16 visitors from various countries in the Middle East and North Africa will be coming to make professional con-nections in San Diego exploring the following specific objectives for the project outlined by the Department of State:

• Examine the historical context of human rights advocacy in the U.S., and the contemporary foreign policy issues resulting from the United Nations’ adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
• Illustrate the influence of human and civil rights activists on policy at the national, state, and local levels through lobbying, media, and grassroots campaigns;
• Explore the role and organizational structure of associations, NGOs, and religious organizations in ad-vancing U.S. civil rights and equal opportunity; and
• Analyze a variety of human rights concerns related to issues such as domestic violence prevention, disa-bility rights, LGBTI rights, freedom of press/speech/religion, access to education, and due process