European Master's Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation (E.MA) – (M.Sc.)

The European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation (EIUC) was established in Venice on 15 September 2002 with the aim of providing an institutional foundation and autonomous management to the European Master's Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation (E.MA) and in order to enable the member universities to jointly develop additional human rights educational programmes.

As of January 2008, EIUC is composed by 36 of the 41 European universities already participating in the European Master's Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation, launched in July 1997.

The European Master's Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation (E.MA) is an intensive one-year academic programme to educate professionals in the field of human rights and democratisation, and provide its graduates with practical work experience. It is a multidisciplinary programme that reflects the indivisible links between human rights, democracy, peace and development.

The programme offers an action and policy-oriented approach to learning about international relations, law, philosophy, history, anthropology, political science and sociology. Students have the opportunity to meet and be taught by leading academics, experts and representatives of international organisations (including European Union representatives) while studying in a multi-cultural environment.

The Programme offers a full semester in Venice and a semester in a participating University.

The European Master´s Degree in Human Rights and Democratisation is a multidisciplinary and intensive one-year academic programme that reflects the indivisible links between human rights, democracy, peace and development.

The aims of the E.MA Programme are:

* to form high-level professionals in the field of human rights and democratisation qualified to work as academics, staff members or field workers for inter-governmental, governmental, and non-governmental organisations
* to provide its graduates with practical work experience
* to create a European network of curriculum development and staff exchange among universities in the field of human rights and democratisation.

Human rights education is the most important tool to teach individuals about both their human rights vis-à-vis other human beings, the society and the State, and about their duties to respect the human rights of others. With this in mind, the UN General Assembly in 1994 proclaimed the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education from 1995 to 2004.

The European Union significantly increased its human rights education activities and budget during the United Nations Decade. The most significant contribution of the EU to the goals of the UN is represented by the E.MA programme.

Human rights education contributes to upholding and defending a common European culture built on the values of respect for human rights, pluralist democracy, and the rule of law, against the challenges of nationalism, racism, xenophobia, terrorism, and organised crime.

The E.MA programme has been designed in order to establish a common European rooster of highly qualified and motivated young human rights experts who will work either in European governmental, inter-governmental and non-governmental human rights institutions or who will be sent, on behalf of the EU or other organisations, to work in the field.

Given the existence of several excellent human rights masters offered by European universities, including universities participating in the E.MA network, there are several reasons for establishing a joint European master's programme:

* Together the participating universities and associated institutions are able to present a richness and variety of perspectives on human rights than no single department or faculty could offer. The E.MA programme is thus unique in its scope and diversity. It focuses, furthermore, explicitly on the core values of the European Union and the policies of the EU in the global promotion of human rights and democracy.

* The experience of 39 prestigious universities working together on curriculum development, teaching methodology, student selection and evaluation, and even the awarding of degrees, marks a unique example of European university cooperation. While professors and experts participating in the network liberally devote their time and expertise to the common endeavour, they also gain insight and inspiration from the cooperation which in turn enriches the participating institutions.

* The very fact of bringing together students, academics and experts from all of Europe in the context of a highly intense learning environment, focused precisely on the core values of the European Union, contributes in important ways to the formation of a European culture of human rights. The strong bonds of friendship and solidarity with in the alumni network and academic networks associated with E.MA are a compelling indication of this effect.

* The success of E.MA establishes a positive example and serves as a valuable reference point for the promotion of human rights education outside the European Union, both in neighbouring regions and globally.