{"id":5459,"date":"2025-06-27T14:25:41","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T13:25:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/?p=5459"},"modified":"2025-06-27T14:26:34","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T13:26:34","slug":"horst-schade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/2025\/06\/27\/horst-schade\/","title":{"rendered":"Horst Schade – A lifelong commitment to human rights and opportunity"},"content":{"rendered":"

For Horst Schade, giving to the University of Kent\u2019s Sanctuary Fund<\/a> is not just an act of philanthropy\u2014it\u2019s an affirmation of values he has lived by throughout his life and career.<\/p>\n

After graduating from Kent in 1982 with a degree in Law and Politics, Horst went on to study at the London School of Economics and later worked at the University of Cambridge. His path eventually led him to a 32-year career at the Council of Europe, the continent\u2019s leading human rights organisation, where he rose to become Director for General Services at its Parliamentary Assembly.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on why he chose to support Kent\u2019s Sanctuary Scholars, Horst shared:
\u201cUntil recently, it seemed natural and obvious to me that foreign students, such as myself, are welcome at universities throughout the world because the raison d\u2019\u00eatre of universities is to be open-minded and cosmopolitan. I no longer believe that this is the case. I am proud that my former university has taken the initiative of the Sanctuary Fund<\/a> and therefore wanted to support it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

His gift to the Sanctuary Fund<\/a> helps ensure that Kent remains a place of welcome for those forced to flee their homes\u2014offering a vital lifeline through education, community and hope.<\/p>\n

Throughout his international career, Horst has witnessed both the fragility and power of justice. He recalls being part of a mission in 1999 to observe the trial of Abdullah \u00d6calan in Turkey, where Council of Europe pressure ultimately helped abolish the death penalty. And just recently, he celebrated the Council\u2019s agreement with President Zelensky to establish a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.<\/p>\n

\u201cPublic international law may seem less visible in today\u2019s world of power politics and conflict,\u201d he says, \u201cbut it still matters deeply. The work of institutions like the Council of Europe needs young people\u2014aspiring graduates who believe in human rights and the rule of law.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Horst credits much of his success to the education he received at Kent:
\u201cWorking at the Council of Europe and building a career in international diplomacy would not have been possible without the fantastic education I received at UKC. The University, its teachers and students, broadened my horizons and helped me become a more well-rounded person. I will always be grateful for that.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Now, by supporting Sanctuary Scholars, Horst is giving others the opportunity to transform their lives at Kent, just as he did.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Horst Schade, giving to the University of Kent\u2019s Sanctuary Fund is not just an act of philanthropy\u2014it\u2019s an affirmation of values he has lived … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":82219,"featured_media":5472,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[118124,118123,223277,293194,996],"tags":[807,88,75224,14587,229044],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5459"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/82219"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5459"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5459\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5474,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5459\/revisions\/5474"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}