ACTS in Portugal

Advocacy & Community-based Training Semester

The University Network for Human Rights is excited to launch the Advocacy & Community-based Training Semester (ACTS) Program in partnership with NOVA Law School in Lisbon, Portugal. This program builds on the Human Rights Advocacy Minor at Wesleyan University.  It is the first of its kind and the only full-time clinical human rights opportunity available to undergraduates. The ACTS Program trains and engages undergraduate students from across the country in human rights practice.

Students selected for the Program will spend a semester at NOVA Law School, where they will be enrolled as full-time students and gain an understanding of foundational human rights texts and critiques, and sharpen their research, writing, and advocacy skills. While on campus, students will receive training from human rights experts, practice their fact-finding and documentation skills in our Intensive Simulation Exercise, and apply their skills to real-world human rights projects under the guidance of our experienced supervisors. Over the course of the Program, our supervisors and staff provide personalized feedback to students, developing their capacity to advance human rights and social justice, locally and globally. Through their projects, students directly support the work of communities facing rights abuse and injustice.

During breaks in the academic year, students in the Program may travel to the site of rights abuse to work directly with affected communities in small groups (2 or 3 students) with a supervisor.

After the semester in Portugal and their field work, students will continue working on their supervised human rights projects in the subsequent semester, from their home university or college. During this period, supervision will be both remote and direct (via supervisor travel to participating students’ campuses).

Living in Lisbon

Lisbon offers the perfect blend of vibrant, cosmopolitan city life and laid-back, coastal charm. Students can explore historic neighborhoods, enjoy the bustling nightlife, try coffee with pastel de nata, and relax by the water.

Housing

Students stay in the heart of Lisbon in a state-of-the-art university residential center that hosts over 300 students from across the globe. We also provide a full-time program coordinator who will be available to students at all times, in case of emergency.

  • Aua Baldé, UN WGEID; Catholic University of Lisbon

  • Pooja Bhatia, journalist; human rights lawyer

  • Francisco Calí, UN SR on rights of indigenous peoples

  • James Cavallaro, professor, Yale University; former president, IACHR

  • Leilani Farha, former UN SR on housing

  • Maina Kiai, former UN SR on freedom of assembly

  • Nadejda Marques, author; professor, Wesleyan University

  • Samuel Moyn, professor of law and history, Yale University

  • Siobhán Mullally, UN SR on human trafficking; Director, Irish Centre for Human Rights; professor, University of Galway

  • Ruhan Nagra, professor, University of Utah

  • Sergio Puig, professor, European University Institute, University of Arizona

  • María Luisa Romero, former Minister of Government, Panama; UN Subcommittee on torture

  • Ed Telles, University Professor, University of California - Irvine

  • Emily Wilder, journalist; investigative researcher

  • Faculty of NOVA School of Law

Program courses are taught by leading global experts on human rights, including:

Faculty

Visiting the United Nations

Students have the opportunity to take an optional one-week trip to Geneva to study the United Nations human rights system, with seminar sessions and meetings with UN experts and NGO leaders.

Start the application

To apply for the ACTS Program, please complete the materials linked below and email them with your CV and transcript to applications[at]humanrightsnetwork.org.  After submitting, University Network staff will be in touch with you to schedule an interview.

Please attach all materials in PDF format, and indicate which semester you intend to apply for in the body of the email.

Required materials:

  • ACTS Application (will be published at this webpage on 30 April 2025)

  • Your Resume/CV

  • Your Unofficial Transcripts

Questions?