Masterclass SPIL

On 8 May we had study association SPIL from Leiden over for a Masterclass in our office. Together with our director Eduard Nazarski we talked about Privacy, Security and a Shrinking Space for Civil Society. These future political scientists sure knew how to discuss! That’s how we like it! Curious about what it was like? Read the experience of one of the attendees, Maarten van Giessen.

I am a first year student International Relations and Organizations from Leiden University. We, the SPIL, a student association for political science students, organized a visit to Amnesty International. NGOs like Amnesty and their work have always inspired me, which was one of the reasons for me to organize such a visit. When the idea was proposed to attend a masterclass there, given its interactive nature, I was enthusiastic right away. Luckily, we were not disappointed. The masterclass was a well organized interactive lecture about the human rights work of Amnesty. What I found particularly interesting, were the stories of some of the human rights activists Amnesty currently supports. We aslo learned a lot about some specific actions of Amnesty, as well as the challenges they pose, for Amnesty only has limited means. Following the masterclass, Eduard Nazarski, the director of Amnesty International in the Netherlands, paid us a visit. He told us passionately about the issue of privacy, here in the Netherlands and in general. Afterwards, we had the opportunity to ask questions about his work as director and his ideas. Overall, the masterclass was a wonderful experience and I would definitely recommend to pay a visit to one anytime soon.