Events
This section includes details of seminars, conferences and other events where the research team presents research findings over the course of the project and after its formal end.
If you would like to hear about these events, please follow us on our social media channels or email us at [email protected].
'Do queer Iranian women need saving? Feminist theory and praxis' (Moira Dustin)
and
'Escaping homophobia and transphobia in Iran: Legal experiences of seeking protection in Turkey, the UK and Canada' (Nuno Ferreira)
and
'Exploring Queer Identities: A Comparative Analysis of Poetic Narratives from Iranian Refugees and Migrants in Turkey, the UK, and Canada' (Nilofar Shidmehr)
3-5 July 2024, Mexico City, The Migration Conference 2024
Speakers: Moira Dustin (Lecturer in Law, University of Sussex), Nuno Ferreira (Professor of Law, University of Sussex) and Nilofar Shidmehr (Instructor at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and Visiting Scholar in the Department of Educational Studies at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada)
More information available here.
'Expressions of Freedom in Poetic Narratives of Iranian Queer Migrations' (Nilofar Shidmehr)
At workshop "Queerness and Gender Diversity in/to Migration: Norms, Discourses, Control Mechanisms”, at the French Institute for Anatolian Studies in Istanbul, Türkiye, on 26 April 2024
Speaker: Dr Nilofar Shidmehr (Instructor at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and Visiting Scholar in the Department of Educational Studies at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada)
More information available here.
'Forced Migration and Poetics of Iranian Queers in Exile'
Wednesday, April 14th, 2024, 14:00 – 16:00
Speaker: Dr Nilofar Shidmehr (Instructor at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and Visiting Scholar in the Department of Educational Studies at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada)
More information available here.
'Queer, Iranian and in exile: Comparing the experiences of Iranian queer refugees living in Turkey, the UK and Canada' (Nuno Ferreira)
and
'Art-informed Methodologies in Refugee and Forced Migration Research from the perspective of research about and with Iranian queer refugees' (Nilofar Shidmehr)
23-26 August 2023, Hamburg, The Migration Conference 2023
Speakers: Nuno Ferreira (Professor of Law, University of Sussex) and Dr Nilofar Shidmehr (Instructor at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and Visiting Scholar in the Department of Educational Studies at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada)
More information available here.
Dr Shidmehr's presentation won the prize for best paper in the Migration and Identities Track.
'Asylum, identity, and time: The experiences of queer Iranians in exile'
1-2 June 2023, Amsterdam, International Conference on the Temporal Dimensions of Migration Law
Speakers: Nuno Ferreira (Professor of Law, University of Sussex)
More information available here.
'Experiences of Iranian Queer Refugees in Turkey, the UK and Canada'
31 May 2023, 17:00-18:30 BST, 'Rainbow Pathways: Navigating the Journeys of LGBT+ Asylum Seekers' event
Speakers: Mehran Rezaei-Toroghi (University of Sussex) and others
90-minute ICEMiC event where we’ll explore the experiences of LGBT refugees and asylum seekers. Our panellists will share stories of resilience, courage, and hope as refugees and asylum seekers navigate a complex and often hostile system in search of safety. From the challenges they face in their home countries to the struggles they encounter in the asylum process, we'll gain a deeper understanding of their journey.
More information available here.
'The intersection of methodological and ethical quandaries from the perspective of research about and with Iranian queer refugees'
30 May 2023, 1.30-3pm Toronto time (6.30-8pm UK time), CARFMS23: 'Racism, Rights, and the Responsibility to Protect' Conference
Speakers: Moira Dustin (Lecturer in Law, University of Sussex), Kamran Matin (Senior Lecturer in International Relations, University of Sussex), Dr Nilofar Shidmehr (Instructor at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and Visiting Scholar in the Department of Educational Studies at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada)
This panel addresses the opportunities and challenges of ‘doing’ research with and about people who have experienced forced migration through the lens of an ongoing research project about queer Iranian forced migrants. In the panel we ask: what innovative methodological and theoretical approaches can enable the research team to achieve the project’s objectives in a way that is consistent with the team’s values and that does not misrepresent or – worse – jeopardise the safety of project participants and future forced migrants. The panel discussions concern questions the researchers are still grappling with and which we hope will inform other refugee scholarship as well as our own project.
More information available here.
'Agency vs vulnerability and resilience: creating agency through poetry'
5 May 2023, 15:15-17:30 Istanbul time, 'Exploring Vulnerability(ies) and Resilience: Learning from Populations on the Move' Conference, Istanbul Policy Center–Sabanci University–Stiftung Mercator Initiative
Speakers: Nilofar Shidmehr (Instructor at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and Visiting Scholar in the Department of Educational Studies at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada)
More information available here.
'Queer, Iranian and in exile: Comparing the experiences of Iranian queer refugees living in Turkey, the UK and Canada'
26 April 2023, 3pm (Ashdown House 106, University of Sussex, and online - register here) GenSeM IMISCOE & Ethnicity, Race and Diverse Societies Network (University of Sussex)
Speakers: Moira Dustin (Lecturer in Law, University of Sussex), Nuno Ferreira (Professor of Law, University of Sussex), and Mehran Rezaei Toroghi (Research Fellow in Law, University of Sussex)
Discussant: Sarah Scuzzarello (Senior Lecturer, University of Sussex)
