Read Chris Nash’s editorial to discover what we learnt at the conference and what’s next – including hopes for action during Spain’s forthcoming Presidency of the EU. You can also see reactions from conference attendees in our conference video and hear their stories of hope in this episode of the Wonderspace podcast.
About the event
The conference took place on 8-9 June 2023 at the Universidad Complutense Madrid. Co-organised with Fundación Cepaim, this landmark event brought together over 200 participants from 34 countries and focussed on how institutions in Europe can achieve a holistic response to statelessness, where current gaps and good practice exist, and how to effectively understand and address statelessness from arrival through the asylum journey. We also offered 12 parallel workshops highlighting the intersectionality of the issue and its links to forced migration, child rights and anti-discrimination.
Programme
Speakers
Jim Clarken
Chair of the Management Board, European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights
Gillian Triggs
Assistant Secretary-General, High Commissioner for Protection UNHCR
Juan Fernando López Aguilar
Chair of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
Leyla Kayacik
Council of Europe Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees
Aleksandra Semeriak Gavrilenok
Individual ENS member and formerly stateless person
Nina Gregori
Executive Director of the EU Agency for Asylum
Razan Ismail
Chief Operating Officer, New Women Connectors
Isabella Goicoeche Aranguren
Spain Under-Secretary for the Ministry of the Interior
Professor Ángeles Solanes Corella
Professor of Philosophy of Law, University of Valencia
Chris Nash
Director, European Network on Statelessness
Jean Lambert
Former MEP and ENS Trustee
Elvis Beriša
Executive Director, Phiren Amenca ‘Walk with Us’
Gábor Gyulai
Organisational Development Director and Training Expert, Hungarian Helsinki Committee
Aleksejs Ivashuk
Founder of Apatride Network
Zoe Gardner
Policy & Research Manager, European Network on Statelessness
Patrícia Cabral
Legal Policy Coordinator, European Network on Statelessness
Yonous Muhammadi
President of the Greek Forum of Refugees
ENS and Fundación Cepaim are grateful to Oak Foundation, Sigrid Rausing Trust, Fundación "la Caixa", Comic Relief and the UN Refugee Agency for their generous support of this event, as well as to the University Complutense for hosting and providing the conference space.
