interview runs from 27:50 – 46:00 Listen now: https://lnkd.in/eq5H2Xxc He also talks about the positive actions communities can take.