National Conference
The STAR National Conference is the only UK conference for students on refugees!
STAR’s annual conference is a fantastic opportunity for all students to:
- learn about refugees
- meet other student activists
- gain practical skills in volunteering, campaigning and awareness raising
STAR Conference 2012
Refugees Welcome Here!
On the weekend of 17th-18th November 2012 we will be holding our annual national conference in London. The conference ‘Refugees Welcome Here!’ will include a variety of speakers, question time, and workshops from Refugee Action, Detention Action, Freedom from Torture and many more. This event is the only UK conference about refugees specifically for students and is a great opportunity for all students to learn more about refugee issues, gain skills and meet other like-minded students while having fun!
Tickets cost £22 (including meals and party) if booked before 2nd November, and for anyone who does not have a place to stay in London, indoor camping can be provided for an additional £5.
You can get your ticket for this fantastic event by clicking on the orange Eventbrite logo below.
See you there!
STAR Conference 2011
Refugee Rights: Student activists raise your voice!
On 19-20th November 2011, students from 34 universities participated in the national conference, and were treated to really informative speeches and workshops with refugee activists and experts from UNHCR, Refugee Action, Still Here, Still Human and Detention Action.
You can read about the thoughts and experiences of a STAR activist, and look at some great pictures, here.
STAR Conference 2010
Refugee: The Global Issue in Your Back Yard
The 2010 conference was held at Oxford House on the weekend of 20-21st November, and students from over 25 universities came down to London to share ideas and learn about refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.
Keynote speakers included Helen Bamber OBE, founder of the Helen Bamber Foundation, Mehri Jafari, an Iranian activist who provided an overview of student protests in Iran and two inspiring Zimbabwean speakers, Gamu Sadomba and Robert Muza. In addition to the speakers, STARs also had the opportunity to interact both through a ‘question time’ style session and a number of workshop activities.
Find out more about what we got up to here.
Full Conference Details
STAR Conference 2009
25 universities came to London for the two-day weekend conference on November 7th and 8th. The conference kicked off with two inspiring speakers. Burmese student activist Ko Aung impressed us all with his dedication to the fight for freedom and gave an incredibly moving speech about his experience in Burma and life in the UK as an asylum seeker.
Next up was award winning author Chris Cleave. He told of how a temping job in the kitchens of an immigration detention centre inspired his novel ‘The Other Hand’ about a young Nigerian refugee. Chris spoke of how only two decades ago refugees were seen heroic in their escape to freedom and that the current depiction those seeking asylum as ‘devils’ was completely baffling.
They both inspired conference delegates to believe that, through our myth busting and positive images work, STAR can convince the world that refugee are our heroes!
Get more information on the STAR National Conference 2009.
STAR Conference 2008
The Conference was held at the Amnesty Human Rights Action Centre on 15th and 16th November. We had the privilege of having Helen Bamber, founder of the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture and the Helen Bamber Foundation. Helen impressed on us our duty to tell the stories of refugees, to bear witness to their plight and to give these people a voice. She praised student STAR members for having ‘an open mind, looking forward to persuade governments to make changes’.
Our second keynote speaker was exiled journalist Almamy Taal and he talked about his recent book ‘Made Destitute by Law’. Almamy has first-hand experience of destitution and he told the moving story of how he fled to England after being imprisoned and tortured in his home country. He talked about how destitution was a violation of human rights and urged us to “challenge everything and everybody”.
Get more information on the STAR National Conference 2008.
STAR Conference 2007
The Conference was held at the Amnesty Human Rights Action Centre on 10th and 11th November.
The first keynote speaker was Marie Lyse Numuhoza, a refugee from Rwanda and a project manager at the Scarman Trust. Our second keynote speaker was Melanie McFadyean, journalist and winner of the Amnesty International Media Award. The final keynote speaker was Jon Cuddas, MP for Barking and Dagenham. Our keynote speakers also tackled questions on detention, deportation of HIV sufferers to countries with no access to medicine and legal aid put to them during STAR’s Question Time posed by our members.
Get more information on the STAR National Conference 2007.
So come join us at our next conference in November and be part of a successful STAR National Conference 2012!
