About us

 

 

Undergraduate students from KZSC with Right Livelihood Laureate Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! at our 2018 Conference. The conference reached over 2,500 students over three days earning it the reputation as the largest event UCSC’s ever had.

About us

Founded in 2013, the Right Livelihood College at UC Santa Cruz is a partnership between UC Santa Cruz and the Right Livelihood Foundation. Housed at the Institute for Social Transformation, the Right Livelihood College links faculty and students with ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’ Laureates for research and education about proven solutions to the world’s most pressing global problems. 
Learn More

Global network

Right Livelihood Foundation

We are a courage-powered community for social change.

Established in 1980, the Right Livelihood Foundation is committed to peace, justice & sustainability for all. Each year, they present the Right Livelihood Award known as “the Alternative Nobel Prize”. By recognizing the actions of brave visionaries & building impactful connections around the world, the Award boosts urgent & long-term social change. 

Learn More

Laureates

Everyday action matters.

The award is given annually to 4 people or organizations who provide practical solutions to the root causes of global problems in human rights and the environment. 182 Laureates from 72 countries have received the distinction to date, including Greta Thunberg, Wangari Maathai, Vandana Shiva, Bill McKibben / 350.org, Amy Goodman, and David Suzuki.

 

 

Find a Laureate

Right Livelihood College

Education to change the world.

In our work to promote a just, peaceful and sustainable world for all, we develop and disseminate knowledge about Laureates’ solutions. By bridging the gap between activism and academia, our education work stimulates research dedicated to real-world problems and provides civil society with knowledge and tools to address pressing challenges.

Campuses and Centers

Goals

The Right Livelihood College has four main goals:

Accessible Knowledge

Making the knowledge of Laureates accessible to all, the general public as well as individuals and academics with the potential to make the ‘winning ideas’ of Laureates succeed and multiply. 

Accessible Data

Actively linking the most excellent educational institutions with the Laureates, thus providing researchers and students unparalleled access to primary data and case studies of eminent civil society activists and movements.

Synergies

Connecting the global community of Laureates to help release synergies, scale tested know-how and create the critical mass to help bring their common goals forward.

Promoting Solutions

Providing a hub and an incubator for promoting and multiplying the most successful solutions to urgent global problems through the development of information and education activities including web-based learning materials, meetings, networking and internship and research scholarship programmes.

Timeline

Right Livelihood College Campuses

University of California, Santa Cruz

Institute for Social Transformation (homepage, news)

University of Austral, Valdivia, Chile

Institute of Economics (homepage, news)

University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Faculty of Gender and Conflict Studies

Global Campus of Human Rights

University of Bonn, Germany

Center for Development Research

National University of Cordoba, Argentina

Faculty of Psychology

Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Centre for Livelihoods and Social Innovation, Mumbai, India

University of Zurich, Right Livelihood Centre, Switzerland

University of Lund, Sweden

Sustainability Studies (news)

University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Faculty of Anthropology

School for Wellbeing Studies & Research, Bangkok, Thailand

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations based in Paris. The Right Livelihood College (RLC) has gained affiliate membership status with the UNESCO-based International Association of Universities (IAU). The IAU recognizes the key role higher education plays in the overall process of achieving sustainable development, by pursuing the creation, dissemination and application of knowledge. The Right Livelihood Colleges, including its researchers and students, will add substantial value to this forum for innovation, shared and mutual learning, and joint action.

Our Organizational Structure

The Right Livelihood College is a project of the Right Livelihood Foundation. The Right Livelihood College at UC Santa Cruz is housed at the Institute for Social Transformation and has a part-time academic coordinator, student-led Right Livelihood Clubs, and receives guidance and staff support from the Institute.