LSE Centre for Women, Peace and Security appoints New Visiting Professors in Practice

LSE has announced the appointment of four new Visiting Professors in Practice.

Jane Connors, Lord Hague, Angelina Jolie Pitt and Madeleine Rees will contribute to new MSc programme in Women, Peace and Security, the first of its kind internationally. 

Download the statement below, or read the original on the LSE website here.

LSE has announced the appointment of four new Visiting Professors in Practice.

Jane Connors, Director of International Advocacy at Amnesty International Geneva, The Rt Hon The Lord William Hague, former UK Foreign Secretary, Angelina Jolie Pitt DCMG, UNHCR Special Envoy, and Madeleine Rees OBE, Secretary General of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, will be joining the team of the Centre for Women, Peace and Security. 

They join other LSE Fellows, scholars, activists and practitioners dedicated to developing strategies to promote gender equality and enhance women’s economic, social and political participation and security.

The Visiting Professors play an active part in the Centre, delivering guest lectures to students, participating in expert workshops and public events, and undertaking their own work.

From Autumn 2016, students will be able to apply to take the new one–year MSc in Women, Peace and Security, which will include courses on 'Women, Peace and Security', 'Gender and Militarisation' and 'Gender and Human Rights'. As part of the programme, students will conduct independent research, each student examining an unexplored area within the fields of preventing sexual violence in conflict and women, peace and security.

Following his appointment, Lord Hague said: "I am delighted to become a visiting professor at the LSE with Angelina Jolie Pitt, Jane Connors and Madeleine Rees. This course will help underpin our work in preventing sexual violence in conflict, developing expertise and research to assist us in tackling the culture of impunity. I look forward to working with the LSE students and my fellow visiting professors."

Ms Angelina Jolie Pitt said: “I am very encouraged by the creation of this master’s programme. I hope other academic institutions will follow this example, as it is vital that we broaden the discussion on how to advance women’s rights and end impunity for crimes that disproportionately affect women, such as sexual violence in conflict. I am looking forward to teaching and to learning from the students as well as to sharing my own experiences of working alongside governments and the United Nations”.

Professor Christine Chinkin, Director of the Centre for Women, Peace and Security said: “Bringing practitioners, policy makers and activists together with scholars is essential in advancing knowledge and influencing global and local policy-making. I am delighted to welcome these four leaders in their respective fields to the Centre for Women, Peace and Security and look forward to their active involvement in our innovative educational programmes.”   

For more on the Centre for Women, Peace and Security, click here.

Notes:

The Centre for Women, Peace and Security is a leading academic space for scholars, practitioners, activists, policy-makers and students to develop strategies to promote justice, human rights and participation for women in conflict-affected situations around the world.

The Centre aims to promote gender equality and enhance women’s economic, social and political participation and security.

The Centre was launched in February 2015 by The Lord Hague and Ms Jolie Pitt in their capacities as co-founders of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI).

The Centre is led by Professor Christine Chinkin FBA, an expert on international and human rights law, who recently served as specialist advisor to the House of Lords Select Committee on Sexual Violence in Conflict.

By joining the LSE Centre for Women, Peace and Security, the four Visiting Professors will provide students with the opportunity to directly learn from their experiences working on women’s rights issues.

The Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative was co-founded in 2012 by then Foreign Secretary William Hague, and the Special Envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Angelina Jolie Pitt.  The aim of the campaign is to raise awareness, rally global action, promote greater international coherence and increase the political will and capacity of states to do more to address the culture of impunity that exists for these crimes, to increase the number of perpetrators held to account and to ensure better support for survivors.   

LSE confers the title of Visiting Professor in Practice on persons who have appropriate distinction within their area of (non-academic) practice. It includes individuals who have achieved prominence in public service, or who have attained distinction in their profession and through their practical experience. Visiting Professors in the Centre for Women, Peace and Security participate in the educational activities of the Centre. Visiting Professorships in the Centre for Women, Peace and Security are unpaid.

Monday 23 May 2016