Tenth Annual Student Human Rights Conference 2009
Conclusion of the Freedom of Expression Festival 2009
Beyond Words: Freedom of Expression and its
Contemporary Challenges
Saturday 14th March 2009
Law and Social Sciences Building, University of Nottingham
Programme
09.00
Welcome Refreshments and Registration
Atrium/Room B63
09.30
Conference Opening
Room B63
09.35
Morning Session
Room B63
Chaired by John Fisher, co-director of Arc International
Freedom of Expression: A Right at Risk
Chris Sidoti, Adjunct Professor, University of Western Sydney, Australia
10.50
Refreshments
11.15
Delegates choose between two student-led discussion groups, which will run simultaneously:
Panel 1: Freedom of Expression and National Security
Chaired by Steven McCauley and Jamie Turner, Student Conference Committee
Atrium
Room B1
National Security and Freedom of Expression within New Zealand
Jacquelyn Thompson and Emma Whiley, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
Human Rights and National Security: Banning Symbolic Expression
Tom Bewick, University of Nottingham, UK
Freedom of Expression in Conflict Settings: Specific Challenges & Emerging Patterns in Afghanistan
Daria Davitti, University of Nottingham, UK
Panel 2: Reshaping the Meaning of Freedom of Expression
Chaired by Vanja Hamzic and Sean Hennelly, Student Conference Committee
Room B1
Refusal of Medical Treatment and Religion – an Irish Perspective
Ciara Staunton, Law Reform Commission of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
Our Lives are Ours to Take: the Right to Die under the ECHR
Ikhtisad Ahmed, City University London, UK and Paolo Vargiu, University of Nottingham, UK
Language Rights for Immigrants? A Comparative Study
Sylva Svejdarova, Lancaster University, UK
Expressing Political Dissent through Action
Shannonbrooke Murphy, Irish Centre for Human Rights, NUI Galway, Ireland
12.30
Lunch
13.30
Afternoon Session
Atrium
Room B63
Chaired by Professor David Harris, HRLC Co-Director and Emeritus Professor in Residence,
University of Nottingham
Defamation of Religion and Freedom of Expression: An Expert Panel’s Perspective
Dimitrina Petrova, Founding Executive Director of the Equal Rights Trust, UK
Defamation of Religion and Freedom of Expression: An Activist’s Perspective
Imam Muhsin Hendricks, Founder and Director of The Inner Circle, South Africa
15.10
Refreshments
15.30
Delegates choose between two student-led discussion groups, which will run simultaneously:
Panel 3: Current Challenges to Freedom of Expression
Chaired by Emilie Hunter, HRLC Research and Programmes Coordinator
Atrium
Room B62
Defamation of Religion: A legitimate Limitation on Freedom of Expression?
Ryan Hill, University of Essex, UK
Hate Speech as an Ever-Formidable Challenge to Freedom of Expression
Uladzislau Belavusau, European University Institute, Italy
Freedom of Expression and the Right to Truth in the Inter-American System of Human Rights
Giovanna Frisso, University of Nottingham, UK
Panel 4: Media and New Technologies
Chaired by Sanyu Awori and Daria Davitti, Student Conference Committee
Room B1
Private Power over the Information Environment as a Threat to Freedom of Expression: The
Distortion of the Copyright Balance
Margaret Devaney, Law Reform Commission of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
Citizen Journalism on the Internet: A Taste of Freedom of Expression - the Malaysian Experience
Jaspal Kaur Sadhu Singh, Aberystwyth University, UK
The ICTR’s Effect on Freedom of Expression in Post-Genocide Rwanda
Ariane Adam, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK
16.30
Closing Remarks from Professor David Harris
Room B63
17.00
Reception and inauguration of 'Conscience' visual art by Chris Lucas
Atrium