2024 Social Change Initiative Fellow

Allison Tate
She/Her/Hers
Program in International and Comparative Studies with a sub-major in International Security, Norms, and Cooperation
Class 2027

"My time spent interning for the Social Change Initiative (SCI) this summer was truly the perfect way to cap off my first year of studies at the University of Michigan, and is all thanks to the generous support of the Donia Human Rights Center. Prior to receiving this fellowship, I never thought I would be given the opportunity to jumpstart my career in the international sphere at only 19, let alone have the chance to become a published author within my field, but this fellowship changed my trajectory. Throughout the course of my studies in Belfast, I delved into over 1,500 pages of human rights-related literature, international relations theory, and Northern Ireland court proceedings. I attended the Social Change Initiative’s June conference, "Hard Wiring Fairness for All: Now and for Future Generations," where I heard from various speakers on the topic of governments worldwide implementing legislative models to reduce inequalities and improve wellbeing. Additionally, I assisted with planning the upcoming fall conference between the Social Change Initiative and the Irish Center for European Law. Ultimately, under the supervision of Martin O’Brien at the Social Change Initiative and Christopher McCrudden at Queen’s University Belfast, I wrote and produced a research publication entitled, "Human Rights and Equality in Northern Ireland: Article 2 of the Windsor Framework Reaches the Courts: What’s at Stake?", which is expected to be published in early September through SCI. This report analyzed the upcoming Northern Ireland Court of Appeal decision in [2024] NIKB 11 Dillon et al and its implications regarding the future interpretation of Article 2 of the Windsor Framework, and built off of previous SCI fellows’ work."