Minority Rights and Indigenous Peoples Summer School, Galway, Ireland, 13-17 June 2011

The Irish Centre for Human Rights is pleased to announce the tenth annual Minority Rights & Indigenous Peoples Summer School. The course will take place from

June 13-17, 2011.
The rights of minorities and indigenous peoples form a crucial element providing balance within the overall human rights system. This highly acclaimed course gives an overview of the legal, political and philosophical issues pertaining to international human rights law and its relationship to minority rights and the rights of indigenous peoples. In addition, each year it gives a more in depth perspective on a particular theme:
Minorities and Religion

Religion has a fraught relationship with minority and human rights standards, being perceived at once as a right and a cause of the denial of rights. The theme of this year's school highlights religion in contemporary minority rights discourse, focussing on issues such as: religious minorities, religion and international institutions, Islam in Europe, caste, indigenous peoples and spiritual beliefs, women and religion, genocide and defamation of religion.
Every year we have a diverse group of participants from a variety of countries and backgrounds. The course is taught by prominent scholars and practitioners working in the field of minority and indigenous rights. The program for the course is currently being finalised, however a number of speakers from last year will be returning. A selection of previous years' faculty can be seen at
http://www.nuigalway.ie/human_rights/minorityrightsandindigenouspeoplesummerschool.html,and programs from the last two years may be viewed at
http://www.conference.ie/Conferences/index.asp?Conference=17.
The course is held in central Galway, a charming small city on the west coast of Ireland. Galway is well known for its traditional Irish music, pubs and beaches, and is also adjacent to the iconic Aran Islands, Connemara, and the Burren. The intensive series of lectures is balanced by a variety of
social activities that allow participants to network with each other and the speakers in a relaxed environment, ensuring the program is both instructive and enjoyable.
For more information and registration please visit
http://www.conference.ie/Conferences/index.asp?Conference=17.
And for any queries please contact us at
minorityrightssummerschool@gmail.com.
Many thanks, and we hope to see you here in June.
Warm Regards,
Josh Curtis

Doctoral Fellow, Irish Centre for Human Rights
National University of Ireland, Galway
Office:             +353(0) 91 493798      
Fax: +353 (0) 91 494575
Irish Mobile : +353 (0) 851015322