From a room with a view of the world to a virtual room - how to build engaged groups online?

When planning the XV Academy of Human Rights at the beginning of 2020, Monika Mazur-Rafał – President and Director of Humanity in Action Poland – was confronted by a new reality. The COVID-19 pandemic has moved our lives, relationships, activism, and educational activities to the virtual sphere, forcing us to acquire new tools and to adapt to completely different conditions.

Based on the experience of the 2020 Academy of Human Rights, Magda Bodzan and Gosia Kot, project coordinators at Humanity In Action Polska, shared their lessons learned, a set of practical and tested tips on how to best engage the online group of budding activists. By embracing new opportunities and working around the clock to shift the Fellowship from offline to online mode, the XV Academy of Human Rights turned out to be a great success, as shown in evaluation surveys. Well done!