Annual Ostermeier Celebration of Human Rights Education
Annually in the late spring, this celebration gathering honors graduating seniors within the Human Rights and Humanitarian Concentration at Macalester College. This annual event brings together faculty and students who are part of this concentration to honor human rights education at the College. There are normally about 10 to 15 graduating students annually who complete this concentration. In 2019 thirteen students completed this concentration.
Inaugural Event
On October 17th and 18th, Amy’s family, friends, and former colleagues gathered at Macalester College to commemorate and celebrate the life of Amy Ostermeier and to help launch Amy’s memorial fund. Amy’s family was gratified by the energy and effort put forth by Amy’s former colleagues and by Macalester College prior to and during the two day event, which surpassed our expectations and provided for an amazing launch for the fund.
On Thursday, October 17th the inaugural Amy Ostermeier Human Rights Lecture took place at Macalester’s John B. Davis Lecture Hall. Following a performance by Macalester’s African Music Ensemble and a beautiful tribute to Amy by former State Department Colleague Evelyn Aswad (currently the Herman G. Kaiser Chair in International Law at The University of Oklahoma), PEN American Center Executive Director Suzanne Nossel gave a dynamic and engaging lecture on The New Free Speech to a crowded auditorium of students, alumni, faculty, and Amy’s former colleagues, friends and family. We hope to post video clips of the lecture and tribute shortly.
October 18th began with a breakfast joining Amy’s family, former colleagues and Macalester faculty to brainstorm and begin to bring shape to future initiatives related to Amy’s fund. Following the breakfast, Suzanne Nossel, Evelyn Aswad, Joe Cassidy (a former colleague of Amy’s and Director Office of Policy and Regional and Functional Organizations, U.S. Department of State) and Elizabeth Cassidy (who, as Deputy Policy Director of the Congressionally-created U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, worked closely with Amy) spoke to students in two separate sessions on human rights careers and on current human rights challenges.
Inaugural Lecture by Suzanne Nossel
A modified version of Suzanne’s lecture is presented below in her TedTalk titled “The New Free Speech”
“Diplomacy of Human Rights” by Samantha Power