Human rights students at the University of Essex have revealed how they are inspired to improve the lives of people around the world in the University’s latest podcast series.

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Interviewed during the University’s 50th anniversary event in Geneva - where the global human rights community celebrated the contribution of Essex’s world-leading Human Rights Centre - five international students explained how issues such as access to education, and the health and welfare of women and children led them to Essex.

Undergraduate student Rana Tawfik, explained how she wants to improve education in her native Egypt: “I want to empower the children in Egypt. I’d rather they’d be studying at home than working on the streets. And I thought it was unfair that I could and they couldn’t.”

Reflecting on her time at Essex, Minallah Flora Silvano from South Sudan said: “It’s a place where you come in as a student and you leave as part of the family…I have felt at home.”

Pelin Kahveci from Turkey said: “I would like to be in the field in the United Nations, and I would like to help the people…and dedicate my whole life to human rights.”