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Nottingham residents’ right to clothing discussed ahead of Human Rights City launch

The right of Nottingham residents to access clothing is to be discussed at two special events as part of the City’s plan to become a Human Rights City in 2023.

old second-hand clothes in plastic bags
The right to clothing is linked to other human rights

The events led by Nottingham Trent University (NTU) and Sharewear Clothing Scheme will focus on the right to clothing and introduce the notion of a human rights city and the important role of cities in promoting and preserving human rights.

As a human rights city, Nottingham organisations would work together to protect the human rights of local residents, such as ensuring access to decent work, housing and food.

On 7 December an Economic Justice & the Right to Clothing workshop will introduce the work of Sharewear, while also exploring economic justice and how to make clothing accessible to all. There will be an opportunity for participants to think about the issue of clothing poverty, fast fashion and economic justice with the view to working out how they would campaign to ensure everyone has the right to clothing.

At the Human Rights in Nottingham, symposium and showcase event on 10 December founder of Sharewear Clothing Scheme and the Right to Clothing programme, Dr Louise Cooke, will focus on its link to a variety of other human rights, and the importance of fighting clothing poverty at city level, based on the experience of Sharewear and its users.

Sharon Hutchings and Dr Michele Grigolo, senior lecturers in Sociology at NTU’s School of Social Sciences, are working on the human rights city initiative with local organisations.

Dr Michele Grigolo will introduce the idea and practice of a human rights city during the 10 December symposium, which falls on International Human Rights Day. He said: “The right to clothing is a new human right we want to support. Human rights are all interdependent and they are relevant in our city. These events stress the importance of local organisation initiatives, the participation of city residents, and the empowerment of communities towards becoming a human rights city.”

If you are unable to attend the events above but would like to stay informed about future plans, please email humanrightscity@ntu.ac.uk

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    About Nottingham Trent University

    Nottingham Trent University (NTU) received the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in 2021 for cultural heritage science research. It is the second time that NTU has been bestowed the honour of receiving a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for its research, the first being in 2015 for leading-edge research on the safety and security of global citizens.

    The Research Excellence Framework (2021) classed 83% of NTU’s research activity as either world-leading or internationally excellent. 86% of NTU’s research impact was assessed to be either world-leading or internationally excellent.

    NTU was awarded The Times and The Sunday Times Modern University of the Year 2023 and ranked second best university in the UK in the Uni Compare Top 100 rankings (2021/2022). It was awarded Outstanding Support for Students 2020 (Times Higher Education Awards), University of the Year 2019 (Guardian University Awards, UK Social Mobility Awards), Modern University of the Year 2018 (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide) and University of the Year 2017 (Times Higher Education Awards).

    NTU is the 5th largest UK institution by student numbers, with nearly 39,000 students and more than 4,400 staff located across five campuses. It has an international student population of 7,000 and an NTU community representing over 160 countries.

    Since 2000, NTU has invested £570 million in tools, technology, buildings and facilities.

    NTU is in the UK’s top 10 for number of applications and ranked first for accepted offers (2021 UCAS UG acceptance data). It is also among the UK’s top five recruiters of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and was the first UK university to sign the Social Mobility Pledge.

    NTU is ranked 4th most sustainable university in the world and 1st in the UK for sustainability-themed Education and Research in the 2021 UI Green Metric University World Rankings (out of more than 900 participating universities).

Published on 1 December 2022
  • Category: Press office; School of Social Sciences