Professor Saunders and the MA in Human Rights students joined students from around the country in a special student-focused training session prior to the International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington, D.C. The Summit is a two-day gathering that convenes more than 90 partner organizations representing over 30 faith traditions. Professor Saunders lead the final session examining how each student could take steps to address a religious freedom violation. The MA students were then able to attend the Summit itself on the following two days. The Summit, co-chaired by former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, Sam Brownback, and Katrina Lantos Swett, President of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights, works to advance freedom of religion, conscience, and belief worldwide. The Summit highlighted the urgent reality that nearly 80 percent of the world’s population lives in countries with high levels of governmental or societal restrictions on religion—restrictions that have steadily increased in recent years. Emphasizing solidarity with those persecuted for their beliefs, the gathering sought to strengthen political support and embolden civil society, faith leaders, and governments to defend religious freedom globally.
The students engaged in a dynamic series of training designed to translate human rights principles into practice. During “Navigating International Human Rights Mechanisms to Advance Freedom of Belief,” members of the Human Rights Foundation Legal Team offered practical guidance on leveraging international and regional accountability mechanisms when domestic systems fail. In “Preventing Burnout and Sustaining Wellbeing in Religious Freedom Advocacy,” Dr. Vanina Waizmann provided trauma-informed tools to address chronic stress and sustain long-term engagement in advocacy. The session “Beyond Digital Hygiene: Practical Security Skills for Activists, Organizers, and Movements,” led by cybersecurity specialist Sarah Moulton, equipped students with concrete strategies for encrypted communications, navigating censorship, and strengthening online anonymity amid rising digital surveillance. Together, the Summit and its training deepened students’ understanding of the global religious freedom movement while equipping them with the legal, technical, and personal resilience skills necessary to advance human dignity worldwide.
