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.
