Skip to content
Human Rights Go Local

Human Rights Go Local

International Centre for the Promotion of Human Rights

  • About us
    • About us
    • Mission statement
    • Structure and organisation
    • Cooperation and partners
    • Board and staff
    • Opportunities
    • Annual reports
  • Services
    • Research
    • Capacity-building
    • Exchange and networking
  • Activities
    • Research
    • Capacity-building
    • Exchange and networking
  • Academy and Conference
    • 5th Academy and Conference 2026
      • Academy Registration
      • Conference Registration
  • Products
    • Human Rights Go Local Publication Series
    • Toolkits and Guidelines
    • Publications
  • Consulting
    • Human Rights Action Plans
    • Human Rights Research on Equality Data
    • Sports for Social Inclusion
  • News
  • Contact us
    • Newsletter
    • Social Media
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Search
  • Legal notice
  • Data protection
  • Cookie Policy (EU)

Social Media

humanrightsgolocal

Leading think tank dedicated to empowering local authorities through a human rights-based approach to governance 🕊️
Under the auspices of @UNESCO 🇺🇳

Do you want to be a human rights changemaker? As Do you want to be a human rights changemaker?

As part of our 5th "Human Rights Go Local: What Works" Academy and Conference, we offer a dedicated programme to students, young professionals and individuals pursuing a new career as the next generation of human rights experts. You will have the opportunity to exchange practical knowledge with established experts in the field. 

Register through our website and join us in making cities and human settlements more inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable through a human rights-based approach to budgeting! 

#humanrightseducation #humanrightscampaign #humanrightscareers #youngpeopleforchange
Recently, we have updated our #humanrightsconsulti Recently, we have updated our #humanrightsconsulting services on our website. Find out about our consulting solutions designed to meet the unique needs and goals of local governments:
 
⚖️ Human Rights Action Plans: We offer client-specific guidance for local authorities committed to implementing Human Rights Action Plans and action programmes. We will be your partner from concept to implementation.

📊 Human Rights Data Collection: To strengthen social cohesion and local resilience, municipalities need reliable data. We support you from start to finish — from designing qualitative or quantitative data collection mechanisms to interpreting results.

🏓Sports for Social Inclusion: Through capacity-building and guidance we show you how to leverage the link between sports and human rights to foster social inclusion, cohesion, and intercultural understanding.
 
Our mission is to support cities and human settlements worldwide in becoming more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable. We are here to help you fulfil your human rights obligations  — simply leave us a message on our website.

Photo: Joe Pohl for ECCAR
From October 23–24 2025, the City of Zürich hosted From October 23–24 2025, the City of Zürich hosted the General Assembly of the European Coalition of Cities against Racism (@eccar_network). The event brought together over 190 participants from 86 cities across 15 European countries. 

❗The General Assembly served as a vibrant exchange platform, celebrating progress and strengthening collective efforts to combat racism in Europe’s cities.

🤝 The UNESCO Centre played an important role in the programme by presenting the Global Evaluation of all ECCAR member cities’ reports submitted in 2025. Together, Director Klaus Starl and Senior Expert in Social Sciences Isabella Meier showcased findings that shed new light on cities’ successes, challenges, and needs in advancing anti-racist policies.

🗣️ At this years’ General Assembly the  ECCAR Award, which recognises outstanding anti-racism initiatives from member cities, was proudly presented, among others, to the @stadtgraz in recognition of its outstanding human rights election campaign monitoring initiative. 

🎉 We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the winning member cities of the ECCAR Award as well as the newly elected Steering Committee and member cities such as @stadt_innsbruck. We look forward to seeing the transformative impact of their work in the years to come!

Photos (c) Joe Pohl (@joeisavailable) 

#eccar #citiesagainstracism #humanrightsmatter
📣 We kindly invite you to register to our upcoming 📣 We kindly invite you to register to our upcoming Academy and Conference on Human Rights at the Local and Regional Levels! 

💬 At the online event taking place from 2–5 February 2026 we will be discussing tools and approaches for human rights-based budgeting from all over the world. 

