Our human rights panel in Newcastle brought together 47 organisation

HRS hosted a notable panel in Newcastle, with NEDES, Asylum Matters, and Northumbria Police. 47 organizations and 100 guests participated. Human Rights Solidarity (HRS) organised a remarkable panel discussion in Newcastle. Organised by the Newcastle Branch of HRS, North East Diversity, Education and Solidarity Foundation (NEDES), Asylum Matters and Northumbria Police at St. Mary’s Heritage Centre, the ‘Human Rights Activism Panel and Networking Event’ was attended by 47 organisations operating in the city. 18 associations or foundations opened a promotional stand at the event and more than 100 guests attended the panel on ‘human rights and activism’.

In the panel, 5 experts working in the field of human rights made presentations on different topics. Dr Erhan Atay, Lecturer at Northumbria University, gave a presentation on ‘High-Skilled Refugees: Positive Psychological Capital for Coping and Resilience’, while HRS Consultant and journalist-writer Kerim Balcı provided answers to the question ‘How can local human rights organisations benefit from UN mechanisms?’

Jennifer Laws from Asylum Matters Foundation discussed the importance and challenges of defending the right to asylum in the UK; Claire Webster Saaremets, Artistic Director of Skim Stone, discussed inequalities in the arts sector and the need to reconsider the importance of diverse voices and cultures. Richard Kotter, a lecturer at Northumbria University and Amnesty executive director, presented ‘How and why not to be popular within reason? Reflections on campaigning for accountability, fairness, justice and human rights’.

A guitarist and soloist from Skim Stone Art Gallery performed before and after the panel. In addition, the winners of the international cartoon competition on ‘migration’ organised by HRS and Time to Help UK were displayed on the walls and pillars of St. Mary’s Heritage Centre. The cartoons, which were presented by HRS volunteers, depicting the difficulties faced by refugees and migrants, were highly appreciated.

Mehmet Ozdemir, HRS Chairman of the Board of Trustee, gave an overview of the panel and the event and said that it was the first time in the UK that they had organised such a broad-based programme with local organisations and that it had been a success. Emphasising that HRS Newcastle Representative Office and NEDES’ devoted efforts were behind the success, Ozdemir said: “The success of the programme is not only limited to the fact that it was well organised, but also that there were very good breakthroughs on behalf of HRS. For example, we decided to work with Northumbria University in the future on the UPR reports we are preparing for submission to the UN. There were university students among the participants who wanted to volunteer for HRS. Most importantly, we saw that local organisations can fight for human rights on an international scale and we had the opportunity to make connections in this regard.”