Oxford Consortium for Human Rights
Capturing Worcester College
FOR uo-unesco Crossings institute
After spending hours in the Stanford House listening to enlightening lectures, I spent my afternoons exploring Worcester College, taking lazy-lakeside walks and people-watching on the Nuffield Lawn. I used this time as a chance to learn more about my surroundings. I researched the school’s history and fantasized about how I would have experienced this setting through the perspective of different people in both the past and the future. I imagined what it would have been like to be the Provost, sometime before the 1900s, who grazed his cattle on the side of the sports field, which was once a water meadow. I pretended I was part of the first female class of 41 students who entered the College in 1979. As a champion of co-education and gender equality, I confidently strutted through the front entrance and took my seat in a classroom’s first row. These were the things I fantasized about, for it made me appreciate the historic academic environment even more.
While I enjoyed living in the past in my daydreams, I found equal excitement in experiencing the forward-looking aspects of the institution. The Sultan Nazrin Shah Centre, named after the son of the Sultan of Perak in Malaysia, an alumnus of Worcester College, is flooded with sunlight and features state-of-the-art modern technology. The architecture bears a bold contrast to the Chapel, which was last renovated in 1864. However, the Shah Centre’s lighting is timeless. The building’s natural illumination transports me to a futuristic space, where I welcome change to a place grounded in tradition. I picture myself as a graduate student studying English and attending lectures in the Centre’s auditorium. I envision myself exploring the archives in the soon-to-be-constructed library and study center, eager to discover new knowledge and broaden my worldview.
In these moments, where I was enchanted by Worcester’s twenty-six acres of natural beauty and embodying some of the school’s different personas, I fell in love with not only the landscape but the history, culture and community of the College. I felt that I belonged, regardless of the role I assumed.
Check out Worcester College — captured through my camera lens on post-lecture walks and sit-spots.
Day at Ditchley Park
For UO-UNESCO Crossings Institute
The OCHR cohort spent its third day in the United Kingdom exploring the Ditchley Foundation estate and learning about a variety of technology topics from diverse speakers. Please enjoy a travel vlog to and from Ditchley Park, attached below. Also, take a glance over a brief outline of the workshop sessions and speakers from the memorable day.
“The UK Government, AI and Citizens Rights” by Dr. Catherine Cutts. Dr. Cutts joined KKR, a leading global investment firm, in 2024 and is a member of the KKR Capstone team. She holds an MA in Mathematics, an MPhil in Computational Biology, and a PhD in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Cambridge.
“AI and Geopolitics” by James Arroyo OBE. Arroyo is the director of the Ditchley Foundation. He previously served as the director of data at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, where he led efforts to modernize the department to the digital age.
“Nuclear Ethics and AI” by Tom Plant. Plant heads the Defense and Geopolitics program at the Ditchley Foundation, collaborating across a wide network to address some of the most critical and complex issues in global security. He also leads Liminal Minds Limited, a research and consultant firm specializing in international security, advising governments and nonprofits on defense-related matters.