The Academy for Human Rights
  • Home
  • About Us
    • About
    • Mission & Vision
    • Board Of Directors
    • Our Team
    • News and Annual Reports
    • Contact
  • For Students
    • 2023 Summer Symposium >
      • Internship
    • About the Symposium
    • How the program works
    • Previous Programs
    • Student Comments
  • For Educators
    • Teaching and Learning About Climate
    • Teacher Resources >
      • Buffalo Blackness Resources
      • Social Media and Democracy Teacher Resources
      • Bosnia Teacher Resources
      • Ukraine Teacher Resources
    • About Teacher Trainings
    • Past Teacher Trainings
    • Teacher Comments
    • Reed Taylor Award
  • Donate Now

How the Summer Symposium Works

​Background and Mission

Founded by several area teachers in 2008, the goal of the Summer Symposium, Buffalo is to provide the background knowledge, inspiration, and skills to help young people live a contributory life.  It is based upon the premise that education counterbalances prejudice, antisemitism, racism, and indifference. With that as its North Star, the Symposium offers students the opportunity to learn from world class human rights experts, and upstanders, with its nationally-recognized teaching staff and trained interns providing practical methods to help empower its participants to be changemakers in their communities, nation, and world. To see a summary of previous Symposiums, click here.
​
Picture
Picture
Picture

​
​How the Symposium is structured

The Symposium is carefully organized to meet the developmental needs of high school students.  Its morning session is designed to provide a deep dive into contemporary social, political, and economic problems by sharing the perspective of a national or world-wide experts, with the lunchtime sessions connecting the participants with  local and regional changemakers.  Once the students have this important content, they are put in afternoon breakout sessions led by the Symposium's college interns that are designed to help the students create a program, event, or fundraiser on one of the following themes that the participant chooses on their application. Topics include environmental issues, racial equality, LGTBQ+ equality, preventing school violence, helping refugees, preventing genocide, political organizing, public health issues, disability rights, and social work/counseling.​
Picture
Student with Free Speech activist Mary Beth Tinker
Picture
Students hear from refugee activist, Jordan Hattar
Picture
Summer Symposium interns with Allida Black

​THEIR GREAT PROGRAM IS COMPLEMENTED BY SESSIONS INCLUDING YOGA, MEDITATION, PAINTING AND SLAM POETRY. HOW WONDERFUL!

- INtern Julia, 2019

Who can attend and how can I register

Picture
The Academy's Summer Symposium is open to an exiting 8th Grader through graduating high school senior from any school in Western New York.  For most years, roughly 75-90 students attend. Any interested participant is asked to complete a short registration form, with a fee or scholarships available and no student ever turned away!
 
Registration open in April each year.                                                               

Student Programs

Learn More

Teacher
​Programs 

Learn More

Email

info@academyforhumanrights.org

The Academy for Human Rights, 5999 South Park Avenue, Suite 201, Hamburg, NY 14075


  • Home
  • About Us
    • About
    • Mission & Vision
    • Board Of Directors
    • Our Team
    • News and Annual Reports
    • Contact
  • For Students
    • 2023 Summer Symposium >
      • Internship
    • About the Symposium
    • How the program works
    • Previous Programs
    • Student Comments
  • For Educators
    • Teaching and Learning About Climate
    • Teacher Resources >
      • Buffalo Blackness Resources
      • Social Media and Democracy Teacher Resources
      • Bosnia Teacher Resources
      • Ukraine Teacher Resources
    • About Teacher Trainings
    • Past Teacher Trainings
    • Teacher Comments
    • Reed Taylor Award
  • Donate Now