OpenGlobalRights (OGR) is housed at the Human rights Lab and the University of Minnesota, a world leader in human rights teaching and research. The University of Minnesota's human rights community includes the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, Human Rights Program, Masters Degree in Human Rights, and Human Rights Center.
The platform receives funding and in-kind support from a variety of sources including the University of Minnesota, Human Rights Lab, Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, University of Ottawa, the Center for Law, Justice, and Society (Dejusticia), the University of Dayton's Human Rights Center and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Collaborating Partners & Initiatives
OpenGlobalRights partners with NGOs, scholars, practitioners and activists to convene debates on specific topics. For example:
- In 2017, we partnered with staff from Human Rights Watch to explore how human rights can support climate change advocacy, we also partnered with HRW staff and the Bernstein Institute for Human Rights and Global Justice at New York University to explore the mental health challenges facing human rights workers.
- That same year, we also partnered with academics from the University of British Columbia, Arizona State University and the University of Virgina to publish debates on democracy and human rights, social science experiments and human rights, and on engaging perpetrators of human rights abuses.
- In 2016, we worked with the Center for Strategic and International Studies to discuss closing space for civil societies worldwide.
- In 2015, we partnered with the Center for Economic and Social Rights to convene a discussion on human rights-based approaches to economic inequality.
- That same year, we partnered with Prospera - The International Network for Women's Funds and the International Human Rights Funders Group to develop a series on local resource mobilization strategies.
We also work with different organizations and initiatives to develop and promote articles and thematic series, including Dejusticia's Global Rights Blog, Forum Asia, Conectas Human Rights' Sur International Journal on Human Rights, and The Rights Track Podcast.
The Human Rights Opinion Hub
When human rights practitioners understand public opinion, they better prioritize resources, target audiences, raise funds, and build legitimacy. In 2015 OpenGlobalRights launched a debate series on public opinion and human rights. Several authors of this series came together for a workshop in Mexico City to discuss their ideas, research and possibilities of collaboration in November of the same year. The Human Rights Opinion Hub is an initiative born out of these discussions and led by former OGR Director, James Ron. The Opinion Hub presents data collected through statistically representative surveys called Human Rights Perception Polls (HRPPs), which ask thousands of people worldwide what they think of human rights issues, policies and organizations. The Opinion Hub team designs survey from scratch, customizing to the project's unique needs and works closely with local NGOs and survey partners, monitoring each phase of the data-collection effort. The team then uses this data to offer customized strategic planning for practitioners and donors.