Around the world, norms and institutions that promote democracy and human rights are weakening.  They are challenged by discontent with cost of living, with longstanding and urgent environmental and social crises, and by ambitious and populist voices that do not respect restraint and social cohesion. 

Come and join other community members, scholars, and civil society groups as we celebrate, critique, interrogate and challenge the conditions for democracy and human rights today.  With festival events being organised across the country over eight days, you’re bound to find one near you or online.

This festival is sponsored by the Social Change Lab and other advocacy groups. We gratefully acknowledge funding provided through the Mary Lee bequest that helps support the Social Change Lab and our activities.

Interested? You can find out more below and register for events. You can also download the full festival program here.

Keen to host an event? We invite anyone - community members, scholars, students, and advocacy groups - to host an event as part of the festival! Please see our host guide for more info.

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Democracy and Human Rights Festival 2026 (download the full festival program here)

Monday 1 June

• 11am-12noon: Music, democracy, human rights and protest [Social Change Lab/CREATE Lab/School of Music, The University of Queensland]. An online panel discussion: Dr. James Lewandowski-Cox is a Librarian at The University of Queensland and scholar of Hip Hop Studies | Associate Professor Eve Klein is an award-winning composer, mezzo soprano, sound artist and academic in the School of Music at The University of Queensland.
  • Register here.
• 3-6pm: Democracy and Human Rights – A musical concert and spoken word event [Social Change Lab/CREATE Lab/School of Music, The University of Queensland]. Dr Mary Mahoney AO Amphitheatre, UQ St Lucia. No need to register, just come along on the day. Download the poster here.   

Tuesday 2 June

• A series of inter-related workshops - come to any or all, as you wish! All in Room 271, Level 2 Global Change Institute (Building #20), UQ St Lucia, with an option to attend online. Register here. 
  • 9-10am AEST: From Emotions to Action: Democracy & Human Rights Activism and Advocacy for Beginners This free, interactive, and hybrid workshop is for students and community members who feel sad, angry, or scared about the state of democracy and human rights, and who haven’t acted or who feel like beginners in democracy and human rights activism and advocacy. You’ll learn some key psychological principles and participate in hands-on activities to get started on your journey.  It’s fun for individuals, and it’s also great to come with friends.  You’ll meet some like-minded students and staff.
    • Register here.​
  • 1-2pm AEST: Bridging Now to Next in Activism and Advocacy. This free interactive workshop is about refreshing your vision of working to advance democracy and human rights. It’s open to anyone, but will offer the most to people who have been working long enough or given enough to a social movement to feel disillusionment, burnout, or despair.  We’ll be focusing on democracy and human rights, but the learnings and activities can benefit people in any movement.
    • Register here.
  • 2:30-3:30pm AEST: Democracy and the Polycrisis. Issues of democracy and human rights are inter-connected with other intensifying problems as humanity transgresses our planetary boundaries – problems like food insecurity, rising conflict, democratic backsliding, climate change, and biodiversity loss, together sometimes referred to as the Polycrisis.  Yet we often study or advocate for these problems in isolation.  Hear from scholars working on the polycrisis and grow your thinking about the interdisciplinary scholarship and trans-issue advocacy that is needed to orient to it in this free, hybrid, and interactive seminar.
    • Register here.

• 11am-12noon AEST: Talking democracy: How we can design a future for all. Sonia Randhawa interviews Eddie Kowalski from Conversations at the Crossroads, and Willow Berzin from Perigon Studios. 
  • Register here.

