The  will be a key international partner, and Professor Başak Çalı a principal investigator, in the newly awarded Transforming Human Rights Cluster of Excellence of the German Research Foundation, DFG.

The Transforming Human Rights Cluster of Excellence, based at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), will explore how human rights norms, institutions and practices face up to five mega trends of our times: autocratization, digitalization, environmental crises across the planet, international migration, and the fragmentation of economic globalization.

Professor Başak Çalı, head of research at the Bonavero Institute and a principal investigator of the seven-year project starting in 2026, said: “We are proud to be part of this vital initiative. The DFG Cluster of Excellence offers a unique opportunity to build a truly global conversation on how human rights can respond to the most urgent challenges of our time.”

The Transforming Human Rights Cluster of Excellence will support a collaborative research agenda, promote early-career scholars, and facilitate international partnerships.

Following a rigorous multi-stage selection process, Transforming Human Rights was shortlisted in February 2024 and now joins a select group of up to 70 Clusters of Excellence across universities in Germany, receiving funding running into tens of millions of euros over seven years.