Date Friday 15 and Saturday 16 November 2002 Venue London Metropolitan
University
166 - 220 Holloway Rd London N7 8DB
Fee
£20 for both days including lunch
£12 for students and unemployed (including lunch) with proof of status
A reserved place can only be guaranteed once the booking fee is received,
cash or cheques will be accepted on the day if places are available.

Further information http://www.blink.org.uk/borders/


Crossing Borders - The Legacy of the Commonwealth Immigrants Act
This year is the fortieth anniversary of the 1962 Commonwealth Immigrants
Act, legislation that marked a major turning point in the development of UK
immigration policy.

Before 1962 Commonwealth citizens had extensive rights to settle in the UK.
The Commonwealth Immigrants Act ended these rights by making commonwealth
citizens subject to immigration controls. Although the Act was designed in
the first instance to restrict the migration of people from the Caribbean,
it ushered in 20 years of further changes to immigration and nationality law
that would give the UK one of the worlds most comprehensive and restrictive
system of immigration control.

The debates around the introduction of the Act also profoundly marked the
politics of race and immigration in the UK by defining the ideological
context in terms of the danger posed to British society by "coloured"
immigrants. Although the terminology has changed, the perceived threat posed
by the "bogus" asylum seeker and the "alien" immigrant remain an abiding
concern for policy makers and dominates the debates on the Nationality,
Immigration and Asylum Bill, currently before parliament. It is not just in
Britain that the "immigrant threat" is used to justify increasingly
restrictive immigration controls. Across the European Union demands for
draconian immigration controls have led to a resurgence of extreme right
wing nationalist movements and racist violence reminiscent of the worst
periods of the 1960s.

But this same 40-year period has also been one of resistance and struggle
against racism and restrictive controls by immigrant and refugee communities
and the social movements that supported them. What lessons can we learn from
these forty years of struggle? How can we apply those lessons to combat
racism and promote migrant and refugee rights in Britain and the EU? In
search of answers to these questions, the Crossing Borders Conference will
bring together activists, academics, practitioners, policy makers, and
opinion formers to -

 Identify the dominant political themes that have conditioned
immigration and race relations discourse since 1962
 Assess the extent to which policy-makers remain constrained by the
form and structure of the immigration control discourse
 Explore the prospects for the radical reform of existing policy
frameworks
 Identify new strategies to promote migrant and refugee rights in
the UK and EU from an anti-racist perspective.


Programme
Friday November 15th 2002
10:00 Registration
11:00 Welcome
Professor Roderick Floud, Vice-Chancellor London Metropolitan University
 
11:10 London European City of Immigration
- Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London
11:30 Plenary Session - Reflections on the Commonwealth Immigrants Act
Chair Trevor Phillips (GLA)
Speakers Mary Dines (Rights and Justice)
Anne Dummett (writer and activist)
13:00 LUNCH
14:00 SEMINARS
The Politics of Race and Immigration
Dr Clive Harris, (Birmingham University)
Prof Mary Hickman, (London Metropolitan University)
Karen Chouhan, (The 1990 Trust)

A Review of Immigration Control Legislation -
Ian Macdonald QC, (Head of Garden Court Chambers)
Martin Soorjoo (Tooks Court Chambers)
Fran Webber (Institute of Race Relations)

Lies, Damn Lies, and the Media -
Yasmin Alibhai Brown, (The Independent)
Prof Tuan van Dijk (University of Amsterdam)
Arun Kundnani (Institute of Race Relations)

 
 
15:30 COFFEE
15:45 WORKSHOPS
Rights for Migrants - JCWI

Legacy of Empire - Runnymede Trust

Women and migration - Southall Black Sisters,

Race, and Education - Refugee Assessment and Guidance Unit LMU

No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs - Action Group for Irish Youth

Communities of Resistance - Campaign against Racism and Fascism

 
17:00 Plenary Session - Learning the Lessons: Integration, Diversity, and
Human Rights

Chair Sonali Niak (JCWI)

Speakers
Dr Avtar Brah (Birkbeck College)
Dr Clarence Lusane (1990 Trust)
Prof John Solomos (City University)
 
    

 

Saturday November 16th 2002
10:00 Plenary Session European Union; Fortress or Crossroads?

Chair Karen Chouhan

Speakers
Tony Bunyan (Statewatch)
Richard Howitt MEP
Bob Purkiss (Chair, European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia)
 
11:30 SEMINARS
Immigration: The responsibilities of politicians
Jean Lambert MEP (Party of the European Greens)
Keith Best (Immigration Advisory Service and former Conservative MP)

Immigration: The responsibilities of the social partners Kursad Kahramanoglu
(Unison)
Faisal Islam (the Observer)

New racisms and resistance in the UK
Sarah Joseph (Consultant in Islamic Affairs)
Pete Mercer (East Anglia Gypsy Council)
 
12:30 LUNCH
13:15 WORKSHOPS
Politics of Immigration - Operation Black Vote

Here to stay - 1990 Trust

New World Border - University of California

In defence of Human Rights - International League for Human Rights (Berlin)

A European Voice for UK - UK Race and Europe Network

Combating Religious Discrimination- Forum against Islamophobia and Racism
 
14:30 SEMINARS
Racism and resistance in Europe
Lee Jasper (Policy Advisor to Mayor of London)
Dr Marco Bojcun (London Metropolitan University)
Bashy Quraishy (President of the European Network against Racism)

The Militarization of Immigration Control post 9/11
Liz Fekete (European Race Bulletin)
Jose Palafox (University of California)

Meeting the challenges of future immigration
Tauhid Pasha (JCWI)
Prof Nigel Harris (London University)
Arlington Trotman (Churches Commission for Racial Justice)
 
15:45 COFFEE
 
16.00 Plenary Session - Can Europe Over Come Its Legacy of Racism?
Chair Prof Mike Newman (LMU)

Speaker Dr A Sivanandan, Editor of Race and Class
 
17:00 CLOSE