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On Saturday 19 October, the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria hosted a networking event of Centre alumni in Banjul, where they were attending the 81st Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The event was attended by thirty graduates of two of the Centre’s five academic programmes: the Masters in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa (HRDA); and the Masters in Multidisciplinary Human Rights (MDHR).

Dr Michelle Maziwisa, the Manager of the HRDA programme, facilitated the discussion, while Lloyd Kuveya, Assistant Director (HRDA, Class of 2007) gave opening remarks. Each of the alumni introduced themselves and explained their current role. Twelve different annual cohorts were represented, stretching from Dr Solomon Dersso (HRDA, Class of 2003), through Roselyn Hanzi (HRDA, Class of 2006) and Japhet Biegon (HRDA, Class of 2008), to the Class of 2023 (Safa Idress, Philippe Plagbe, Idirashe Amanda Chikomba, Chimwemwe Chithope-Mwale, Awa Gai, and Lakshita Kanhiya). 

The group celebrated many milestones, including the professional achievements of the Centre alumni, such as the appointments of Janet Gbam (MDHR, Class of 2019) as Senior Programme Officer, Article 19; Michael Nyarko (HRDA, Class of 2014) as Deputy Executive Director at the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA); Idirashe Chikomba as Research and Advocacy Manager at Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR); Mai Aman (HRDA, Class of 2020) as Legal Officer at the Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA); Awa Gai as Programme Management Consultant at Democracy International seconded to support the Government of the Gambia; Chimwemwe Chithope-Mwale as Acting Director, Malawi Legal Aid Bureau; and Chido Muza (TILA, Class of 2023) – who has been seconded as Delivery and Policy Advisor to the Department of Strategic Policy and Delivery, Ministry of Public Policy in the Gambia,  although she was not able to join the alumni networking event. 

The gathering of graduates provided a valuable and unique opportunity to discuss various issues pertaining to the HRDA programme, particularly the career progress of alumni, opportunities for engagement and further collaboration. Importantly, it was a time of concerted reflection on the HRDA curriculum as part of the broader curriculum review that the Centre is conducting to ensure the programme stays relevant and well-suited to the needs of employers. The event was also a chance to exchange ideas on how to ensure the sustainability of the HRDA programme.

The organisers of the event are most grateful to Awa Gai and Fatou Bintou Sallah (HRDA, Class of 2020) who assisted with the logistical arrangements for the event. 

The Centre for Human Rights gladly acknowledges the financial support of the European Union through the Global Campus of Human Rights. The Global Campus is a network of human rights institutions working on research and training of human rights in eight regions across the world. The Centre for Human Rights is the regional headquarters of the Global Campus Africa region, through which it presents the HRDA programme in partnership with 12 African universities. 


For more information, please contact:

Dr Michelle Maziwisa
Programme Manager: LLM/MPhil HRDA

Tel  +27 (0) 12 420 6703
Fax +27 (0)86 580 5743 
michelle.maziwisa@up.ac.za

Davina Murden
Researcher and HRDA Alumni Coordinator

Tel:  +27 (0)12 420 4684
Fax: +27 0) 86 580 5743
davina.murden@up.ac.za

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