Think Tank – Human Rights & The Refugee – Cutting Edge University Perspectives & Debate with Dr Maria Garraffa & Dr Yafa El Masri from University of East Anglia

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On our Human Rights & The Refugee Think Tank Panel from University of East Anglia, we welcome:

• Dr Maria Garraffa researches cultural discrimination experienced by forcibly displaced populations. Her current work examines the persecution of the Rohingya community, focusing on the ban to use their language in education and the consequent large-scale loss of learning for more than 600,000 children.

• Dr Yafa El Masri defines herself as both a refugee and a researcher. Born and raised in a small Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, Yafa writes about livelihoods in Palestinian refugee camps and explores alternative humanitarianisms emerging in response to shrinking humanitarian aid, highlighting grassroots forms of cooperation such as food sharing and community education.

Think Tank is a series of interdisciplinary online events for students (16+ pre-university), engaging academics and students in debate. We tackle some of the pressing national and global issues being faced today.

Our panel of academics each have 5 minutes at the beginning of the session to outline the key issues, as they see them, relating to Human Rights & The Refugee.

Ahead of the event, we invite students to submit questions and arguments HERE within the overall session theme which, following the introductory inputs from our academics, are then either posed by the student themselves or by the host, depending upon each student’s preference.

The academics will then share their perspectives with plenty of opportunity for students to engage in the discussion. The event will progress in a similar way to ‘Question Time’.

Woven into the discussion, the speakers are encouraged to shed light on how undergraduates engage in these critical issues during their studies.

Our events are designed so that a group of students can take part from a classroom, or students and teachers can take part as individuals, either from school or from home. There is no charge to take part.

As a live, participative event, this session will not be recorded but slides and other resources will be shared after the event, where available.

Suitable for: Aged 16+ pre-university students with an interest in Human Rights & The Refugee, either as part of their studies, their university aspirations, personal interests, or related citizenship studies. This is suitable for both groups or individual students and teachers.

Preparation/Pre-Reading: Students are asked to consider the theme and think about some of the key issues prior to submitting questions and arguments for our panel to address live. These can be submitted HERE.

The IT Setup: The event will be run on Zoom and participants will be able to join using laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. If you are joining as a school group, we recommend connecting with one device and projecting on to a whiteboard. You will be able to interact with the university via typed comments and questions and/or via microphone. Full details will be sent to those who have registered (see below) prior to the event.

Booking a Place: This is free for schools and colleges. If you would like to take part in this event, please register your interest using the link to the registration form below:

Register here