The Raoul Wallenberg Institute has signed a new cooperation agreement with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) that will include cooperation with a number of Belarusian universities to develop their capacities and resources in human rights, humanitarian law and gender equality.
In the beginning, the cooperation, which spans from March 2015 to the end of 2019, will be with the Belarusian State University, Belarusian State Economic University and Belarusian National Technical University.
“The academic exchange with Belarus provides opportunities for the Belarusian academic community to be further integrated into the human rights education mainstream in Europe,” says Emma Melander Borg, Head of RWI’s Europe, Middle East and North Africa unit.
The cooperation covers a wide array of activities, including exchange programmes for scholars, opportunities for students to take part in human rights courses in Sweden and research support for projects on gender equality and human rights.
“The Institute aims to achieve the objectives by strengthening knowledge and capacities in human rights and humanitarian law among university teachers, as well as developing library resources, teaching curricula and scientific research, and supporting exchanges and study visits,” says Henrik Andersen, Programme Officer for the Institute’s cooperation with Belarus.
Academic cooperation with key institutions in Belarus was initiated in 2010 to promote human rights, humanitarian law and gender equality among academia, civil society and government.
The Institute’s academic cooperation with Belarusian universities is financially supported by Sida.