Law students with an interest in migration and refugee law, can apply now for a one-week summer conference to be hosted on Kent’s Canterbury campus.
The Migration and Refugee Law Conference has been organised by the European Law Student Association (ELSA) Kent and is open to law students studying at institutions across Europe.
The conference, which is supported and partially funded by Kent Law School, will run from Sunday 19 June to Saturday 25 June.
Conference organiser for ELSA Kent Hannah Loosley said: ‘I really enjoyed attending a similar ELSA event in Greece in 2015 and have done everything I can to make sure that our conference will offer attendees the same amazing experience that I had. The ELSA committee and I are excited to welcome students from across Europe. This event offers an excellent opportunity to enjoy interesting and engaging lectures on a current and important topic and we hope it will spark many insightful discussions.’
Lecture topics include: ‘From Asylum to Management: a historical genealogy of asylum and refugium’ (by Dr Thanos Zartaloudis); ‘Refugees and Human Rights’ (by Sian Lewis-Anthony); and ‘Permanent residence: Permanent Problem?’ (by Graham Tegg). Additional contributors include Dr Laura Suulich from the School of Politics and International Relations at Kent and Professor Bernard Ryan from the University of Leicester.
The penultimate day of the conference (Friday 24 June) coincides with the expected announcement of the result of the Brexit referendum in the UK and there will be a discussion of the impact of the results led by a panel comprised of EU law experts Dr Tobias Kliem and Martin Hedemann-Robinson.
An accompanying social programme for the conference begins with a traditional Sunday Roast and includes a curry night, an evening of Karaoke and a visit to Canterbury Cathedral. It culminates with a Gala Ball on the Friday evening followed by a farewell lunch on Saturday 25 June. (A full copy of the academic and social programme is available to download below).
Kent law students can apply for one of 10 free spaces but must be willing to participate fully in both the academic and social programme for the conference. They are asked to send a motivation statement (between 200-250 words in length) explaining why they would like to take part in the conference and how it will benefit them to: elsa.unikent@gmail.com. (Unsuccessful applicants are still welcome to attend the conference lectures.)
A further 40 places are available to law students from universities across Europe. Conference costs, which begin from €235, include meals and university accommodation in Turing College. Interested students are asked to submit an online application form.
Hannah said: ‘Please can I ask and encourage Kent Law School students with friends in EU countries to share this article and/or a link to our Facebook page with their friends. We want to spread the word as much as possible!’
ELSA Kent, one of seven student law societies at Kent, is a local group of ELSA, the world’s largest law student and young lawyer network which spans 43 countries and consists of 40,000 members. In addition to the opportunity to meet future co-workers in ELSA’s many national and international meetings, the network offers students the opportunity to attend sessions (as delegates) at institutions such as WIPO, UNCITRAL and the Council of Europe. Summer schools are run across Europe on a spectrum of legal areas such as Mergers and Acquisitions and Alternative Dispute Resolution and ELSA runs two Moot Court Competitions on Human Rights law and International Trade Law – the final of which is held at the WTO. Additionally ELSA runs a Student Traineeship Exchange Program (STEP) which offers ELSA members exclusive internships in a huge variety of legal fields twice a year.
Migration and Refugee Law Conference – Academic & Social Programme
