AltSOU

Protect Academic Freedom & The Right to Protest: Anti-Zionism ≠ Anti-Semitism!
2024-06-11 14:00 - 17:00 UTC | Sala Europa, Villa Schifanoia, EUI, Via Boccaccio 121, Firenze, Toscana, 50133, Italy
“Toscana Aperta – Demands Symposium Against Scholasticide in Gaza and Palestine” is a follow-up to the Florence Encampment for Palestine, organised by students, researchers and workers from University of Florence, Scuola Normale Superiore and the European University Institute.

Protect Academic Freedom & The Right to Protest: Anti-Zionism ≠ Anti-Semitism!

This event is the first in a series of events organized by students and researchers from EUI, SNS, and UniFi with the goal of opening up a constructive space to address the collective demands formulated in Piazza Shireen Abu Akleh.

11.06.2024, we will explore how certain definitions of antisemitism are used to shut down dissent and create an environment that is hostile to the critique of Israel and of Zionism. This represents a real danger to academic freedom and freedom of expression, which needs to be addressed by Universities that have to guarantee a space for critical discussions.

The goals of the initiative are:

Present to the communities of SNS, EUI, and Unifi the Encampment initiative and its core 4 shared demands and create a dialogue on the military-industrial-academic complex in Israeli and its impact on the daily life of the Palestinian people, during this war in Gaza and in Palestine in general

Hold the 3 universities accountable for the written commitments they approved during the 10 days of the encampment

Create an opportunity of dialogue within the different academic communities both to gain the support of those faculty members that are still reluctant to support the 4-demands and to create a meaningful dialogue on the role of scholars, students and researchers in the Israeli system of occupation and war.

Increase the mobilization within the different universities and create a more favourable environment for other “academic activists” who want to come out and join the broader mobilization

Ultimately the initiative is another “instrument” of the shared political strategy developed between Unifi, SNS and EUI students and researchers and it is part of the “transparency” and “truth” efforts aiming at putting pressure on the academic institutions to act quickly.

You can join us in Person, or online under the following link:

https://zoom.us/j/95341245239?pwd=[REDACTED]

Meeting ID: 953 4124 5239

Passcode: [REDACTED] READINGS ON THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ANTIZIONISM AND ANTISEMITISM AND ACADEMIC FREEDOM

You can download here the booklet “Florence Students Encampent: demands and political materials” (v1 – 7th June 2024)Studente ebreo all’Occupazione per la Palestina: “Antisemita? No. Giusto condannare i crimini israeliani”. (FirenzeToday)The Palestine exception to Academic Freedom (Decolonial Thought and Praxis)The Jerusalem Declaration on Anti-Semitism is an Orientalist text (Al Jazeera)Summary of the webinar “The anti-semitism label: Fighting Discrimination v. Silencing Critical Voices” (Law4Palestine)Why are America’s elite uWhy are America’s elite universities so afraid of this scholar’s paper?niversities so afraid of this scholar’s paper? (The Guardian)Whatever happend to anti-semitism? (Plutopress)Presumptively Antisemitic: Islamophobic tropes in the Palestine Israel Discourse (Rutgers University Law School)Younes, Anna-Esther. “Fighting Anti-Semitism in Contemporary Germany.” Islamophobia Studies Journal, vol. 5, no. 2, 2020, pp. 249–66. JSTOR,

A lot of Palestinians here have the feeling of being invisible (The Left Berlin)Invention of the Mizrahim (Al Jazeera)A victory for anti-zionists in the UK (Al Jazeera)DETAILS ON THE FORMAT – SUBMIT YOUR QUESTION

The first session of our three-part symposium series for a toscana aperta will not be structured according to the traditional format of academic presentations followed by a q and a. Instead, our roundtable will follow a more participatory format, wherein we shall engage in an egalitarian exchange of questions. This will permit all participants, regardless of their level of expertise, to exchange stories, gain insight into each others points of view, and collectively answer questions that will help us think about how to protect academic freedom and the right to protest for palestine.

We ask you to choose from among the following guiding questions or come up with questions of your own that you would like to address collectively tomorrow. You can also submit your questions anonymously if you wish to do so.

