College lecturer, Dr Birgit Schippers, was one of the organizers of an international conference on “Rights in Diverse Societies: Gender, Migration and Ethnopolitics in the EU”, held at Queen’s University Belfast on 18-19 November 2016. The aim of this conference was to explore the intersections of ethnopolitics, gender and ethnic identities, and to examine the differential access to the enjoyment of equal rights in diverse societies.

The conference was hosted by three specialist groups of the Political Studies Association: Ethnopolitics, Women & Politics and Global Justice & Human Rights, of which Birgit is a co-convenor. Conference delegates came from Ireland, Britain, Turkey, Hungary, Germany and Austria. The keynote speakers were Les Allamby (Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission) and Prof John Coakley (Queen’s University Belfast).