CAPA WORLD

Civil Rights & Inequalities Day Conference at CAPA London, Florence & Dublin

On 11 November 2016, CAPA hosted a conference on the topic of civil rights.

This conference provided an opportunity to explore topical debates in civil rights and hear first-hand about the challenges and rewards of working in this field from experts at the cutting edge. We examined the current challenges being faced by civil rights activists around the world and the continued struggle for social justice and equality today.

Special guest speakers included Peter Tatchell, the world-renowned LGBTI rights campaigner, on the global struggle for gay rights; authors James Heartfield and Heather Montgomery debated children’s rights; and representatives from London, Florence and Dublin-based civil rights organizations, including the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants in London, shared their work on behalf of the disadvantaged. Videos of current and former CAPA students describing their experiences interning with civil rights organizations were also shown. This exciting event included thought-provoking panel debates, inspiring poster presentations and short films, as well as interactive theater devised by CAPA students in partnership with Cardboard Citizens, a company working with - and for - homeless people.

This event was held in conjunction with CAPA Florence and Dublin through the use of our global classroom technology. This provided the opportunity for the audience to hear from and interact with students and speakers from these other locations, creating a global conversation.

Recorded Footage from the Civil Rights Conference

Photos from CAPA's Civil Rights Conference

CAPA Student Civil Rights Conference Posters

Topics included AIDS Activism Then and Now; British Muslims: Different but Equal?; Contemporary Issues Through Service-Learning: The Social Dymanics of London; Economic and Political History of Europe in the Twentieth Century and the Cultural History of Florence; Protecting the Rights of Those on the Margins.

CAPA Occasional Paper on Human Rights

Often overlapping with the topic of civil rights is human rights, which we explored at last year's conference. Below is our most recent occasional paper which contains a variety of articles that go into greater depth: 

Civil Rights Activist Julius Coles Speaks at the Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, Georgia

CAPA World Blog Posts

• An interview with Peter Tatchell, keynote speaker at the civil rights conference and founder of the Peter Tatchell Foundation: 
  
  

• CAPA students reflect on the civil rights conference in short interviews: 
  
  

• CAPA student Katerina Russo talks about her experience interning with the Peter McVerry Trust in Dublin, a presenter at CAPA's civil rights conference.
  
  

• CAPA Florence student Spence Hood reflects on the civil rights conference. 
  
  

• In an interview with Julius Coles, he talks about how his own civil rights activism turned into a career in international development.
  
  

In the link below, we've compiled additional resources on the topic of civil rights. Click through for films, books, websites, blog posts and more: