Oslo Scholars

The Oslo Scholars Program offers undergraduates with demonstrated interest in human rights and international political issues an opportunity to attend the...

Oslo Scholars

The Oslo Scholars Program offers undergraduates with demonstrated interest in human rights and international political issues an opportunity to attend the Oslo Freedom Forum and spend their summer working with some of the world’s leading human rights defenders and activists.

The Oslo Scholars Program was established in 2010 by the Oslo Freedom Forum and the Institute for Global Leadership at Tufts University, as the Oslo Freedom Forum presented an ideal platform to engage new generations of human rights defenders and scholars.

The Forum, entering its tenth year in 2018, provides students with invaluable networking and learning opportunities, and the chance to plan their summer internships with their host speakers.

In 2010, the new Oslo Scholars Program sent three students to the Oslo Freedom Forum, where they assisted in Forum translation and social media outreach. This inaugural group also designed the first Oslo Scholars Program internship, with 2010 OFF speaker Mukhtar Mai of Pakistan. Based on the success of this first internship and the student delegation to the Forum, the Oslo Scholars Program has since expanded. In 2011, the Oslo Scholars Program organized internships with Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, Justine Hardy, and Vincent Manoharan, each of whom hosted Oslo Scholars from Tufts University for the summer, engaging the Scholars in their inspiring work defending and promoting human rights. The Program has since expanded, offering various internships each year in the field of human rights. Students have worked on issues like mental health, freedom of speech, corruption, and non-violent resistance in locations varying from Belgrade to Seoul, as well as in Boston and New York.

Oslo Scholars are selected based on their demonstrated interest in human rights, language abilities, and long-term career and professional goals. The Oslo Scholars act as bloggers and social media agents at the Oslo Freedom Forum and are responsible for keeping an active blog over the course of their internships. Internship opportunities vary from year to year based on the Oslo Freedom Forum speakers who elect to participate in the program.

For more information on the Oslo Scholars Program, application details, and to see profiles of all Oslo Scholars since 2011, please visit www.osloscholarsprogram.wordpress.com or email osloscholars@tufts.edu

Program At-a-Glance

Areas of Study

Global Research

Human Rights

Internships

Featured Events

Oslo Scholars Presents the College Freedom Forum

Program Size

=10/yr

Year Founded

2010

Locations

Oslo Scholars: Abebe Gellaw

Oslo Scholars: Hannah Song

Oslo Scholars: Maryam Nayeb Yazdi

Oslo Scholars Projects & Events

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Oslo Scholars General Gallery

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A meaningful conclusion to the three day summit for our Oslo Scholars!
Zara Rancheva worked as a research intern at the Centre for Applied Nonviolent Action Strategies in Belgrade, Summer 2017
Ann Hall (A19) worked remotely with Dr. Nada Dhaif, who is a Bahraini oral and dental surgeon and founder of the Bahraini Rehabilitation & Anti-Violence Organization (BRAVO)
Nora Nord (A18) and Liam Flaherty (A18) worked at a Srinagar-based mental health clinic, Healing Kashmir, working on the lobbying arguments for implementing a mental health regiment into schools in Kashmir.
IGL Oslo Scholars Benya Kraus and Chris Hnin with Rachana Sunar, a Nepalese women's rights activist, doing the same greeting of hello in their home countries of Thailand, Myanmar, and Nepal, respectively
Taken at the Oslo City Hall with (from left) Srdja Popovic and his wife, fellow Oslo Scholar Nora Nord, Sherman Teichman, fellow IGL Oslo Scholar Chris Hnin, Jordanian activist Suleiman Bakhit, IGL Oslo Scholar Benya Kraus, Middle East editor for Newsweek Janine di Giovanni, and former Canadian Attorney General and Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler
Jordanian activist, Suleiman Bakhit and IGL Oslo Scholar Benya Kraus outside a café in central Oslo
Oslo Scholars from Tufts University and McGill University outside Oslo City Hall with last year's Oslo Freedom Forum speaker Suleiman Bakhit
The College Freedom Forum panelists gather to address closing remarks and questions.
The Oslo Scholars travel to Norway to participate in the 2013 Oslo Freedom Forum
The Oslo Scholars listen in on one of the many panels that take place during the annual summit
Scholars get the opportunity to meet speakers between panels
Shawn Patterson travelled to Belgrade to work on an in-depth analysis of democratic movements in the Horn of Africa, 2016
Tufts students work to develop an argument for implementing a mental health program into high schools, so as to take preventative measures to combat the mental health epidemic in Kashmir, 2016