The conference, a major annual event for Amnesty supporters in East Anglia, will culminate in a keynote speech delivered by Damien Short – Director of the Human Rights Consortium at the University of London – who will discuss a variety of environmental issues such as the rise in resource scarcity and the growing threat facing environmental activists.
A series of workshops will explore topics such as how women’s rights and the rights of indigenous people in India and Brazil are being impacted by climate change. Workshops will also discuss practical ways to become a more successful activist, creative activism, self-care and fundraising.
A panel discussion, entitled ‘Human Rights Under Threat: Do We Need a New Playbook?’, will debate whether new strategies are needed to face the changing threats that climate change poses to human rights. Speakers will include Melanie Strickland, one of the Stansted 15 activists who chained themselves to a deportation plane to prevent its departure from Stansted Airport in 2017.
Liesbeth ten Ham, Amnesty Regional Representative for East Anglia, said: “This conference offers a chance to explore perhaps the greatest human rights challenge of our time: climate change. Extreme weather-related disasters and rising seas are already destroying homes and ruining people’s ability to earn a living, and we now have eleven years to halve CO2 emissions to prevent environmental catastrophe becoming irreversible.
“Amnesty is already working hard on environmental issues, from campaigning for jailed climate change activists to calling for justice for communities such as those affected by the oil spills in the Niger Delta. However, there is always more to do.
“We hope this conference will leave attendees with a better understanding of current ecological issues, of Amnesty’s work in this area, and of their own power as activists to create change.”
- Date: Saturday 23rd March, 10am – 4.30pm
- Location: Jesus Lane Friends' Meeting House, Cambridge
- Activists, Amnesty employees, and academics to deliver workshops and lectures exploring the connections between environmental and human rights.
- Public welcome. Full price ticket including lunch: £7.50. Half day tickets: £3.
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Amnesty International is the world’s leading human rights organisation with more than seven million supporters worldwide.