Human Rights Seminars

After your reservations have been made, the Director will work with you to schedule a seminar that meets your needs.

The Washington Seminar Center (WSC) offers human rights seminars that include guest speakers from non-profit organizations and local universities. Visitors should select two topics and the guest speaker for the topic they are interested in.

1. Rwanda After the 1994 Genocide: $200

Genocides, politicides and other mass murders killed more people in the twentieth century than all the wars combined. It is time in human history to end genocide, the worst of all crimes against humanity. Learn what you can do to help.

• Gail Paine, Human Rights Activist, International Campaign to End Genocide and Genocide Watch

2. Human Rights and Civil Liberties - Fee: None

Find out more about the erosion of civil liberties in the United States during the post 9/11 era.

• A Representative, American Civil Liberties Union

3. Slavery Isn't Dead - Fee: None

Each year, more than 1 million people are removed from their homes and forced into grueling labor, sexual exploitation, and other illegal activities. Human trafficking is most common in economically deprived areas of Asia, with women and children most vulnerable. Human trafficking operations are often run by international criminal organizations. What is being done to stop this exploitation?

• Andrea Bertone, Director HumanTrafficking.org, an Academy for Educational Development (AED) project

4. U.S. Foreign Policy and Human Rights — A Middle Eastern Perspective - Fee: $250

How does U.S. foreign policy affect the lives of the people in the Middle East and, in turn, our lives in the United States? Can the vision of a joint administration of the holiest city in Christianity, Islam, and Judaism be realized?

• Khaled Dawoud, Chief Correspondent for Egypt's newspaper Al-Ahram

5. Human Rights in Iraq-From Sanctions to Occupation - Fee: $400

How have sanctions, a violent war, occupation, and terrorism affected the well-being of the Iraqi population?

• Erik Gustafson, Human Rights Lobbyist, Education for Peace in Iraq Center

6. The Plight of Christians in the Holy Land - Fee: $250

Experience a seminar about the suffering of our fellow Christians in the Holy Land. Find out how your church can form a protective partnership with a church in Palestine.

• A representative of The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation

Fees

Many seminars involve no fee while some may cost $250-500 (this translates into $10-25 per participant, depending on group size). If there is a fee involved it is directly payable to the individual or organization presenting the seminar.

Groups that are not staying overnight and would like us to arrange one of these seminars as a daytime event in the local community are charged an extra $200 for space use, payable to the Washington Seminar Center.

Please send an email to or contact the director at (202) 547-8118 to discuss your options and potential fees.