GUIDING QUESTIONS – SUBMIT YOUR QUESTION ANONYMOUSLY

why should we distinguish between anti-zionism and anti-semitism?

1) How would investigation into the official definition of these concepts promote academic freedom?

2) When and how can the weaponisation of antisemitism become a way to silence protest, critical thinking and dissent?

3) How does the confusion between these two concepts, as well as the lack of research on palestine and the occupation, contribute to the invisibilisation of palestinian people and their points of view?

How can universities integrate the demand for academic freedom and the right to protest into their initiatives for equality, diversity and inclusivity?

1) How can a demand for academic freedom be formulated, that would protect the rights of palestinian, arab, muslim, jewish, pro-palestinian students and other concerned identities to research palestine and the occupation?

2) How can an edi programme be reformulated to protect these freedoms, in the context of sns, unifi, the eui and other universities?

What do you need, as a researcher and scholar, to feel empowered to take a stand and act in support of palestine and against the occupation, genocide and apartheid engaged in by the israeli state?

1)In terms of logistical, legal and psychological support, as well as academic resources, what would help you take action for palestine?

2) What do you need in terms of communication channels with administration and practical support from unions and other representative collectives, in order to feel safe and supported while acting for palestine?

Collective Brainstorming and Concluding Event
2024-05-22 14:00 - 16:00 (Europe/Rome) | Badia’s gardens, European University Institute, Florence, Italy
Participatory assembly on concluding Alt-SoU’24 & co-designing potential output
Open to all critical minds interested in building radical futures!
More info soon!

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Venue

It’s (still) capitalism, stupid!
2024-05-22 09:00 - 13:00 (Europe/Rome) | Sala del Consiglio (Villa Salviati) + on zoom, European University Insitute, Florence, Italy
WHO?
Daniela Chironi (Scuola Normale Superiore)
Eraldo Souza Dos Santos (Université Panthéon-Sorbonne)
Jessica Whyte (University of New South Wales)
Lorenzo Zamponi (Scuola Normale Superiore)
Lorenzo Cini (University College Cork)
Veronika Zablotsky (Freie Universität Berlin)
WHAT?
In 2013, the Collettivo Prezzemolo, a group of politically engaged PhD researchers and PostDocs at the EUI, organised the “Festival of the other Europe – It’s capitalism, stupid!”. This event can be regarded as the precursor to the Alternative State of the Union (un)conference, which held a pilot event in May last year. Eleven years on from the original “Festival of the other Europe”, we are inviting alumna members of the Colletivo Prezzemolo, as well as other activist-academics, to lead a horizontal discussion entitled “It’s (still) capitalism, stupid!”, picking up on the themes and topics of the conversation (policing, surveillance, civil society, radical democracy, nationalism, austerity, etc), especially when it comes to social movements, how the economic situation is influencing the political situation at present, and how we as activist-academics can respond with a progressive or radical agenda that can give hope in a period of poly-crisis. We will also be discussing what it means to be an activist-academic. This event is also an opportunity to link with EUI alumni, SNS, Paris 1, FU Berlin, and even further afield.
About the speakers

Daniela Chironi (bio tbc)

Eraldo Souza dos Santos (they/them/theirs), MA, is a PhD candidate in Philosophy at Panthéon-Sorbonne University, in France. They will be a Klarman Fellow at the Department of Government of Cornell University from August 2024) and will become an Assistant Professor of Criminology, Law and Society at the University of California – Irvine from July 2025. They are a historian of legal and political thought. Their research explores how political concepts have come to shape political discourse and political practice, and how political actors have come to contest the meaning of these concepts in turn. In their current book project, they trace the global history of the idea of civil disobedience. They are also currently writing a family memoir on race and modern slavery in Brazil. Their next project and monograph will provide a racial genealogy of the idea that it is necessary to defend democracy against its enemies. They engage in anti- racist, anti-war, and climate activism. More information can be found at their website: https://eraldosouzadossantos.com/

Jessica Whyte (she/her) is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of New South Wales, in Australia. Her research interests include the intersection of political economy and legal/moral discourses, particularly when it comes to human rights and humanitarianism, as well as the use of economic power in international politics, including economic sanctions.

