São Paulo – The 1st Congress on Refugees and Global Change will have its first edition this year. Created by the Muslim Karine Garcêz, the event will run from November 12 to 14 at the Federal University of Ceará (UFC), covering topics including Islamophobia. “The idea of having this Congress was born of my work and experience, and of a desire to approach this subject in Ceará. These issues are far removed from us, and I wanted to open up new vistas for us, since people migrate away from Ceará due to environmental issues,” explains Karine. Besides being the Congress’ scientific coordinator, she’s the photographer in charge of the Refugee Childhood project.
An active participant in UFC Study groups, she has divided the event into six themes: Gender and Sexuality in the Migration Phenomenon; Migration, International Human Rights Laws and Humanitarian Law; Islamophobia, Racism and Education; Unfinished Globalization, Migrations and Poverty in the 21st Century; Ethnic Territorialities and Conflicts; and The Media and Refugees.
Karine confirmed this week that in addition to the debates, the Congress will feature an address from Lebanon’s Ahmed Kayed, president of Humanitarian Relief for Development. He will go over how his country embraced refugees from Palestine, and more recently from Syria, in Lebanon – 70 years of asylum, on November 13 and 14. “We will have national and international speakers; the launch of books including Perfil Sócio Demográfico dos Refugiados do Brasil [Social-Demographic Profile of Refugees in Brazil], from the Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA), and Posições diante do Terrorismo [Positions in the Face of Terrorism], by Cilene Victor; as well as cultural performances by migrant artists who live in Ceará,” she said.
Discussions on Islamophobia will be led by professor Geny Lustosa, the coordinator of the UFC School of Education’s Pro-Inclusion Group. According to press material from the Congress, “one of the key reports on Islamophobia, from the Runnymede Trust, 1998, defined this phenomenon as fear, hatred and hostility toward Islam and Muslims, breeding ‘closed-off views’ that impart deprecative, negative stereotypes to Muslims.”
Discussions will include racism from an education-based perspective. The agenda will include Brazil’s Law 10,639/2003, which made ‘Afro-Brazilian History and Culture’ a mandatory subject in the official national school curriculum and in the National Curricular Guidelines on Education in Ethnic-Racial Relations.
Organizers expect 1,500 people to attend the Congress during its three days. Organizations ing the event include the UFC, the Latin American Institute for Studies on Law, Politics and Democracy, Viès, the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB)’s Human Rights Commission, the Observatory on Nationality, Faculdade Stella Mares and Sindeletro.
Essay submissions
The Congress is accepting essays from graduate and extension students until October 18. “The Congress is an interdisciplinary event, so students in any field can submit essays on the subject. The essays will be published in the annals and the best two essays in each Workgroup will be published in Tensões Mundiais (Global Tensions), the science magazine of the UFC’s Nationalities Observatory, Karine explains.
Quick facts
I Congress on Refugees and Global Change
November 12-14, 2018
School of Economics –Federal University of Ceará (UFC)
Find out more: +55 85 3366-7827 / https://www.refugiadosglobais.com.br/
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
