Projects and initiatives
Seed funding for innovative research
The Human Rights Profile Area offers seed funding for members (25,000–75,000 SEK) to initiate innovative, interdisciplinary projects, research groups, or proposals. This funding initiative aims to spark new research ideas with strong potential for external funding and strengthen a vibrant, well-connected scholarly community at Lund University.
To be eligible, the applicant needs to be a Profile Area member and the research group must bring together expertise from multiple academic fields. The proposed initiative should be genuinely innovative and contribute to advancing interdisciplinary human rights research more broadly.
Apply for seed money
A new round will open in spring 2026.
Human rights and environmental politics – recent developments and historical perspectives
David Harnesk, Centre for Sustainability Studies
2025
This initiative aimed to develop a collaborative research proposal on human rights and environmental politics by bringing together scholars from Lund, Umeå, and Gothenburg Universities with expertise in sustainability science, human rights, peace and conflict studies, and history. It combined an open symposium with civil society actors and a closed workshop for the researchers to frame problems, theories, and methods.
The Future of Postgraduate Human Rights Education
Daria Davitti, Faculty of Law
2025
This initiative seeks to strengthen Lund University’s human rights master’s programmes by learning from alumni about how their education shaped their careers and what skills they find most relevant today. Using survey data and collaborative reflection, it will inform curriculum development and serve as the foundation for a larger research proposal on the future of postgraduate human rights education in partnership with the Global Campus of Human Rights and Queen’s University Belfast.
Exploring the Legacy of Indentured Labour in Fiji and Malaysia
Anna Tegunimataka & Tobias Axelsson, Department of Economic History
2025
This project examines the long-term socio-economic and political consequences of the indentured labour system in Fiji and Malaysia, where over 460,000 Indian labourers were transported under colonial contracts between 1834 and 1920. Using seed funding to initiate archival research and database development, the project lays the foundation for a larger grant application and a comprehensive research proposal that will address historical injustices and their enduring impact on rights, land access, and social mobility.
Women and Work in the ICT Sector: Exploring Labour Rights in Sweden and Kosovo
Miranda Kajtazi, Department of Informatics
2025
This project examines gendered labour rights in the ICT sector through a comparative study of Sweden and Kosovo, aiming to understand disparities and identify pathways for systemic change. Using seed funding to develop a framework for comparative analysis and prepare a research proposal, the initiative will also convene two interdisciplinary round tables with researchers, policymakers, and industry leaders to shape the research agenda and foster collaboration.
The Quest for Human Rights Cities
Andreas Tullberg & Dan-Erik Andersson, Human Rights Studies
2024
This project explores the emerging concept of Human Rights Cities by studying how local initiatives and international networks, such as the Human Rights Cities Network, promote human rights at the municipal level. Through case studies, a research-practitioner conference, and an international publication, the project aims to critically evaluate and contribute to the development of this global movement.
Cultural Rights of Children with Disability
Adriana Di Lorenzo Tillborg, Malmö Academy of Music
2024
This project examines how Swedish art and music schools promote the cultural rights of children and youth with disabilities through inclusive practices. Combining perspectives from music education, aesthetics and innovation, and special education, the seminar shares insights from recent mapping activities and regional dialogues with school leaders.
Locating Human Rights in Security Sector Reform
Elizabeth Rhoads, Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies
2024
This initiative brings together scholars and practitioners to develop a research proposal on human rights and security sector reform (SSR), focusing on everyday insecurities and rights violations in conflict contexts. Through an interdisciplinary workshop, it aims to integrate academic insights with policy perspectives to advance grounded approaches to SSR in Myanmar and beyond. This initiative also arranged a public roundtable exploring why Myanmar’s civil wars have endured for decades, focusing on militias, drugs, and human rights abuses through historical, feminist, and cinematic lenses. See more details: A New Look at an Old War: Examining Burma’s Long Running Civil Wars
Start-up funding for Lund's International Law Museum
Valentin Jeutner, Faculty of Law
2024
The Profile Area supported the world’s first Museum of International Law, located in Lund, that exhibits objects and shares stories that communicate how international law affects the lives of ordinary human beings and makes abstract concepts such as human dignity, non-discrimination or freedom of expression more tangible and relatable for visitors.
More details on the blog: https://humanrights.blogg.lu.se/2025/06/04/objects-of-justice/
Website: https://internationallawmuseum.org/
Natural and human rights in global Scandinavia
Mads Langebelle Jensen & Joachim Östlund, Department of History
2024
This project uses selected papers from the 2023 seed-funded workshop “Human Rights in Global and Colonial Contexts: Scandinavia and Beyond” to produce a special issue for Global Intellectual History entitled “Natural and Human Rights in Global Scandinavia.” Through an interdisciplinary writing workshop, the project will finalize contributions that examine how human rights discourse in Scandinavia emerged from natural jurisprudence and influenced debates on slavery, colonialism, civil rights, and gender equality—offering a distinctive perspective beyond Anglo- and Francocentric narratives.
Human Rights and Socio-economic Inequality
Emelie Rohne Till, Department of Economic History
2023
This project explores the relationship between socio-economic inequality and human rights, asking whether trade-offs exist between equality and rights and how these dynamics evolve over time. Building on two foundational reviews—mapping literature and databases—the goal is to develop a robust research framework and eventually create a comprehensive database to deepen understanding of these links.
Human Rights in Global and Colonial Contexts: Scandinavia and Beyond
Joachim Östlund and Mads Langebelle Jansen, Department of History
2023
The funding was used to arrange a workshop that revisited the discourses and uses of natural and human rights in the decades around 1800 from the perspective of Scandinavia and its global and colonial contexts. The aim was to chart avenues for further research for global histories of Scandinavian legal and political thoughts and its interactions with non-European and indigenous legal and political systems.
(Re)examining Human Rights Foundations in the Technological Age
Alberto Rinaldi, Faculty of Law
2023
This project examines how rapid technological change challenges the foundations of human rights, focusing on neglected yet essential concepts such as freedom of thought, the right to science, and human dignity. Through an interdisciplinary workshop, it aimed to rethink these principles and stimulate renewed debate on their relevance in the technological age.
The Right to a Fair Trial – Historical Foundations
Martin Sunnqvist, Faculty of Law
2023
The Profile Area supported the Pufendorf Advanced Study Group “Oaths and Courts – from Forum to the Future” with funding for a seminar that brought together leading experts to explore the historical foundations of oaths and their role in ensuring judicial independence and impartiality. This work is crucial because understanding the ethical and symbolic roots of legal practices helps us navigate contemporary challenges—such as the integration of AI in decision-making—while safeguarding the core values of fairness and justice.