🌍 Join us in a dynamic online forum featuring impulse speeches, workshops and open discussions to co-create a solid-foundation for human rights-based budgeting at the local level! Together we will discover the key factors how these budgeting approaches can serve to make human rights a reality for all!

❗Register now until 10 December on our website: www.humanrightsgolocal.org

🤝 We welcome representatives of local governments (policy-making, public administration) and city networks, as well as human rights professionals and practitioners from think tanks, academia, civil society, and international or regional organisations. The participation of colleagues new to the topic is explicitly encouraged!

#weworkforhumanrights #academy #conference #humanrights #unesco #unhcr #uclg #congressofeurope
Last week the UNESCO Centre and UNESCO Chair, repr Last week the UNESCO Centre and UNESCO Chair, represented by Dr. Klaus Starl and Prof. Gerd Oberleitner, were invited to discuss the human right to linguistic diversity and its importance in foreign language teaching with teachers from Austrian UNESCO schools.

The event, organised in collaboration with the Austrian UNESCO Commission, took place at the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML) in Graz – a Council of Europe institution dedicated to supporting member states in advancing modern and innovative approaches to foreign language education. Participating teachers gained fresh insights and enhanced their skills in integrating human rights principles into foreign language teaching practices.

@unesco_at #weworkforhumanrights #unesco #humanrightseducation
The past few months we have been researching one a The past few months we have been researching one aspect of the Human Rights Economy in particular. Have a look on our website www.humanrightsgolocal.org to find out what it is. Let us tell you this much: big things are coming in February 2026!

#weworkforhumanrights #humanrightseconomy #ohchr #icscr #citiesforpeople
Earlier this month, the International Centre for t Earlier this month, the International Centre for the Promotion of Human Rights at the Local and Regional Levels, under the auspices of UNESCO, and the Gwangju International Center (GIC) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to further strengthen the already existing successful cooperation through the World Human Rights Cities Forum (WHRCF). 

Recognizing the significance of local governments and communities in advancing human rights and sharing the universal values of human rights, democracy, and peace, the idea for the MoU was fostered during a visit by a delegation from Gwangju to Graz this summer.

Photo © WHRCF
In 2023, the United Nations High Commissioner for In 2023, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights @volkerturk issued his landmark call to build economies that advance human rights for all. We as a Centre strongly agree that the concept of the human rights economy needs to be highlited further. In today's world the root causes and structural barriers to equality, justice and sustainablility can best be addressed if we prioritise investments in economic, social and cultural rights. 

We will soon share more about this new concept and how we want to contribute to the discussions. Stay tuned!
Giving young people a voice – this has always been Giving young people a voice – this has always been the guiding principle behind @kennedeinerechte (Know Your Rights). Since autumn 2010, @kennedeinerechte, the youth project of the Graz Human Rights Advisory Board, has been giving young people the opportunity to engage with topics relevant to human rights and social policy in a multimedia format at www.kennedeinerechte.at. Last week, the 15th anniversary year was celebrated with a ‘blind’ cake-eating event at an awareness workshop on visual impairment and blindness at the @odilieninstitut
@fundamental.rights just published its latest Roma @fundamental.rights just published its latest Roma Survey! It shows that discrimination for many Roma and Travellers isn’t a moment – it’s a lifelong burden. 

📣 FRA Director Sirpa Rautio states: “This report shows that antigypsyism continues to devastate the lives of Roma and Travellers in the EU. Better access to housing and jobs is one thing, but living a life free from discrimination and prejudice is another. We cannot accept marginal progress. We cannot accept that another generation grows up in exclusion. EU countries need to do much more to tackle antigypsyism and discrimination to ensure Roma and Travellers can enjoy their fundamental rights fully.”

As the Austrian National Focal Point for the Fundamental Rights Agency we invite you to read more about FRA's campaign „What do you choose to see?“ as well as the Roma Survey 2024 on their website.