Lorenzo Zamponi (bio tbc)

Lorenzo Cini (he/his/him) is a lecturer in Employment Relations at University College Cork in the Ireland. His teaching and research focus is on employment relations, labour movements, and labour conflicts. He also engages in social movements and is a labour activist.

Prof Dr Veronika Zablotsky (she/her) is affiliated to Universität Koblenz and to Freie Universität Berlin, both in Germany. Her teaching and research focus is on political theories, transnational feminist theory, postcolonial theory and post-socialism in Eurasia, and critical migration and diaspora studies. She engages in social justice, anti- racist, queer-feminist activism, and advocates for no borders, internationalism, and contemporary abolitionism.

About the event’s format and timetable

Introduction

0900-0920: Introductory round (names, pronouns, occupation, activism, feelings today – reveal only what comfortable with). Self-introductions only. Outline of today’s schedule. Go around the room asking if there are any particular points or issues they would like to see raised today and if they would like to see something come out of today’s discussion.
EUI activism, past and present
0920-0930: What was the Colletivo Prezzemollo? (Daniela Chironi or Lorenzo Zamponi)
0930-0940: What was the Festival of the other Europe – It’s capitalism, stupid, event? (Daniela Chironi or Lorenzo Zamponi)
0940-0945: What is the EUI Researchers’ Union? (EUIRU delegate) 0945-0950: What is the Alternative State of the Union?
0950-10:00: Short break.
Why is it (still) capitalism, stupid? Do you think it is (still) capitalism?
1000-1010: Jessica Whyte
10:10-1020: Lorenzo Cini
1020-1100: Open discussion
1100-1130: Long break
What is it to be an activist-academic in the modern, neo-liberal university? Would you call yourself an activist-academic?
1130-1140: Veronika Zablotsky
1140-1150: Eraldo Souza dos Santos
1150-1230: Open discussion
1230-1240: Short break
1240-1300: Cool-down, breathing exercises. Roundtable on feelings and positive take-aways from today’s session and the past few days. Roundtable on what we would have maybe liked to see discussed that we could not fit in. Roundtable on what we would like to see into the future.

After the event closes at 1300, attendees are invited to join us as we walk to Badia Fiesolana for lunch. The Alternative State of the Union Unconference will continue at 1400 in the EUI Library Garden for our concluding participatory brainstorming session.

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Venue

Exposing Fortress Europe? The role of the University
2024-05-21 18:15 - 19:15 (Europe/Rome) | Sala del Capitolo (Badia) + on zoom, European University Insitute, Florence, Italy
WHO?
José Bautista
WHAT?
Our goal during this summative session on Migration is to plan direct involvement, as university members, in the fight against the migration control industry and the externalisation of EU border controls. With the help of an independent investigative journalist from Spain, we shall discuss how migration control mechanisms are sustained by political fear-mongering and public spending, maintained through EU regulations, and promoted by academia. In line with the 2024 EU New Pact on Migration and Asylum, democratic governments with connections to authoritarian regimes, universities, corporations and large NGOs work together to support a model based on detention, deportation and externalisation. We shall also revisit questions and perspectives explored during our roundtable on Political Humanitarianism, the Mediterranean and Border Violence, with the practical purpose of creating an action plan that university members can use, in collaboration with activists, journalists, and members of civil society, to work towards alternatives to these models.
About the speaker
José Bautista is an independent investigative journalist based in Spain and specialized in economics migrations. He leads the investigative journalism team at Fundación porCausa, and also works for The New York Times and Der Spiegel. Bautista has worked for other media outlets and organizations, including The Wall Street Journal, Público, La Marea, Agencia EFE, El País, El Confidencial, Lighthouse Reports, OCCRP, Folha de São Paulo, eldiario.es, and CEPAL, among others. He holds a double master ‘s degree at Sorbonne Paris and the ESCP Business School.

