ISHHR Webinar May 19th, 2025 at 15.00 CET.
Presenting the speakers:
Arnold Djuma (DRC),
Theme: Supporting physically and mentally traumatised Human Rights Defenders
Founder/ leader of the Voluntary Coalition for Peace and Development in the DRC, will open by presenting the theme: Supporting physically and mentally traumatised Human Rights Defenders, a program to help traumatized HR defenders in Goma who risk their lives and live in fear.
Arnold is a human rights defender, member of Amnesty International, member of Civicus Global Alliance, GI-TOC expert (Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime), and a human rights educator of Equitus Canada.
The following speakers will respond with thoughts and comments from their professional experience:
Nora Sveaass (Norway)
Theme: Supporting survivors of severe human rights violations in conflict.
Nora Sveaass is Professor emeritus, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway and a clinical psychologist. She has worked clinically with refugees and done research on therapy with traumatised refugee families, rehabilitation of victims of torture, sexual violence and transitional justice mechanisms. Books and journal articles on psychology and human rights, forced migration, sexual violence in armed conflict, and the right to redress and rehabilitation for survivors of torture. Sveaass initiated Health and Human Rights Info (MHHRI), an NGO providing information and training for helpers engaged in survivors of human rights abuses. Established and served as chair of the Human Rights Committee of the Norwegian Psychological Association (1998–2019), was member of UN Committee Against Torture (2005–2013) and of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (2014-2022).
Anders Lundesgaard (Norway)
Theme: Individual and collective trauma and healing.
Anders Lundesgaard is a Clinical Psychologist at RVTS Northern Norway: Resource Centre on Violence, Traumatic Stress, Suicide Prevention, with Forced Migration focus.
Clinical work with patients with complex trauma from Norway and refugees from war-affected countries; teaching and giving lectures on the Centre’s key topics.
Hector Aristizábal (Colombia)
Theme: The Soul’s mycelium: Reconnecting to ourselves, to each other and to Nature
Hector Aristizábal is a Psychologist, a performance artist, and leader of Reconectando; http://www.reconectando.org/, he has worked closely with the Colombian Truth and Reconciliation Commission by leading eco-dialogues among former antagonists and survivors in the wilderness, on the bosom of Mother Nature.
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Ada Sinacore and David Danto (Canada)
Theme: Identity Violence. A Contextual Approach to Understanding Interpersonal Harm and Trauma.
Ada Sinacore, past President and Fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association and president-elect of the International Council of Psychologists, is a professor in the Counseling Psychology Program at the Faculty of Education at McGill University, associate member of the Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies, and Director of the Social Justice and Diversity Research Lab., with over 25 years of experience working in the U.S., Canada, and abroad. Website: www.mcgill.ca/socialjustice
David Danto is Dean of Health and Community Studies at MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and professor in the Department of Public Safety and Justice Studies.
Both are members of the Global Network of Psychologists for Human Rights, and are internationally recognized for their expertise, extensive presentations, publications and activism addressing social justice and human rights concerns at the individual, institutional, societal, and governmental levels. They are actively involved in research addressing topics related to societal inequities in education and mental health.