Social Responsibility Report 2025

Abstract

The year 2025 marked renewed momentum for the Global Campus of Human Rights ETS, both as an international academic network and as a Third Sector Association in Italy. Building on over twenty-five years of university cooperation, the Global Campus continued to advance its mission of promoting human rights, democracy, and sustainable development through education, research and civic engagement.  As an ETS, the Global Campus acts in the public interest by disseminating a culture of human rights and strengthening democratic participation. From its headquarters at the Monastery of San Nicolò in Venice, it coordinates the global network and implements a wide range of educational and community-oriented initiatives that benefit students, professionals, civil society and citizens in Italy and abroad.  In 2025, GC-HQ delivered key programmes including the European Master’s in Human Rights and Democratisation (EMA), alongside short courses, summer schools, e-learning offers and professional trainings. The expansion of open-access online learning reaffirmed our commitment to accessible human rights education. Capacity Development initiatives further strengthened cooperation with partner universities in developing countries, emerging democracies and contexts under pressure, helping to create new learning opportunities and locally relevant curricula. The Global Campus also consolidated its role as a centre for research and policy dialogue through publications, conferences and projects on digital rights, climate justice, migration and the protection of human rights defenders. The annual Venice School for Human Rights Defenders once again connected academia with frontline activism.  Collaboration with Italian and European institutions—including the European Union, Right Livelihood, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) and regional partners—continued to expand, enabling new training activities, cultural events and outreach initiatives in Venice and beyond. Internally, the organisation strengthened its policies and practices on inclusion, equality and staff well-being, building on the first institutional Gender Equality Plan.  This Social Responsibility Report 2025, prepared “with reference to the GRI Standards (2021)”, reaffirms our commitment to transparency, accountability and continuous improvement. We remain grateful to our staff, students, alumni, university members, donors and partners whose dedication sustains our shared mission: advancing human rights through knowledge, collaboration and action.