In the second episode of our two-part series on human rights, we turn to the growing pressures facing human rights today and consider what their future might look like in an era marked by geopolitical tensions, technological transformation, and political contestation. What are the most significant challenges confronting human rights today, and how can societies respond when rights come into conflict?

The podcast brings together Professor Reetta Toivanen, Professor of Sustainability Science at the Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS), Postdoctoral Researcher Tuija Kasa from the Faculty of Education at the University of Helsinki.

Together, they examine the increasing political pressures on human rights frameworks, the role of human rights in guiding political decision-making at national, European, and global levels, and the difficult questions that arise when fundamental rights collide. The discussion also explores how rapidly developing technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, are reshaping both the risks and possibilities for protecting human dignity and fundamental freedoms.

The episode concludes by looking ahead: what kind of future for human rights is realistically emerging, and what more hopeful visions might guide efforts to strengthen them in the decades to come?

Host: Max Tallberg

Global Visions is a non-profit association based in Helsinki, Finland, with the purpose of bringing people and organisations together to develop ideas aimed at building a better world.

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