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July 19, 2005

The Reebok Human Rights Award for Young Activists

In this day and age, how frequently do we question the motives of Fortune-500 companies and their social activities? With the Enrons and Tycos of the world, it seems that many for-profit firms have lost sight of their place in the global community.

Recent Fletcher graduate Melinda Willis found it refreshing, then, when she saw genuine attention to social welfare during a visit to the Reebok world headquarters in nearby Canton, MA: “All around the huge glass lobby hung giant banners displaying articles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It strongly suggested that a genuine commitment to human rights principles was important for the entire company.”

In fact, Reebok has proven its dedication to issues of personal and political freedom by closely monitoring the working conditions within its factories worldwide, as well as by establishing the Reebok Human Rights Award, which has honored young Human Rights activists from over 35 countries since 1988. For over ten years, Fletcher Professor of International Law Hurst Hannum has acted in an advisory role to the process and each year has brought together a group of talented Fletcher students to assist him. This year’s researchers include Willis, along with classmates Marieta Fall (F’06) and Caroline Nolan (F’06), each of whom has brought a unique background and a diverse body of experience to the Awards.

Willis, who worked with Hannum on her MALD thesis on human trafficking this past academic year, was happy to be a part of the team. “I am starting law school this fall,” she said, “and working on the Reebok Award offered a great opportunity to see human rights laws and principles applied in ways you might not typically see.” Likewise, second-year student Fall, who hails from Senegal, noted how she has concentrated her academic work at Fletcher on development issues and was “eager to maintain a human rights perspective in her academic pursuits.” Having worked with the Spanish Commission for Refugees and Freedom House before coming to Fletcher, Fall has appreciated the opportunity to recognize and laud human rights activists via the private sector.

Describing the year-long selection process, Fall explained how the call for nominations was advertised via listservs worldwide, but seemed to reach many nominees “through word-of-mouth.” After sixteen years, said Fall, the Award has “acquired a certain cachet… so there was definitely some familiarity [among activists] of the Award, which probably contributed to a number of nominations being made.” This year, Reebok received nearly 100 nominations; nominees themselves must meet certain criteria (must be under 30 and must promote non-violent means of advancing human rights.) The Fletcher team's task is now to go through each application thoroughly and collect additional information on each candidate. Reebok’s board of advisors ultimately makes the final selections, announcing the recipients at a ceremony in March of 2006.

Amassing a good deal of research on the nominees’ relevant issues and other supplemental material, Fall, Nolan, and Willis have made themselves available at all hours this summer to interview references, co-workers, and associates of the nominees all over the world. Between the three of them, they handily cover the three required application languages (each submission must arrive in English, French, or Spanish), but have also called upon the Fletcher network for assistance in translating interviews from Bulgarian, Nepali, and Russian, among others.

The goal of the Award is to “highlight issues and to reward young activists, those who are truly contributing to the human rights discourse,” said Willis, adding that organizations designated by the four finalists will be awarded $50,000 each to continue their work. Such a generous grant is bound to be life altering to those who receive it, but it is the Award’s intention that the funds assist, rather than disrupt, the recipients’ work.

In gathering information on the nominees, the researchers have discovered a second, more personal benefit. “It is important to get a full sense of the issue the nominee is working on and the context in which they are working,” says Nolan. “It is fascinating to learn about the variety of important human rights issues that young activists are pursuing all over the world.” Working with other Fletcher students who are interested in and knowledgeable about a wide range of human rights issues has allowed the team to learn from each other as well as from the candidates.

Fall, Nolan, and Willis also acknowledged that some might perceive Reebok’s efforts with skepticism. In the NGO world, there is often “a bit of mistrust” towards large, for-profit corporations. After participating in the selection process for the next Reebok Human Rights Award, however, these researchers can personally attest to the company’s serious attention to the selection process and to the field of human rights: “Reebok is very dedicated to supporting young human rights activists… It’s great to see a large corporation take social responsibility to heart,” added Willis.

Article by Stephanie Lindenbaum, MALD '05

Posted by jessica at July 19, 2005 11:13 AM