Organisational stuff
Due to the international setting the conference will be mainly in English.
Location
Forum Stadtpark, Graz
The conference will take place in cooperation with the Crossroads-Festival. There will be a panel with the conference speakers and a filmscreening on the topics of the conference on Friday evening, so you are invited to arrive already on Friday, Nov. 1st. You will find the program for Friday in time on the Festival’s website. You can also arrive on Saturday, but it would be important for us that you can participate all the time on Saturday and Sunday.
Participation is free but for organisational reasons it will require binding registration. We are quite complete, but could do with some more people, so registration is still possible. If you’ve registered and are not able to come please let us know too!
Reimbursement of travel costs
Travel costs for activists and volunteers arriving from abroad will be covered according to our budget, so please decide yourself wether you need full travelcosts reimbursement or only part of it or if your organisation – if there is any – can cover the costs. There is a checkbox on the registration form to let us know.
Accommodation
We can organise private accommodation for free if you want or you can book a bed in A&O hostel or any other hostel oder hotel in Graz by your own. If you want us to organise accommodation for you please mark the respective box in the registration form.
Conference settings
The conference on Saturday and Sunday will mainly work with interactive methods. It will be a hands-on-conference, where your contributions are essential. We work together in smaller and bigger groups, sharing our experiences and then report our conclusions and findings in the plenum. Though there will be short input lectures by „experts“ in the beginning, generally you are supposed to be the experts on the ground sharing the knowledge you gained in your specific places and roles. There will also be room to work on your burning questions or special interests in an open space format. Carrying together these different perspectives will make us able to see the bigger picture and to collectively develop ideas how to change our approach to these power dynamics. We will look for ways to support each other on the european level and finally we may also think about sustainable solutions for the migration issue beyond local trouble shooting and how to communicate them to media, a broader public and politics.
Schedule
Sat, Nov 2nd:
10 am – 6 pm interactive conference
Input lectures by
Nidžara Ahmetašević
Nidžara Ahmetašević looks back on a long career as a journalist for topics such as human rights, war crimes, foreign policy and migration in various local, regional and international media. She has received awards in Bosnia and worldwide. Nidžara was working for Are You Syrious? from Sept 2015 to May 2019, as one of the editors and later on the coordinator of the AYS Info Team that publishes the AYS Daily Digest with stories about refugees and activists from all over Europe. During the same period she has volunteered on various occasions in Greece and Serbia.
Follow Nidžara on Twitter
Update on Oct. 21st: Unfortunately – due to border issues – Nidžara Ahmetašević will not be able to come to Graz. She is not allowed to enter the Schengen-area for at least 6 months.
Matthias Monroy
Matthias Monoy is a knowledge worker, activist and member of the editorial staff of the magazine Buergerrechte & Polizei/CILIP. Part-time employee of the German MdB Andrej Hunko. Published in left-wing newspapers, magazines and online media, on Telepolis, Netzpolitik and on free radios. All texts and interviews under digit.site36.net. Far too rarely on the street (but on the Internet) against fascism, racism, sexism, anti-Semitism.
Follow Matthias on Twitter
Melita Sunjic
Dr. Melita H. Sunjic studied communication and political science in Vienna. She worked with the UNHCR for 25 years in various communications functions. In the past years she has specialized on information campaigns targeting refugees, which includes working with illiterate target audiences, populations on the move etc. Recently, Melita Sunjic launched a communication agency called Transcultural Communication, which advises governments and international organizations in the development of campaigns for refugees and migrants. She spoke to hundreds of refugees and migrants and after listening to their stories she started the platform Tellingtherealstory.
Follow the „Real Story“ on Twitter
Lunch and dinner will be provided at the venue
7 pm – 10 pm filmscreenings, for details look at the Crossroads site.
Sun, Nov 3rd
9:30 am – 2 pm interactiv conference
Lunch will be provided in the venue