Human RightS Initiative


The Human RightS Initiative (HRSI) is an awareness raising and capacity building organization based at Central European University (CEU). It was founded in 1999 by the students of the CEU Legal Studies Human Rights Program. Since then it has grown into an internationally-recognized human rights organization, focusing on youth involvement, education and active student participation. HRSI's mission is to promote social engagement through awareness raising and capacity building. Our main target groups are CEU students and alumni, local and regional students, NGO staff and activists as well as local and regional NGOs.

HRSI works with local and regional human rights organizations, as well as international organizations such as the Council of Europe. HRSI is composed of a Coordinating Body and an Executive Board. HRSI's Coordinating Body consists of one staff member, who work in the HRSI Office.  Please stop by the HRSI Office and visit us anytime.

Find us at:

Email: hrsi@ceu.edu
Location: QS A696, CEU Vienna Campus

Find all our events here

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16th Annual HRSI NGO Fair | NGO List

We are excited to announce the NGOs participating in the 16th Annual Human RightS Initiative NGO Fair. Representatives from the following NGOs will present their work at the fair and highlight opportunities for participants to get involved with their organization!

Please see the attached file for short bio of all the organizations. 

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS - The Activist 2021

Is there a human rights issue that you wish more people knew about? Do you have a specific take on the state of the world regarding human rights, politics, and society? What makes you feel worried, angry, or inspired about the future? We invite you to share your ideas. 

The Activist 2020 Released

We are happy to announce the release of HRSI's "The Activist" for the academic year 2019-2020. Congratulations to everyone involved!

Tackling Toxic Masculinity

November 17, 2019

Are you a man but you don't feel good about contributing to patriarchal oppression?
Have you ever thought about if there is sexism in your behavior, speech and attitudes, and how you could change it?
Or how to deal with these issues in political groups and other communities?
Are you wondering how you could support the feminist political movements fighting discrimination and violence against women?
Or you are just wondering what's wrong about masculinity and why you might want to care about all this?