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Annual Conference 2025
The Language of Migration: from 2015 to today
​​Our annual conference 2025 brought together human rights defenders, journalists, academics, artists, lawyers, and grassroots and lived experience networks, all focused on reimagining what compassionate, people-centred approach towards supporting refugees across borders could look like. For the first time, this conference was also focused on integrating collective actions and experiences in-person throughout the event. We hosted trauma-informed yoga sessions and participants had the opportunity to write letters to political prisoners detained in Russian prisons, in many cases as a result of speaking against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. You can read more about the rationale for the theme, and the speakers who gave up their time to join us below. ​​​​​​​
Including speakers from...
Refugee Legal Support​​
Freedom From Torture
selfm.aid
Tools 4 Inner Peace
Centre for Applied Human Rights, University of York
Safe Passage
Breaking Barriers
Somali Journalists Syndicate
Martin Jones
Professor of International Human Rights Law
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Martin Jones is Professor of International Human Rights Law at the University of York. He is a co-founder of the Egyptian Foundation for Refugee Rights, the largest provider of legal services to refugees in Egypt. He has been involved with numerous refugee legal aid organisations in the MENA and Asia regions, working with them on advocacy, programming and capacity building. He worked previously as a refugee lawyer in Canada and has also worked with the United Nations, including with UNHCR in improving its methods of evaluating local legal frameworks and with the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders in reporting on the dangerous situation faced by refugees and their allies in advocating for their rights.
Noor Qaiser
Board member, Selfm.aid
Selfm.aid is a Swiss/Greek humanitarian NGO based on the island of Samos, Greece, where humanitarian aid is produced locally, sustainably, and by hand. In our workshops, we work, learn, and laugh together, sharing skills and knowledge while developing innovative solutions.
The products we manufacture and the services we offer, directly improve living conditions and alleviate human suffering. The manual skills our participants bring with them form the foundation of our workshops, and skilled individuals have the opportunity to take on leadership roles by managing different departments.We focus on professional fields in which refugees have experience, as well as those traditionally rooted on the island. Our operations are flexible, continuously adapting to the needs of the people we serve.By filling gaps in the support system, we foster a sense of community, improve living conditions for asylum seekers and refugees, and enhance mental well-being through daily structure, meaningful tasks, and responsibility.Previously, I served as Front Desk Manager, but I now hold the role of Board Member for Fundraising. My work involves identifying new grants and funding opportunities, establishing relationships with like-minded organizations, and ensuring Selfm.aid can continue its vital mission. By securing resources and partnerships, we can sustain and expand the fundamental work we do.
Navin Vithana
Director, Forced to Flee
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Hello! My name is Navin, and I am the Director of Forced To Flee, a youth-led non-profit dedicated to advocating for refugee rights. My journey as an advocate stems from a deep passion for amplifying the voices of those forced to flee their homes. I believe in the importance of raising awareness of their struggles, creating statements and campaigns whilst speaking at international platforms such as the OHCHR's Global Youth Consultation. Additionally, I am currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Education, Globalisation, and International Development at the University of Cambridge, where my research centers on youth refugees in higher education, and their resilience and achievements within this field.
Yanar Alkayat
Yoga therapist and facilitator, Tools for Inner Peace
Tools for Inner Peace seeks to empower refugees and conflict survivors to take charge of their own health and wellbeing. We have been offering free yoga classes for refugees and asylum seekers in the Liverpool area (Merseyside and Cheshire) since 2018. The importance of these classes was underscored in the aftermath of the anti-immigration protests and riots that spread from Merseyside across the country in July-August 2024. Traumatised by the rioting, our participants were grateful for the safe space in which they could come together for simple, trauma-alleviating practices of yoga. The physical movement and postures made them feel strong and empowered. Tools from yoga support them in becoming more active, and help to alleviate the mental health problems that tend to cluster in the refugee and asylum seeker population. These include social isolation and pre-existing trauma from violence, war, alienation, losing homes and loved ones.
Yanar is a registered yoga therapist and health and fitness writer and editor. She's been working with Tools for Inner Peace since its launch, supporting programmes in London and facilitating yoga workshops and retreats for refugees and support workers. She also teaches chair yoga for older adults and people managing chronic health conditions.
Olivia Clark
Executive Director, Refugee Legal Support
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Olivia has nearly a decade of experience working in human rights and refugee law in Australia, the UK, South Africa and Afghanistan. In her most recent role, Olivia led the legal team for the Norwegian Refugee Council in Afghanistan, managing the country’s largest legal aid program.
