Earlier in the year my role in the organisation changed. From simply Training Officer, I became the Training and Events Officer. Two more words, what difference can two little words make?!
The biggest addition has been responsibility for the largest single event in our annual calendar, our autumn conference on 3 November, which this year is entitled ‘Raising refugee women’s voices’.
Having attended previous events, I already knew that there’s a very high standard to maintain. In previous years the keynote speakers have included key figures from the politics sphere as well as eminent academics and policy makers. Undoubtedly it is a measure of the organisation’s reputation that it consistently attracts such high calibre contributors and participants.
Diverse perspectives from interesting and exciting speakers
With a couple of months until this year’s conference on Thursday 3 November , it’s clear the high standard will be maintained. We’re delighted to hear that Nicola Sturgeon, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Cities Strategy, has agreed to deliver a keynote speech in the morning. It will be fascinating to hear her input as the Scottish Government has in recent years had a significantly more progressive take on asylum than we tend to hear from Westminster.
I am also optimistic that we will secure an input from the UNHCR’s expert on gender issues. The perspective of perhaps the only truly global refugee agency is always extremely valuable – and I still often refer to observations made by Roland Schilling of UNHCR London when he spoke at our AGM in 2010. The differences between the patterns and issues they observe in global refugee movement, versus those that we see in our much smaller scale in Scotland can be staggering.
Interactive workshops on offer
At previous conferences it has as much been the interactive workshops as the main speeches that I have enjoyed. When I deliver training I often set group discussion exercises for the delegates but it is a quite different role to facilitate these discussions as to engage in them.
Since many of those that attend our conference have a great deal of experience of their own, their contribution to the discussions can be as illuminating as those of the facilitators themselves.
At the workshops this year I look forward to hearing delegates’ thoughts on the pernicious barrier of credibility in women’s asylum claims, as well as to learning from the facilitators from Dignity Alert & Research Forum who will address the emotive topic of Female Genital Mutilation.
Join us in raising refugee women’s voices on 3 November
I really hope that many of you will be able to come along to our conference this year, and help us to raise awareness of the challenging issues still affecting refugee women.
