Nelson Mandela Chair of Human Rights in the Arts UNAM

The Nelson Mandela Chair of Human Rights in the Arts is an initiative of the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the Embassy of South Africa, with the consent of the Mandela Foundation, born in 2015 through the Coordination of Cultural Dissemination.

It arises in the spirit of recognizing and updating the legacy of Nelson Mandela in his fight against discrimination, injustice and the violation of human rights in Mexico and the world. Starting in 2018, the Mandela Chair enters a new stage and expands its field of action to all the arts -no longer just literature and film-, in order to consolidate itself as a space for interdisciplinary encounters that allow exploring and deepening the link between human rights, critical thinking and the work of the arts, based on a conception of art as a means for social transformation.

The Nelson Mandela Chair of Human Rights in the Arts aims to explore and deepen the link between artistic practice and the defense of human rights. It is a space for reflection and interdisciplinary meeting that starts from a premise: there are images, narratives and artistic practices that make problems visible, cultivate critical thinking and combat discrimination, abuse of power, inequality and various forms of violence and violation of human rights in Mexico.

In particular, the Nelson Mandela Chair of Human Rights in the Arts seeks to consolidate itself as a space for discussion and analysis of various issues related to the defense and promotion of human rights in Mexico.

To this end, it seeks to create links and collaborations with other entities of the Coordination of Cultural Dissemination, academic, artistic, human rights advocacy and research areas within and outside UNAM, as well as the South African Embassy in Mexico. The Nelson Mandela Chair has the generous support of Santander Universities and the Institute of Legal Research of UNAM for its operation.