The Human Rights Defender (HRD) is a publication of the Australian Human Rights Centre (AHRCentre) at the University of New South Wales. The Defender was first published in 1992 and continues to provide a platform for the expression of critical thinking and the discussion of conceptual developments in human rights.
The Australian Human Rights Centre is a multidisciplinary research centre and our contributors are economists, lawyers, sociologists and philosophers as well as human rights workers, artists and writers. We publish the work of established writers and artists as well as students. Our intention is to provide information and comment on a broad range of current issues in human rights and to be newsworthy and relevant.
The Defender highlights issues not always covered in mainstream media and other human rights publications. We seek to appeal to all those with an interest in and commitment to human rights and, in particular, to bring together individuals and organisations involved in human rights advocacy and education.
Program and Supervision
As the Managing Student Editor you will be responsible for liaising with various organisations and individuals to commission articles for the Defender. The Student Editor will be required to write an article (1,500-1,800 words) to be published in the magazine. You will also be required to contribute 2 blog posts on current topics for the Centre website. You will be working as part of a team within the Defender and also within the AHRCentre. You will gain skills in editing and proofing, writing, working with and coordinating volunteers, and commissioning and forming relationships with other human rights organisations, academics and members of the legal profession. Students work under the supervision of the Human Rights Defender editors during the Internship. The current editors of the HRD are Daniel Joyce, Beth Goldblatt, Jed Horner and Janice Gray. Our photo editor, design and production manager is Diane Macdonald. Our consultant editor is Centre Director Andrea Durbach.
Interns are required to attend at the Centre for the equivalent of one day each week over the session, and to undertake additional work in libraries and elsewhere on a flexible basis arranged individually with each intern. Interns are closely involved in the editing process of each issue of the Defender.
At the end of the course, students should:
- Have developed an appreciation for the professional and personal responsibilities associated with the publishing of a human rights publication.
- Undertake self-management by completing activities, such as editing articles and liaising with contributors, associated with the position to a high standard and within deadlines.
- Demonstrate effective oral communication skills by successfully liaising with contributors in a persuasive and appropriate manner to meet publication deadlines.
- Improve written communication skills by completing an article appropriate to the theme of the Human Rights Defender edition or other written material that may or may not appear in the edition.
- Communicate effectively, in speaking and in writing.