Previously, Olivia was the UK pro bono Director at DLA Piper, where she ran one of the UK’s largest pro bono practices. She helped to establish the firm’s sector-leading refugee law practice and worked closely with community organisations, law centres and UN agencies to design pro bono projects to address critical, unmet legal needs.
Olivia also has experience at the UN Refugee Agency. She worked on issues including statelessness and child protection in the Southern African region, and spent time working for the Division of International Protection in Geneva.
Abdalle Mumin
Secretary-General, Somali Journalists Syndicate
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Abdalle Mumin is a Somali journalist and human rights defender advocating for displaced communities. As a fellow at the Centre for Applied Human Rights at the University of York, he has lived in exile in the UK since mid-2023. He is also the Secretary-General of the Somali Journalists Syndicate. Throughout his career, Abdalle has faced repeated targeting due to his journalism and human rights work, forcing him to leave his country. He is also the co-author of the book Hounded: African Journalists in Exile.
Deluxe Mwengula
Young Outspoken Survivors Coordinator,
Freedom From Torture
Deluxe Mwengula is a Human Right activist, advocate and campaigner working at Freedom from Torture. He is a coordinator of Young Outspoken Survivors, member of Survivors Speak OUT and One Strong Voice networks. Deluxe is passionate about ensuring his lived experience expertise contributes to improving the lives of young refugees, and asylum seekers in the UK
Gulwali Passarlay
Author, activist and campaigner
Gulwali Passarlay, BA (Hon) MPA
Author of best-selling book 📖 📕 📚
The Lightless Sky, award winning Activist and Campaigner, and member of Asylum Speakers and part of NEON Spokesperson Network.
Gulwali is a dedicated advocate, humanitarian and spokesperson for refugees and asylum seekers across the U.K. and Europe.
Since arriving in the UK in 2007 after being forced to leave Afghanistan as a 12 year old boy, Gulwali has achieved beyond all odds to become a well-respected and sought after public speaker, influencer and political campaigner for refugee’s rights, social justice and education. The experience of his journey to the UK shaped his future and inspired an insatiable determination and commitment to raise awareness and make a difference for other refugees.
Among his many achievements, Gulwali graduated with a Politics degree from The University of Manchester in 2016 and he has read his MPA at Coventry university in 2018. Gulwali is the esteemed author of his best selling autobiography, "The Lightless Sky: A Twelve-Year-Old Refugee's Harrowing Escape from Afghanistan and His Extraordinary Journey Across Half The World", Also known as ‘My Journey to Safety as Child Refugee’.
In his talks, Gulwali shares his captivating story of struggle, danger and resilience and how he miraculously survived the harrowing year long journey from Afghanistan to the UK, on his own, after being separated from his brother. Through his talks, audience’s young and old, are able to achieve an understanding of the extent of adversity that refugees face and thus be inspired to instigate positive change in their environments.’
Seraye Delnissaw
Employment and Integration Advisor, Breaking Barriers
Seraye Delnissaw is an Employment and Integration Advisor at Breaking Barriers, where she has been supporting refugees in their journey to meaningful employment for the past 2.5 years. With extensive experience in career coaching, skills development, and integration support, Seraye works closely with refugees to help them overcome barriers and access opportunities in the UK workforce. Breaking Barriers is a leading charity dedicated to empowering refugees through bespoke employment support, education, and partnerships with businesses.
Nina Shcheglova
Activist and facilitator of Letter-Writing Workshops
One of the tools political persecution wields is isolation. Outspoken political activists are being harassed into silence and charged with serious offences like terrorism to socially stigmatise them. With confinement, people’s stories are being erased altogether. You can show your solidarity and support political prisoners in a number of ways, including by writing letters to penal colonies and detention centres. A letter to a political prisoner has an immediate impact: the thoughtful and reflective process of writing results in bursting the propaganda bubble around at least 2 people – your recipient and the censor. Letter-writing events also create a platform that can be used to raise awareness and a safe space for people to come together in solidarity.
Nina has been promoting writing to political prisoners and collaborating with other activists to give workshops in letter-writing for the past year. At the conference, Nina will share their lived experiences of staying in touch with their father and their schoolmate who had been imprisoned in Russia for their political opinion. The workshop will cover nuances of writing letters that will go through censorship and consider how individual letter writing can be turned into community action.
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