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Venue – TBC

Intimately Material: Collective Reflexion on the Material Conditions of Academia
2024-05-21 15:30 - 17:30 (Europe/Rome) | Sala del Capitolo (Badia) + on zoom, European University Insitute, Florence, Italy
Joint event organised in collaboration with the EUI Queer and Feminist Working Group
WHAT?
The workshop is part of the conference “Intimately Material: Violence, Social Reproduction, & Queerness in Transition”, organised by the EUI Queer and Feminist Working Group at the EUI.
In the workshop, we will interrogate the place of academia and the participants’ lived experiences of doing research. By collectively writing “sick notes”, we want to discuss themes related to the material conditions of doing research, such as job uncertainty, capitalistic approaches to research, academic mobility, and social reproduction. Our conclusions will be turned into a collective statement expressing our own experienced materialities and ideas of change.

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*Note that registration to this joint event is via the EUI webpage.

Venue

Teach-in on de/coloniality and our place in Europe
2024-05-21 14:00 - 15:30 (Europe/Rome) | Villa Schifanoia’s Gardens, European University Insitute, Florence, Italy
Who?
Carla Vitantonio
What?
In this teach-in session, I would like to invite participants to build together a reflection on coloniality in our own system and culture. I am assuming that most of us come from different places, located at variable distance from the mainstream European culture (system, society, model, whatever), and from this unique perspective each one will contribute to the session, following Haraway’s inspiration (1988, 2016) and creating a temporary web of kin.For this purpose, I will give a short theoretical introduction based on the colonial matrix of power (Quijano 2000, 2007), and embodied by my own experience of queer, stigmatized woman, migrant and daughter of migrants.If you are inspired, before joining the session you can listen to my podcast “Living decoloniality”.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Independent researcher, humanitarian and development professional, performer: Carla Vitantonio focuses, throughout her work, on coloniality and on its impact on communities, practices and knowledges. She lived and worked in North Korea, Myanmar, and Cuba, engaging in community disaster preparedness, social justice, and crisis management. In 2022 she started “Living decoloniality”, a toolkit that collects decolonial practices through the aid sector, which became a podcast, and is produced by the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership. She is a member of the board of the International Humanitarian Studies Association. In 2022 she was awarded the honor of Cavaliere all’Ordine della Stella d’Italia for her action in the humanitarian sector.Her current research looks at coloniality and subalternity in Italy.

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Venue

We are not on the same boat: Power walk and reflexive lunch
2024-05-21 12:45 - 14:00 (Europe/Rome) | Villa Schifanoia’s Gardens, European University Insitute, Florence, Italy
WHO?
Carla Vitantonio
WHAT?
This simple and participatory exercise allows a physical and direct experience of power differences in a group. The setting of reference will be that of migration. Every participant will be given a role and it’s important that everyone seriously tries to embody the character they are assigned. The facilitator will then give instructions, and everyone will act according to their character.Spatial movement will show differences between people. At the end of the exercise, we will do a moment of defusing, debriefing, collective reflection.
The maximum number of participants is 25.
It does not require special abilities, but it does require the possibility to move in the space from a line.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Independent researcher, humanitarian and development professional, performer: Carla Vitantonio focuses, throughout her work, on coloniality and on its impact on communities, practices and knowledges. She lived and worked in North Korea, Myanmar, and Cuba, engaging in community disaster preparedness, social justice, and crisis management.In 2022 she started “Living decoloniality”, a toolkit that collects decolonial practices through the aid sector, which became a podcast, and is produced by the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership. She is a member of the board of the International Humanitarian Studies Association. In 2022 she was awarded the honor of Cavaliere all’Ordine della Stella d’Italia for her action in the humanitarian sector.Her current research looks at coloniality and subalternity in Italy.

