The (In)Justice International Workshops on Crime, Criminalisation and Injustice (from March 31st to April 21st 2021 had 24 organisational partners supporting the workshop activities. There were 8 keynote/Introductory speakers and 31 presenters of different backgrounds ranging from activists to barristers, politicians, social workers working in the community and investigative reporters of high calibre. TASA (The Australian Sociological Association) supported the events by advertising the workshop in their weekly Newsletter from the 25th of February to the 21st of April while the Minority Rights Group International, who actively fight and expose human trafficking, modern day slavery and the maltreatment of pregnant refugees in European detention camps etc. also supported (In)Justice International in terms of presentation selection and recruitment. The eminence of the introductory speakers (the president of NPUST, the world-renowned Emeritus Professor Colin Barnes, the prolific Dr Gerry Mooney of the Open University and Professor Salman Sayyid the Head of the Sociology and Social Policy School at the University of Leeds) was telling. On the whole, participant figures were phenomenal in that there were 522 attendances in total (stream 1 saw 116 attendees/participants; stream 2, 110; stream 3, 175; while 121 attended stream 4). Pleasingly, the international flavour of the proceedings was significantly enhanced by the fact that people actively participated from the countries of:
- Australia
- England
- Finland
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- Iceland
- India
- Ireland
- Japan
- Kenya
- Malaysia
- Netherlands
- Nigeria
- Northern Ireland
- Pakistan
- Poland
- Portugal
- Serbia
- Scotland
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- Turkey
- United Nations
- USA
- Wales
Indeed, when all was said and done, feedback about the workshop was very positive. To be specific, Australian academics noted:
‘…Many countries around the world have similar issues in relation to the fundamental denial of the human rights of children. Criminalisation, marginalisation, racism, violence, socio-economic disparity, and lack of children's agency are evident in what has been presented at an International level throughout these Seminars. There are many similarities that have been identified by the presenters, but it appears that respective governments are in denial about the critical nature of what this means for our future society(s), at a local, national, and international level’ (Dr Grace O’Brien, Lecturer/Researcher in the Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice, Queensland University of Technology).
With regard to the proceedings, the format comprised of:
‘…A vibrant and intellectually engaging series of presentations with a cleverly structured process for interaction and conversation’ (Dr Ben Lohmeyer, Lecturer in Social Work (Youth), Flinders University).
Whereas many attendees and speakers from Australia and beyond echoed the sentiment that it was:
‘…Great to have the opportunity to work with global colleagues across a four-week period, learning about their critically engaged research. The atmosphere was rigorous and collegial and I would definitely appreciate more formats structured in this way! Well done to Simon, Rebecca, Claudia, Adam and the team of (In)Justice International!’ (Dr Karen Soldatic, Associate Professor of Social Welfare, Disability Studies and Sociology, Western Sidney University).
If you missed this event, then be satiated by the fact this will be an annual event that will be hosted in Australia at some future juncture in time.