From Fortress Europe to Sanctuary Europe: Building a Social Movement for Inclusive Asylum
A conference as part of Oxford Refugee Week, 18-19 June 2016
As part of Refugee Week 2016, the Refugee Studies Centre, Oxford City of Sanctuary, the national City of Sanctuary movement, and the British Red Cross, hosted this special two-day conference. With a focus on welcoming refugees through their journey towards protection and integration, the event brought together academics, NGO practitioners, civil society groups, and refugees from across Europe to engage in action-oriented mutual learning. The event sought to encourage dialogue and collaborative learning in relation to advocacy, practices of integration, and social and economic inclusion. Moving beyond describing current challenges, it sought to identify good practices and opportunities for social change, focusing on how communities can become more welcoming, and how to break down the social and economic barriers refugees can face.
Location: Oxford Department of International Development, Queen Elizabeth House, 3 Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3TB. (Map below)
Twitter: @SanctuaryEurope #sanctuaryeurope
Programme
Saturday 18 June
9.00-9:25 Arrival and registration
9.25-9.30 Welcome from the organisers, featuring Professor Alexander Betts (RSC Director) and Councillor Bob Price (Leader, Oxford City Council) [PODCAST]
9.30-10.30 Opening Plenary Session: Towards a Europe of Sanctuary [PODCAST]
Speakers:
Video account: Red Cross refugee service user
Bryndís Björgvinsdóttir, Writer, founder of the initiative ‘Syria is Calling’
Jonas Kakoschke/Mareike Geiling, Co-founders, Fluechtlinge Wilkommen/Refugees Welcome
Sabir Zazai, Director, Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre
Moderator: Alexander Betts, Director, Refugee Studies Centre
10.30-11:00 Break
11:00-12:00 The Challenges of Accessing Protection (plenary) [PODCAST]
Speakers:
Gemma Gillie, Head of Media, MSF UK/Doctors Without Borders UK
Katia Bianchini, Research Fellow, Max Planck Institute for Religious & Ethnic Diversity, Goettingen
Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, Representative, UNHCR UK
Moderator: Alex Fraser, Director of Refugee Support, British Red Cross
12:00-13:00 Lunch
13:00-14:30 Promoting Safe Routes (plenary) [PODCAST]
Speakers:
First-hand account: Red Cross refugee service user
Ann-Laure Losseau / Ghazi El Rass, Co-founders, 'Syrie un visa, une vie'
Giulia Gori, Project officer, Refugees and Migrants Service-Mediterranean Hope (SRM-MH), Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy (FCEI)
Christina Lejman, Fundraising Manager, Migrant Offshore Aid Station
Moderator: Will Jones, Departmental Lecturer in Forced Migration, Refugee Studies Centre
14:30-15:00 Break
15:00-16:30 Welcome and Inclusion (plenary) [PODCAST to come]
Speakers:
Video account: Red Cross refugee service user
Tim Finch, writer and campaigner, founding chair of Counterpoints Arts
Sabir Zazai, Director, Coventry Refugee & Migrant Centre
Mariana Stoyanova, Head of the Refugee-Migrant Service of the Bulgarian Red Cross
Moderator: Richard Stanton, Chair, Migrationwork CIC
16:30-17:30 Access to Higher Education (plenary) [PODCAST]
Speakers:
First-hand account: Red Cross refugee service user
Emma Finlanson, Project Coordinator, City of Sanctuary, and Abbie Grace, Project Development Worker, Refugee Support Devon
Thais Roque, President, Oxford University Refugee Campaign
Alina Muller, Coordinator, Silent University London
Moderator: Nick Gill, Trustee, City of Sanctuary
17:30-18:30 Networking, refreshments and music from Delnavaz
Sunday 19 June
9.20 - 9.40 Registration
9.40 - 9.45 Welcome back from the organisers
9.45-10.45 Countering Social Exclusion (plenary) [PODCAST]
Speakers:
Video account: Red Cross refugee service user
First-hand account: John Patrick
Ade Henderson and Trevor Trueman, Asylum Justice Project, Amnesty International UK
Dave Smith, NACCOM Coordinator
Frances Trevena, Head of Policy and Programmes, Coram Children's Legal Centre
Moderator: Mike Kaye, Advocacy and Campaigns Manager, Still Human Still Here
10.45-11:15 Break
11:15-12:30 Countering Social Exclusion (Parallel Sessions)
Room 1: Countering Stigma in the Media [PODCAST]
Moderator: Kristy Siegfried, Migration Editor, IRIN
Speakers: Caroline Gregory, The Huffington Post, journalist and editor, and long-term Calais volunteer; Almamy Taal, human rights advocate and investigative journalist; Hazel Healy, co-editor, New Internationalist
Room 2: Detention [PODCAST]
Moderator: Anna Lindley, Senior Lecturer in Migration and Development, SOAS
Speakers: Jerome Phelps, Director, Detention Action; Antonia Bright, Chair, Movement for Justice; Jane, first-hand account, Movement for Justice
Room 3: Destitution [PODCAST]
Moderator: Jonathan Ellis, Head of Policy, Research and Advocacy, British Red Cross
Speakers: Frances Trevena, Head of Policy and Programmes, Coram Children’s Legal Centre; Mike Kaye, Advocacy and Campaigns Manager, Still Human Still Here; Kate Smart, Director, Asylum Welcome; Dave Smith, NACCOM Coordinator
12.30-13.30 Lunch
13.30-15.00 Approaches to Campaigning (plenary) [PODCAST]
Speakers:
Don Flynn, Director, Migrant Rights Network
Lisa Matthews, Coordinator, Right To Remain
Aderonke Apata, Human rights activist and LGBT equality advocate, founder of Manchester Migrant Solidarity
Malka al-Haddad, Refugee women and human rights activist [unable to attend]
Helen Hintjens, Senior Lecturer in Development and Social Justice, International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, and Anila Noor, Refugee researcher, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Moderator: Diletta Lauro, PhD Candidate, Refugee Studies Centre
15:00-15:30 Break
15:30-16.15 The Road Ahead: Building a movement for inclusive asylum (Closing session) [PODCAST]
Speakers:
Richard Stanton, Chair, Migrationwork CIC
Alexander Betts, Director, Refugee Studies Centre
Jonathan Ellis, Head of Policy, Research and Advocacy, British Red Cross
Moderator: Nick Gill, Trustee, City of Sanctuary