DETAILS
Date: 14 September 2024
Time: 9am – 4:30pm
Location: Balit-Mil, Victorian Trades Hall, 54 Victoria St, Carlton
ABOUT THIS EVENT
Rights Advocacy Project are proud to present our first conference “Lawyering for Change”.
Coming together as a community to celebrate the launch of the latest law reform projects by the Rights Advocacy Project and to hear from three expert panels on issues including abolition lawyering, protest rights in Victoria, and how to achieve positive outcomes in a conservative and punitive refugee legal system.
Through three expert panels, we will examine how we can use our position as lawyers, law students, and community workers to fight for change in our current colonial and carceral legal system. The three panels will examine issues related to RAP’s three focus areas: Criminal Justice reform, Refugee and Asylum Seeker reform, and Equality and Government Accountability.
Lunch will be provided by Pawa Catering - get ready for a delicious spread of Indigenous fusion food.
The panel topics are:
Abolition Lawyering
A discussion about police and prison abolition and how lawyers can work in ways to dismantle racist carceral systems.
Panellists:
Karen Fletcher, Flat Out
Nina Storey, FigJam Network
Maggie Munn, Human Rights Law Centre
Mobilising change in a conservative and punitive refugee law system
A discussion about fighting for change in a system that is punitive towards refugees and people seeking asylum and how lawyers can better support communities mobilising change.
Panellists:
Betia Shakiba, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre
Ian Seal, Many Coloured Sky
Sanmati Verma, Human Rights Law Centre
Protest rights in Victoria
A discussion about the encroachment on the right to protest in Victoria including the rise in police powers, and how we can protect our right to protest.
Panellists:
Reham Elzieny, Law Student and UniMelb for Palestine Organizer
David Mejia-Canales, Human Rights Law Centre
Adam Chernok, Barrister
Sophie Le’Strange, Melbourne Activist Legal Support
We will also hear from the most recent RAP teams about their law reform projects and celebrate their hard work.
The day will open with a keynote address… stay tuned for this exciting announcement.