SHAPE-SEA successfully concluded its Writeshop Skills-Training on Human Rights and Peace Studies from 28 to 30 May 2025 at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Law, Vietnam. The event gathered emerging scholars and grantees from across Southeast Asia under the 2024 cycle of the Research Grants Programme (RGP) to hone their research, writing, and advocacy skills. Each session focused on a different facet of effective knowledge production and public engagement.
“This writeshop reminded us that research does not exist in a vacuum,” shared Casey Cruz, grantee from MA Human Rights in Mahidol University. “It must speak to the struggles and lived realities of our communities, and our responsibility as researchers is to bridge knowledge with action.”
By promoting a culture of critical inquiry and socially engaged scholarship, SHAPE-SEA continues to support the development of academic leaders who can influence both thought and practice in the field of human rights and peace. The recent writeshop marks a significant step in that journey—blending research excellence with advocacy to generate meaningful regional impact and cultivating a new generation of scholar-advocates equipped to respond to pressing social challenges.
Committed to creating spaces where knowledge is co-created, critiqued, and connected to action, the programme reinforces the belief that academic work can—and must—contribute to shaping more just, inclusive, and peaceful societies in Southeast Asia.
As grantees return to their respective institutions and communities, they carry with them refined tools, deeper insights, and a renewed commitment to making their research matter—beyond publications, beyond classrooms, and into the heart of advocacy and change, helping to mainstream the language of human rights and peace across various fields.