Wednesday 3 June

• 10:30am-12pm AEST: Wellbeing in Difficult Times: Understanding Trauma and Distress, and Managing Difficult Thoughts and Feelings. This free, interactive workshop is for students, staff, and community members interested in learning about psychological distress and trauma. We will discuss how to support yourself and others during difficult times, and when and where to seek help. We will also learn some basic approaches to managing difficult thoughts and feelings, including mindfulness-based strategies. ​Room 271, Level 2 Global Change Institute (Building #20), UQ St Lucia, with an option to attend online.
  Please note: we won’t be discussing trauma in detail. However, for some people even an introduction to the topic can bring up strong feelings. If you think this might be the case for you, it may be kinder to yourself to skip this session and reach out for one-on-one support instead.
  • ​Register here.
• 1pm-2pm AEST: Using digital communications to build Tight Knit communities: The antidote to fascism, brought to you by Tight Knit. Join us for a session exploring how digital tools can strengthen connection, collaboration, and community impact. Room 275, Level 2 Global Change Institute (Building #20), UQ St Lucia, with an option to attend online.
  • Register here.  
• 5-6:30pm AEST: PEPSS Seminar, "Inequality and democracies: What we know and what we don’t know", featuring Professor Jolanda Jetten, Professor of Social Psychology and Head of the School of Psychology at The University of Queensland, and Professor Richard Wilkinson, Professor Emeritus of Social Epidemiology at the University of Nottingham and co‑author of The Spirit Level. Room 275, Level 2 Global Change Institute (Building #20), UQ St Lucia, with an option to attend online.
  • Register here.  
• 7-8pm AEST: Faith in Democracy? An online panel discussion of the role of religion and faith in democracy and human rights in Australia today. Sister Wendy Flannery is a peace advocate and founder of Believing Women for a Culture of Peace. | Fr Duncan Gorwood is an Anglican Parish Priest at All Saint’s, Wickham Terrace. | Michele Grossman AM is Professor and Research Chair in Diversity and Community Resilience at the Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University. | Halim Rane is a professor of Islamic Studies and sociologist of religion in the School of Humanities, Languages, and Social Science at Griffith University.
  • ​Register here.​​

Thursday 4 June

• 9am-5pm AEST: National Interdisciplinary Conversation on Democracy and Human Rights. Room 273, Level 2 Global Change Institute (Building #20), UQ St Lucia, with an option to attend online. Download the conference program here.
  • Register here.  
• 5:30-6:30pm AEST: The repression of protest: A panel discussion. Paige Garland is the president of Amnesty International’s Queensland/Northern New South Wales branch. | Robin Banks is a human rights lawyer and former anti-discrimination commissioner based at the University of Tasmania. | Robyn Gulliver is an award-winning environmentalist, writer, and researcher at The University of Queensland. Download the flyer here.
  • Register here.

Friday 5 June

• 12-1pm AEST: Tackling the rise of the far right: Equality, truth and democratic legitimacy. Free online event - register here.
  ​With the first ever election of a One Nation Lower House MP, Australia is joining other advanced democracies in grappling with the rise of the far right, a phenomenon that has seen the US democracy crumbling under Trump’s MAGA regime. In this presentation, we discuss the problems of the far right through the lens of equality, truth and democratic legitimacy and propose solutions to counter its toxic gravitational pull. Speakers will include:
  • Dr Nathan Manning, Senior Lecturer at Adelaide University, will discuss his research about ‘aggrieved egalitarianism’ which finds young men co-opt support for equality to oppose measures to address structural inequality.
  • Dr Victoria Fielding, Senior Lecturer at Adelaide University, ties post-truth media and communication to far right politics by discussing how Trump’s Make America Great narrative is underpinned by structural lies which mislead voters about the movement’s true political interests.​
  • Oscar Kaspi-Crutchett, Senior Research Organiser at the Victorian Trades Hall Council, will present key ideas from their report ‘Antidote’ which argues trade unionism is the best vaccine against far-right politics.
• 5:30-7:30pm AEST: Solidarity Salon. An in-person writing salon hosted by the UQ Writing Society. It will involve a writing challenge on the topic of democracy and human rights - prompts will be provided - concluding with the opportunity for attendees to read out their work towards the end of the salon. Open to all, including UQWS members and non-members, as well as non-students. Room s201, Hawken Engineering Building (Building #50), UQ St Lucia. Rego page coming soon. 
• 7-8pm AEST: Making Democracy Real for Women. Online panel discussion on making democracy real for women, featuring interdisciplinary speakers: Karishma Koofi, volunteer in the communications department at the Spanish organisation, 
  Netwomening, who will speak about ending gender apartheid and supporting Afghan women refugees and migrants in Spain; Professor Susan Harris Rimmer, who is based in the Griffith Law School and whose work focuses on international human rights law, climate justice, national security, foreign policy and gender equality; and Patricia Dwyer, who will discuss the work of WILPF, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. 
  • Register here.
• 8-9pm AEST: Ending Impunity: An online panel discussion. Dr Robin Banks, University of Tasmania, is an advocate and former anti-discrimination commissioner. | Jagganaden Nataraj Muneesamy is the Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions in Mauritius, and he has been involved in addressing the fight against impunity for international crimes. | Prof. Winnifred Louis, University of Queensland, is a social psychologist and scholar of system and social change.
  • Register here.​​