Call for participants: Training and funded research opportunity on business and human rights for Russian human rights defenders in exile
17 April 2025 |
Araminta and Rights CoLab are pleased to announce a call for participants in a pilot capacity-building initiative focused on business and human rights (BHR) and corporate accountability, aimed at Russian human rights defenders in exile.
Are you a human rights defender with a legal, journalism, or activism background? Are you interested in expanding your knowledge on business and human rights through comprehensive training and a paid research opportunity?
Program overview:
- In-person BHR training by international experts from June 3-6 2025 in Zakopane, Poland;
- Following the training, a 4-6 month guided research phase, available to selected participants. Research projects are designed by the participant and should serve to support a current or future BHR initiative. There will be an opportunity to apply for funding for a small group or individual research project on a BHR topic of your design;
- Remote mentoring sessions throughout the research period with BHR expert trainers;
- Planned in-person workshop at the close of the research phase to discuss longer-term potential collaboration on the results of your investigations, including possible project partnerships.
Eligibility:
- Strong background in human rights including human rights law, civic activism, or journalism;*
- Ability to attend the in-person training June 3-6, 2025;
- Demonstrated interest in business and human rights topics;
- Proficiency in written and spoken English at professional working levels.
- If planning to submit a research proposal, ability to propose and carry out a research project, which if funded would require a 20-30% time commitment over a period of 4-6 months ;**
*The funder has enabled applicants from Russia to participate free of charge. Applicants from other backgrounds will be considered but will need to pay their own costs. **Not all participants in the training will be selected to proceed to the research phase. Participation in the training is possible without further participation in the research phase of the project.
English is the working language of the training program and all accompanying materials.
Application details:
- Please fill out the application form available at this link.
- Depending on the number of applications, or to verify language skills, the organizers may conduct short interviews with applicants.
- Please apply by 18 May 2025. Participants will be selected on a rolling basis, so apply early to secure a spot!
Aims of the program:
- Enhance the technical skills and capacities of HRDs in exile on BHR methodologies, and in parallel generate research and analysis of broader relevance to the BHR community to create opportunities for longer-term collaboration.
- Produce research and analysis suitable for advocacy, accountability efforts (using a variety of national or international mechanisms), and engagement with companies, the media, or local stakeholders.
- Build practice in the field of business and human rights in the former Soviet space.
About the organizers:
Araminta is a non-profit corporation founded in Berlin in 2021 focused on human rights protection, accountability for human rights violations by both state and corporate actors, and civil society and democratic resilience in Eastern Europe and the entire Eurasian region. Araminta’s work aims to counter the constant threat of closing civic space in repressive environments, while in parallel supporting and strengthening existing pathways for democratic development provided by EU accession processes in particular regions. In both contexts, Araminta provides new resources, connections, and strategies to increase the sustainability and protection of civil society groups and communities they represent.
Rights CoLab partners with civil society organizations to test innovative approaches to human rights in the face of growing authoritarianism and inequality. We leverage finance to promote human rights, for example, by better integrating human rights into regulatory and private standards and by sharpening investors’ ability to evaluate human rights practices of their portfolio companies. In the area of civil society innovation, our incubated projects explore new opportunities including social entrepreneurship, local philanthropy, and impact investment, primarily in East Asia and post-Soviet states.
About the trainers:
Joanne Bauer (Co-Founder, Rights CoLab): A human rights specialist for over thirty years, Joanne was an early pioneer of business and human rights. After launching Human Rights Dialogue (1997-2005) during her tenure as Director of Studies at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, she helped build the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (2006-2011), which included directing the Resource Centre’s Asia program and overseeing its expansion. Since 2008, Bauer has taught business and human rights at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, where she also founded and directed the SIPA Business and Human Rights Clinic (2015-2019). In 2010, as Director of the Business and Human Rights Program at Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights, she co-founded the Teaching Business and Human Rights Forum, a global network of over 450 professors of business and human rights in 40 countries.
Shauna Curphey (Partner, Rights CoLab): Shauna is founder of Just Ground, a research and advocacy project that aims to advance the visions of communities working to address corporate activity that threatens or violates their human rights. She is a lawyer, researcher, and strategist with over 15 years of experience collaborating on human and civil rights advocacy projects with grassroots activists, community-based organizations, and international NGOs. Most recently, she served as associate general counsel for the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, creators of the Fair Food Program, and before that as a human rights analyst for the Institute for Multi-Stakeholder Initiative Integrity. She currently serves on the Steering Committee of the American Bar Association International Human Rights Committee.