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Venue

Beyond borders? Academic and activist research at EU borders
2024-05-21 11:00 - 12:30 (Europe/Rome) | Sala Triaria (Villa Schifanoia) + on zoom, Florence, Italy
WHO?
Federico Alagna (Scuola Normale Superiore), Kamila Fiałkowska (University of Warsaw and Badaczki i Badacze na Granicy), Giulia Fabini (University of Bologna) and Martina Tazzioli (University of Bologna)
WHAT?
This roundtable focuses on borders and calls for a dialogue that brings empirical, conceptual and philosophical perspectives together. While Frontex has increased its workforce to control the external borders next to national border guards, it is also becoming increasingly normal to encounter border controls within the Schengen area itself. External and internal borders of the European Union (EU) are spaces of daily violence and illegal pushbacks, but also of daily resistance from those on the move and their supporters. How do we tell the story of this resurgence of borders in Europe? Have they always been so present, or are they just more visible? What is our role as researchers and/or activists doing research at/on borders?
This roundtable invites speakers to share their experiences – as academics and/or activists – at the internal and external borders of the EU. Through a roundtable format, the event aims at:

Sharing field experiences about the situation at particular borders in Europe
Discussing the changing nature of borders and of (re/de)-bordering practices and their effect on people on the move and locals
Reflecting collectively on more critical understandings of borders and migration
Discussing how it is possible to navigate political engagements within academic institutions Each participant will make a presentation of their research and/or activist experience of 10 minutes, after which we will open the floor for discussion.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Giulia Fabini is a Junior Assistant Professor in the Department of Legal Studies at the University of Bologna. She holds a PhD in Law and Society from the University of Milan and was a student researcher at the Center for the Study of Law and Society at UC Berkeley. Giulia’s research focuses on border control and the interaction between migrants and the police, migrant struggles, immigration courts, and the prison system from a gender perspective. She is currently collaborating on two research projects on police women and the prison police. Giulia acted as the Assistant Editor for the European Journal of Criminology (2017-2020) and she is a member of the editorial boards of Studi sulla questione criminale, Rivista Antigone, and Justice, Power and Resistance. As an activist, she is an observer of Antigone Association and has the authorization to visit prisons in Emilia-Romagna region. She is part of the European Society of Criminology, the European Group for the study of deviance and social control, and the Law and Society Association. Her most recent publication is Governing Immobility in the COVID-19 Crisis in Italy: Non-conforming Behaviors of Migrants Confronting the New Old Processes of Othering

Kamila Fiałkowska is a researcher at the Centre of Migration Research, University of Warsaw and one of the coordinators of the Researchers on the Borders (Badaczki i Badacze na Granicy – https://www.bbng.org/) – a grassroots, inter-university, interdisciplinary research network created in response to the ongoing humanitarian crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border. Kamila obtained her PhD in 2018 at the Faculty of Political Studies and International Relations at the University of Warsaw. Her research focuses on gender relations in migratory settings, masculinity studies and family relations, as well as the construction of national and gender identities.

Martina Tazzioli is an Associate Professor in the Department of History and Cultures at the University of Bologna. She holds a PhD in Politics from Goldsmiths, University of London, and an MA in Philosophy from the University of Pisa. Martina’s research is situated at the crossroads of Political Geography, Critical Migration and Border Studies, and Political Philosophy. She is currently working on three projects: One on memory of border controls and migrants’ struggles, a related project about counter-mapping and legal geographies of border violence on the central Mediterranean route, and a research project about social reproduction activities in camps, with a focus on Greece. Her latest publications include Border abolitionism: migration containment and the genealogies of struggles (2023), The Making of Migration. The Biopolitics of Mobility at Europe’s Borders (2019), and Spaces of Governmentality: Autonomous Migration and the Arab Uprisings (2015).

Federico Alagna is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Political Science and Political Sociology in the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences at the Scuola Normale Superiore and Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of Bologna. Federico’s research focuses on the politics of migration in the EU and Italy, with specific reference to the migrant smuggling policy regime, the role of civil society actors in the production of migration policies from below, the criminalisation of people on the move and solidarity initiatives. He is a political activist, mostly in the migrant solidarity and right to the city movements, and is part of the sea rescue initiative Mediterranea Saving Humans. In the past, Federico has also served as Deputy-Mayor for Culture and Public Education of the City of Messina.

