International Conference: Pushing forward

International Conference: Pushing forward – Balkan migration route update. Solidarity, art, culture and education for social change
18. 6. – 19. 6. 2019
X-OP / KIBLA PORTAL, Valvasorjeva ulica 40, Maribor

In the scope of Risk Change (2016–2020) project, Association X-OP in collaboration with Civil Initiative InfoKolpa, presents an international conference: “Pushing Forward: Balkan Migration Route Update. Solidarity, Art, Culture and Education as Social Activators”, which took place on Tuesday, 18 June (4 p. m. to 8 p. m.) and Wednesday, 19 June (5 p. m. to 8 p. m.) at KIBLA Portal, Maribor, Slovenia.

The conference will focus on the recent conditions, developments and reports in the context of the Balkan Migration Route(s) highlighting the police violence, systematic violation of human rights by denying the right to asylum to migrants, as well as criminalization of solidarity and racists media discourse. International activists, scholars, journalists, cultural workers and volunteers working directly with these urgencies will present the pressing situations in the Western Balkans and wider European context.

On the other hand, the conference will address and rethink the role of transdisciplinary art, culture and education as practices of radical knowledge production as means of building relations between people from various cultural backgrounds.

Risk Change, a 4-year project (2016–2020) reflects and co-constructs migration policies in EU and wider in innovative ways. EU is building internal walls (Hungary, Bulgaria, GB and France), without a common strategy on migration and human rights. Mass media stages problems: once asylum seekers are victims, then potential terrorists; some media represent racist non-migrant policies etc. A broader view is very rare. Art, science and culture are able to rise above simplistic humanitarian or extreme right-wing approaches and point out a complex relationship of local spaces and global forces. RC aims to create, connect, compare, disseminate and promote contemporary EU interdisciplinary art related to social studies and migration. The project covers the field of contemporary interdisciplinary culture, art and creativity connected to science, especially social and applied sciences and ICT. RC entails interacting with different target audiences, esp. building connectivity between new-coming migrants and settled inhabitants of multicultural EU communities.

Guest speakers (key notes and panels)
Civil Initatitve InfoKolpa (SI) / Matej Zwitter, Lucija Klun, Iza Thaler
CMS – Center for Peace Studies Zagreb (HR) / Maddalena Avon
Border Violence Monitor (DE): Chandra Esser, Jack Sapoch
Border Crossing Spietfeld (AT) / Ahmed Shamieh, Petra Leschanz
Dimitar Anakiev, dr. med (SI)
dr. Niđara Ahmetašević (BIH)
Khalid Ali (ER/SI)
Amin Grayaa (TN/SI)
Ogochukwu Prince Akpomudua (SI)
Zaher Amini (AF/SI)
Aigul Hakimova (SI)
dr. Irfan Hošić (BiH)
Irena Borić (HR/SI)
Matiwos Tumzghi (ER/SI)

Links:
Civilna iniciativa InfoKolpa:
https://push-forward.org/porocilo/report-illegal-practice-collective-expulsion-slovene-croatian-border

Center for Peace Studies Zagreb:
https://www.cms.hr/hr/publikacije

Balkan Border Violence Monitor:
https://www.borderviolence.eu/balkan-region-report-may-2019/

Pekarna Magdalenske mreže / Program Sedmi glas:
http://www.infopeka.org/web/?p=67333

More on:

http://www.x-op.eu/sl/novica/mednarodna-konferenca

https://www.facebook.com/association.xop/posts/657117621381441

https://push-forward.org/porocilo/report-illegal-practice-collective-expulsion-slovene-croatian-border

Youtube:

Civil initiative InfoKolpa (SI): »Report on the illegal practice on Slovene-Croatian border«