Event summaries

Join us April 23-27, 2024 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the UCSC Right Livelihood Center, inaugurate our new role as Global Secretariat of the Right Livelihood College network, and launch a set of faculty-Laureate research clusters and an international student...

Join 2023 Right Livelihood Laureate Dr. Eunice Brookman-Amissah for a guest lecture and discussion in Sociology 159: Pregnancy and Birth with Dr. Christie Mccullen. ABOUT DR. EUNICE BROOKMAN-AMISSAH Eunice Brookman-Amissah is a Ghanaian physician whose leadership has...

FREE LUNCH WITH RSVP FRI,  MARCH 1ST 1:30 – 5:30 PM CHARLES E MERRILL LOUNGE Let’s dive into the deeper thinking that goes on behind the scenes of the most successful movements. We’ll offer an introduction to the conceptual underpinnings of strategic nonviolent...

An open dialogue between students in the Right Livelihood College campuses at Lund University and UC Santa Cruz. Open to all UCSC graduate and undergraduate students.

On February 28th, 2023 Right Livelihood Laureate Mother Nature Cambodia gave a lecture in Community Studies 40: Media and Social Movements with Rachel Goodman.

Politics and Right Livelihood Center are pleased to welcome Rob Bilott back to UC Santa Cruz. Rob Bilott, esteemed 2017 Right Livelihood Laureate, offered insights from his life experience on "Using Rights and Litigation as Tools for Environmental and Health Justice."...

On November 30th, Livelihood Laureate Helena Norberg Hodge and students from Politics/LGST 167, the Politics of International Trade, had an open dialogue on the systemic root causes of our current global crises and economic localization—shifting our economies towards...

On November 14th, Laureate Paul Walker and students from Politics 160B, International Law, had an open dialogue on arms control, international law, and strategies and challenges emerging from the recent 5th Five-Year Review of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Paul...

Neshan provided an overview of the principles of Earth Trusteeship as key ethico-legal consideration for achieving sustainable development within 21st Century Governance. Whilst specific reference will be drawn to The Earth Charter (2000), the Hague Principles for...

UCSC students had the opportunity to join Right Livelihood laureate Helen Norberg-Hodge for a key note and discussion on localization, world politics, and responses to the climate crisis. The conversation began with a debriefing by Helen Norberg-Hodge before breaking...

During Earth Week, we had the honor of hosting a very special Monday night community conversation with Nnimmo Bassey. An engrossing speaker, Nnimmo Bassey led a conversation on the societal and environmental impacts of oil production. Community members learned about...

On April 26th 2023, UCSC students joined Lottie Cunningham Wren for a keynote and World Cafe Style discussion about human rights, illegal cattle ranching, and indigenous community responses to land theft in Nicaragua. Visiting UCSC's Politics 175 "Human Rights"...

This webinar brought together Brazilian social activists and Right Livelihood Award Laureates Cassia Bechara of the Movement of the Landless Rural Workers / MST, and Chico Whitaker, co-founder of the World Social Forum, to discuss the challenges and expectations for...

On May 6th, we held a workshop for those who want to dive into the deeper thinking that goes on behind the scenes of the most successful movements. We offered an introduction to the conceptual underpinnings of strategic nonviolent action and how they are applied in...

As an unprecedented number of people across the world are mobilizing to face a range of crises, from racial injustice to rising authoritarianism to the climate crisis, it’s more important now than ever to understand the theory and history behind how ordinary people...

Right Livelihood is a courage-powered community for social change. Each year, we present the Right Livelihood Award. By recognizing the actions of brave visionaries and building impactful connections around the world, the Award boosts urgent and long-term social...

On November 30th, one of the USA's most impactful environmental lawyers, Robert Bilott led a conversation about his latest work followed by an intergenerational World-Cafe style dialogue aimed at inspiring hope and action. Rob is the protagonist in the recent...

On June 22nd, we held a meeting for Graduate students. We link activists and academics around courageous solutions to global problems. Visit rightlivelihood.ucsc.edu for details.

Juan Pablo Orrego is a musician, ecologist, and one of Chile's foremost environmental activists. He has fought for public water rights in Chile and against the building of dams and undemocratic, unsustainable development practices in Chile. He continues to be active...

20 year old Swedish Climate Change Activist. Isabelle wears many hats for the Stockholm Fridays For Future movement with expertise in media, mobilisation and public speaking. She has been striking with Greta Thunberg in Stockholm almost since the beginning of the...

This conversation focused on the link between Social Justice and Environmental Sustainability.

On December 3rd, Right Livelihood Laureates, Right Livelihood College faculty and students, Right Livelihood staff members watched the 2020 Right Livelihood Award Presentation together. This zoom room gave us the opportunity to be in touch just before, during, and...

Around the world, states and organizations are struggling to control the outbreak of COVID-19. The directives from WHO declares that we should constantly wash our hands, keep good hygiene, and stay inside to protect others. But how does this affect the part of the...

As the Coronavirus spreads around the world, it is having far-reaching effects not only on public health but also on our capacities for democratic politics. States have responded to the pandemic in various ways as they try to quickly implement new rules and...

Water contaminated by toxic chemical wastes; hundreds of millions without access to minimum necessary quantities of potable water. These were grave, immense issues long before the coronavirus pandemic. Now the pandemic, raging globally, poses new questions for us: Do...

Join us for a timely panel discussion on how Nnimmo and Vandana's alternative economic frameworks are informing and informed by this moment of the coronavirus crisis. We will consider how these frameworks can inform all of us about positive paths forward, and how we...

On January 25, we held our Annual Right Livelihood Laureate Lecture with Vandana Shiva! The next day there was a workshop on Poison Free, Fossil Free Food & Farming with Julie Guthman, Sarait Martinez, Zen Honeycutt, Mackenzie Feldman, Tim Galarneau (moderator)...

Right Livelihood Film Series Seed: The Untold Story (2016, 1h 34m) At the Cowell Fireside Lounge. A film about the importance of heirloom seeds to the agriculture of the world, focusing on seed keepers and activists from around the world. Starring Vandana Shiva,...

Right Livelihood Film Series Paris to Pittsburg: the Climate for Change is Now (2018, 1h 17m) At the Cowell Fireside Lounge. Paris to Pittsburgh brings to life the impassioned efforts of individuals who are battling the most severe threats of climate change in their...

On October 3rd, we held an info session for graduate and undergraduate students to learn about how to get involved and how RLC can support your research!

On September 25th, we held an orientation for graduate students to learn about Right Livelihood College at UC Santa Cruz and how you can plug into our opportunities for research and education. Visit rightlivelihood.ucsc.edu for more details.

UC Santa Cruz hosts the Right Livelihood Summer Institute with world recognized activist, editor and publisher Nicanor Perlas. Perlas, a Right Livelihood Award laureate, received the "alternative Nobel" in 2003 for his work opposing corporate globalization. The...

Iván Velásquez Gómez is 2018 Right Livelihood Award Laureate, widely known as the 'Alternative Nobel Prize' "...for their innovative work in exposing abuse of power and prosecuting corruption, thus rebuilding people’s trust in public institutions.” ​Mr. Velásquez is...