College of Arts and Sciences Newsroom

Click on video to go directly to Natalie Hudson's presentation.

Natalie Hudson, director of the University of Dayton human rights studies program, spoke at the 2018 United Nations Global Citizenship Education Seminar about the role of human rights and global citizenship education in the U.N.'s 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, 17 goals to eliminate poverty and achieve human rights for everyone economically, socially and environmentally.

According to the U.N., the seminar aimed to shed new light on global citizenship education by exploring concepts applied in human rights, peace, and security and development; and ways global citizenship education can enhance and advance progress toward realizing sustainable development.

In her presentation, Hudson gave an overview of a University of Dayton human rights education and how it's integrated throughout the curriculum Universitywide and with sustainability work in the Hanley Sustainability Institute. She also discussed the importance of experiential learning and offered suggestions for the future of human rights and global citizenship education.

"Human rights and global citizenship education must be relevant to a global community. We must increase access to institutions, especially for marginalized groups and disadvantaged populations. Human rights and global citizenship education pushes us to be genuinely inclusive and diverse," Hudson said, proposing Sustainable Development Goals scholarships for these groups. "We also must create spaces for dialogue, especially across cultures."

Hudson cited the work of University of Dayton human rights students in Uganda, Malawi and at the U.S.-Mexico border where "we're taking students to learn from people doing the work" as examples of UD students gaining relevant human rights experience and engaging in dialogue across cultures.

The University of Dayton — a Catholic, Marianist research university — started the country's first undergraduate human rights program in 1998 and offered one of the nation's first bachelor's degrees in human rights studies in 2008. Founded in 2013, the Human Rights Center expands the University's mission to integrate theoretical and practical approaches to learning and engage others working toward the common good — locally and globally.

- Shawn Robinson, associate director of news and communications