Human Rights Master - University of Vienna

Public Sector HR in Focus: Insights, Innovation and Employer Branding

How can public sector organisations attract talent, strengthen employer branding, and navigate digital transformation?
The "Amtlich auf die Ohren" podcast by amtlich voran brings together experts from public administration, academia, and practice to discuss current developments in public sector HR. Episodes explore topics such as talent acquisition, career orientation, digitalisation, leadership, and innovative approaches to becoming an attractive employer.
With more than ten episodes already available, the podcast offers valuable insights for HR professionals, public sector leaders, researchers, and anyone interested in the future of work in government and public administration.

🎧 Listen here: https://www.saatkorn.com/category/amtlich-voran/

Can we find humor in human rights?

Lecturer Véronique Lerch shares how in her TEDxNoVA talk. Watch here: Can we find humor in human rights? | Véronique Lerch | TEDxNoVA

The Austrian Integration Prize recognises integration projects that support refugees, displaced persons and immigrants in learning German, entering the labour market and achieving social integration – whilst also promoting the values, culture and foundations of coexistence in Austria.

Entries may be submitted in the following categories:
• Work and the economy
• Empowerment of women
• Youth
• Action against extremism and anti-Semitism
• Sport
One winning project per category will be awarded prize money of €3,000.

Anyone aged 18 or over who is involved in or organises an integration project may apply by 13 September 2026.

Human Rights in Practice: From Classroom to Community

On 17 July, we mark the World Day for International Justice, commemorating the 1998 adoption of the Rome Statute, the legal foundation of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The ICC addresses the gravest crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression. This day underscores a core principle: impunity for the most serious human rights violations is never an option.
But justice doesn’t live only in international courtrooms. It’s shaped every day across public authorities, companies, schools, and in our interactions where equality, non-discrimination, and access to rights are decided in practice. The rule of law connects these levels, from global accountability to protection from discrimination on the ground.

At the Postgraduate Center, University of Vienna, our LL.M. in Human Rights equips professionals to understand how rights are enforced, recognize discrimination, implement effective anti-discrimination measures, and foster diversity within the rule of law. One of our lecturers, a lawyer at the Ombud for Equal Treatment, brings real-world practice directly into the classroom.

From remembrance to responsibility: justice must be learned, shaped, and defended again and again.

Together with the University of Vienna Alumni Office, the Postgraduate Center hosted a vibrant networking event.

Highlight: “Human Rights as the Infrastructure of Democracy” with Human Rights alumna Irem Edes, sparking thoughtful discussion on how rights underpin democratic structures.

Who joined: University of Vienna/PGC alumni and prospective participants. Why it mattered: new connections with alumni and lecturers, fresh insights, and an overview of our continuing education programs.

Thank you to everyone who contributed and especially to Irem Edes. Stay connected for upcoming events and program news: Human Rights
Or sign up for our newsletter: https://massmailer.univie.ac.at/site/postgraduatecenter/huri/subscribe/article/414.html

Press release from the European Committee of the Regions:
LGBTIQ+ equality: Ensuring fundamental rights is key to social cohesion and strong democracy

At its 2 July plenary, the CoR backed the EU’s LGBTIQ+ Equality Strategy 2026–2030 and urged stronger protections: ban conversion practices, counter digital violence, ensure cross-border rights, and fund local action. “An equal Europe lets us all live openly and safely.”
Read more: LGBTIQ+ equality: Ensuring fundamental rights is key to social cohesion and strong democracy | European Committee of the Regions

Semester Question finale “Where is democracy headed?”

On June 22, the final event of our semester-long series on democracy took place in the University of Vienna’s Main Ceremonial Hall. Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, delivered a keynote address and took part in an engaging panel discussion with other experts.
At the following reception, former, current, and prospective Human Rights master’s students had the opportunity to network, learn about democracy-focused research projects, and continue the discussion.

Bo-Mi Choi, a lecturer in social studies at Harvard University, held a fireside chat on June 24 on the topic “The Human Being in Human Rights Today.”

The project of human rights was built around a particular idea of the human: autonomous, rational, and abstracted from the ecological, technological, and relational conditions of life. That figure is now under pressure from many directions at once: climate disruption, mass displacement, algorithmic governance, the strain on the liberal international order. The philosophical as well as existential grounds beneath the field are shifting, and questions raised by early critics of the Enlightenment at the very moment the postwar human rights project was being built are returning with new urgency.

This fireside conversation took up those questions not as a counsel of despair but as an invitation. What does it mean to enter human rights work in a century whose challenges exceed the framework we inherited? Drawing on critical theory and her work as a scholar and filmmaker, Bo-Mi Choi reflected on what this moment may ask of us!

Moot Court Final 2026

This Saturday marked the exciting conclusion of this year’s Human Rights Moot Court competition, where two highly qualified teams competed for the title of Human Rights Moot Court Champions 2026! Both teams impressed the judges and audience alike with their dedication, thorough preparation, and outstanding advocacy skills.
Congratulations to the winning team: Paula Reid and Tianyi Zhang!🥇

A big thank you also goes to Andreas Sauermoser, who successfully coached and guided the participants throughout the entire semester!

Invitation: Semester Question finale “Where is democracy headed?”

Join academics, postgraduates, students, and interested audiences for the closing event of our Semester Question.

When: Monday, 22 June 2026
Doors & interactive stations: 18:00
Welcome + launch of the new “Democracy and Human Rights” research network: 18:30
Sebastian Schütze (Rector, University of Vienna)
Sylvia Kritzinger (Co-Director)
Michael Lysander Fremuth (Co-Director)
Keynote: “Human rights as a prerequisite for an open society”
Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (Law alumnus of the University of Vienna)
Panel discussion with:
Barbara Prainsack (Professor of Comparative Policy Analysis)
Christian Göbel (Professor of Chinese Studies with a social science focus; member of the steering committee of the new research network)
Maria Mayrhofer (Alumna; CEO of the NGO Hashtag )
Moderator: Gerold Riedmann, Editor-in-Chief, Der Standard
From approx. 20:15: Get-together, refreshments, and hands-on stations
Ends around 21:00
Where: Großer Festsaal, Main Building, University of Vienna, Universitätsring 1, 1010 Vienna

The panel will be livestreamed.
All details and registration: https://lnkd.in/dQNT3TYT
We look forward to seeing you there!