#whatdoyouchoosetosee #challengestereotypes
Our over 25 years of work for human rights include Our over 25 years of work for human rights includes the organisation of countless forums, academies, and conferences, all dedicated to enhancing human rights around the world. In our new blog post on our website we have explored how the 2015 Forum “Focusing on Human Rights” has inspired the methods and setting of our current Academy and Conference series “Human Rights Go Local: What Works”. Swipe through the photos to get a glimpse into the 2015 Forum! 

The Forum on #humanrights was organised together with @stadtgraz @land_steiermark @councilofeurope
If you have been following our journey for a while If you have been following our journey for a while you might recognise this quote by swedish politician Lars O. Molin, City Councillor of Örebro and former member of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. We will reveal the origin of this quote later this week. Stay tuned!

@visitorebro #workingforhumanrights  #congressoflocalandregionalauthorities #örebro
The City of Oulu, Finland, kicked-off its 10-Point The City of Oulu, Finland, kicked-off its 10-Point-Plan of Action against Racism in late August 🇫🇮

The high-level steering group, led by chief of administration Ari Heikonen, took-off in an intense all-day workshop, August 26. The twenty members of the group, heads of departments, delegates of ministries, police-chiefs, trainers, experts and @eccar_network officials, took ownership of the process and defined their work’s objectives, modes of cooperation, as well as their ambitions for achieving impact. Klaus Starl was invited to Oulu as facilitator of the workshop which took place – very Finnish – in the midst of the city’s forestall premises, and was rounded up by sauna, jointly having soup and fading out at karaoke and drinks.

 #actionagainstracism #weworkforhumanrights #oulu2026
📣 Applications for the Graz Human Rights Award 202 📣 Applications for the Graz Human Rights Award 2025 are open! 

The biennale Graz Human Rights Award founded in 2007  ought to recognize the achievements of the award winners and permanently anchor the persuit of more justice as well as the realisation of human rights in the eyes of the public. Additionally it should highlight the active role that cities and local communities play in the realisation of human rights. 

 The award may be presented for achievements in Austria or elsewhere in Europe. Priority is given to accomplishments that have promoter tolerance, dialogue, and reconciliation at the local level, in the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Individuals, groups, or legal entities are eligible to receive the award.

Find the application form and more information online at www.graz.at or www.friedensbuero-graz.at. 

 #graz #weworkforhumanrights
Last month the International Centre for the Promot Last month the International Centre for the Promotion of Human Rights at the Local and Regional Levels welcomed a delegation from Gwangju, Korea, to  Graz. This visit aimed at strengthening the longstanding collaboration between the UNESCO Chair and Centre in Graz and the Gwangju International Center (@gwangjuinternationalcenter), which was established particularly through co-hosting the Human Rights Paper Session at the World Human Rights City Forum (WHRCF) in Gwangju. Furthermore, it enhanced the international partnership focused on amplifying local and regional voices in the field of human rights. 

We are greatful to city councilor @robert.krotzer for taking the time to welcome the delegation to @stadtgraz City Hall!

Read the whole report on our website: www.humanrightsgolocal.org

📸 ETC Graz

#weworkforhumanrights
In the week of 21 July 2025, the Office of the Uni In the week of 21 July 2025, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) hosted a series of meetings and discussions in Geneva, Switzerland, to which representatives of the Centre were also invited. The aim was to continue the dialogue on the realisation of human rights at the local level. 

An important aspect was the presentation of the guidance framework for creating a Human Rights City by Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Emilia Sáiz, the Secretary General of United Cities and Local Government (UCLG). The publication is available online.
 
Further discussions at the events focused on how to ensure that budget revenues, allocations, and expenditures at the sub-national level reflect human rights obligations and principles. This topic will be the central theme of our next Academy and Conference in February 2026.

 
#humanrights #geneva #ohchr #humanrightscities
Follow on Instagram
  • Home
  • ETC Graz
  • UNESCO Chair
  • Contact us
  • Home
  • ETC Graz
  • UNESCO Chair
  • Contact us
Human Rights Go Local
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
  • Manage options
  • Manage services
  • Manage {vendor_count} vendors
  • Read more about these purposes
View preferences
  • {title}
  • {title}
  • {title}