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Events - 11.11.2019 - 00:00 

Public lecture series on the subject of “fleeing”

Five public lectures at University of St.Gallen are devoted to the subject of fleeing and are linked to an exhibition currently on at the St.Gallen Historical and Folklore Museum. The lecture series will take place from 19 November to 17 December 2019.

6 November 2019. Every day, we see images of people fleeing violence, war and persecution. They have had to leave their families and homes behind them and set off on a dangerous journey into the unknown. A touring exhibition shows what it means to flee and arrive at a place where no-one’s been waiting for you. The successful exhibition can now be seen at the St.Gallen Historical and Folklore Museum from 6 April 2019 to 5 January 2020. Following on from this, the University of St.Gallen is giving five public lectures on the subject of fleeing as part of the public HSG programme.

70 million people affected

Almost 70 million people are fleeing from violence, war or persecution; an estimated 35 million children urgently need protection and support. Powerless against the origin of the conflicts, the international community tries to retrospectively establish the causes and hold those responsible to account. On the first evening of the public lecture series, Stefan Waespi, former Swiss federal prosecutor, will be reporting on the International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia and the International Commission of Inquiry for Gaza.

The other lectures are about children’s rights and modern slavery. The UN Human Rights Council first employed a Special Rapporteur to fight modern forms of slavery in 2007. The current report should show through specific suggestions what countries and other players can do to prevent modern slavery. The global financial sector occupies a key position in the fight against slavery and human trafficking. The “Liechtenstein Initiative”, a financial sector commission on modern slavery and human trafficking, has specialist expertise in combating illegal cash flows and presents its recommendations.

Last lecture evening at the museum

The final evening in the lecture series will take place at St.Gallen Historical and Folklore Museum, where Dr Thomas Maier, former manager at the Outpatient Clinic for Victims of Torture and War at the University Hospital Zurich, will talk about his experiences in counselling traumatised refugees and asylum seekers.

The lectures are open to all visitors. There is no need to register beforehand and admission is free. Details about the lectures can be found at the following link: Public programme

 

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