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Human Rights Festival - 'Empire Legacies: human rights and social justice perspectives'

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Venue: John Galsworthy building
Price: free

Human Rights Festival - 'Empire Legacies: human rights and social justice perspectives'

With the recent passing of "Brexit day", it is clear that the UK's relationship with empire, migration and belonging remains at the fore (Runnymede Trust 2019). The "hostile environment" of the UK's immigration policy, the mishandling of the Windrush scandal, and the ongoing tensions with the proposed border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland prove testament to this.

With this in mind, the focus of Kingston's Human Rights Festival 2020 is: Empire Legacies - past, present and future. The festival will not only consider ‘empire' in the traditional sense (e.g. the British and others) but it will also look more broadly at other forms (including powerful corporate ‘empires' and institutions) and how they significantly impact our everyday lives.

Leading practitioners, activists and academics will come together to examine the brutal truths from the past, scrutinize the critical challenges of today & debate what our futures might hold. Speakers will consider important questions, like:

  • Why is the significance of colonialism, imperialism, race and slavery often underplayed in our schools and universities?
  • How has the context of empire and colonialism led to decades of anti-immigration sentiment?
  • How have British mercenaries gotten away with war crimes?
  • Why, in 2020, is it necessary to proclaim, "black lives matter"?
  • How are UK-listed mining giants devastating communities in the global south?

View the full programme and venues for each session.

Booking is essential to attend this event.

For further information about this event:

Contact: Hannah Miller
Email: H.Miller@kingston.ac.uk