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Venue

Political humanitarianism, the Black Mediterranean and border violence
2024-05-21 09:00 - 10:30 (Europe/Rome) | Sala Triaria (Villa Schifanoia) + on zoom, Florence, Italy
WHO?
Beppe Caccia (Mediterranea), David Yambio (Alliance for the Refugees in Libya), Ida Danewid (University of Sussex), Vivian Gerrand (Deakin University) and others!
WHAT?
This unconference panel is an ‘egalitarian exchange of questions’, which aims to bring humanitarian organisations into dialogue with university-based activists working for the rights and dignity of migrant people within and beyond Europe. Among other questions, we will discuss what the historical role of mobility controls has been in capturing and disciplining a mobile workforce, and how activist-academic discourse can build practically applicable counter-narratives to this. We will critique and formulate political alternatives to today’s humanitarian discourse by exploring non-statist forms of care and communality seen among Mediterranean communities. We will examine new possibilities thrown up by the way the Black Mediterranean and ‘bordered’ violence have changed over the past 20 years. We will centre the role of refugees as protagonists in the fight for human rights, particularly in the context of Libyan refugees in Italy. These questions, collectively reflected upon, will feed into the creation of an action plan for use by university communities who wish to bridge the gap between academia, humanitarian activism and journalism for migrant rights.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Dr. Ida Danewid is a social and political theorist based in the Department of International Relations at the University of Sussex. Her research interests are in anticolonial political thought, the black radical tradition, gender studies, and histories of internationalism “from below.” She is the author of Resisting Racial Capitalism: An Antipolitical Theory of Refusal (Cambridge University Press).

Vivian Gerrand is a scholar of alternative / counter narratives, migration, citizenship, postcoloniality, radicalisation and resilience who has been studying cultures of migration in Italy since 2003. She lives with European heritage on the unceded lands of the Kulin Nation in Naarm (Melbourne, Australia), where she was born.

David Yambio (Alliance for the Refugees in Libya) – To be completed

Beppe Caccia (Mediterranea)- To be completed

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Venue

AltSoU'24 opening party!
2024-05-20 20:00 - 2024-05-21 00:00 (Europe/Rome) | Fiasco Social Club, Badia Fiesolana, EUI, Florence, Italy
Let’s gather to Fiasco Social Club and raise our glasses to critical minds and radical futures!

Venue

Antifascismo in Italia - A talk with local activists
2024-05-20 18:00 - 20:00 (Europe/Rome) | Fiasco Social Club, Badia Fiesolana, EUI, Florence, Italy
Who?
Marco Filippini (Love My Way), Daria Campriani (Intersexioni), Non una di meno Firenze, Julia Kaiser (University of Leipzig), Collettivo di Fabbrica
What?
(English below)
L’estrema destra avanza in Europa. Stiamo assistendo al ritorno della politica autoritaria e alla repressione strisciante dei movimenti sociali e dei dissidenti politici. Negli ultimi mesi, il dibattito italiano ha ruotato attorno al fascismo e all’antifascismo, dato che l’Italia ha il suo primo governo di estrema destra dal 1945. Poiché le pratiche fasciste non vengono mai presentate completamente come tali, abbiamo invitato gruppi di attivisti fiorentini che possano raccontare alla comunità dell’IUE la loro esperienza come oggetto di queste politiche repressive. L’obiettivo dell’evento è quello di parlare di ciò che sta accadendo in Italia con l’estrema destra al potere (nella politica e nel discorso politico, nei media e anche nelle strade) e di come resistere. L’evento è completamente bilingue (italiano e inglese), con interpretazione dal vivo.

The far right is on the rise in Europe. We are witnessing the return of authoritian politics and slithering repression of social movements and political dissidents. In recent months, the Italian debate has revolved around fascism and antifascism, even more so since Italy had its first extreme-right government since 1945. As fascist practices are never fully presented as such, we invited Florentine activist groups who can tell the EUI community about their experience as object of these repressive policies. The aim of the event is to talk about what is happening in Italy with the extreme right in power (in politics and political discourse, in the media, and also in the streets) and how to resist. The event is fully bilingual (Italian and English), with live interpretation.
The event is fully bilingual (Italian and English), with live interpretation.

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Venue

Palestine & Academia: protecting academic freedom & exploring the power dynamics, logistics and obstacles faced by Palestinian scholars at risk
2024-05-20 14:30 - 17:30 (Europe/Rome) | Sala Triaria (Villa Schifanoia) + on zoom, Florence, Italy
WHO?
Arees Bishara (Tel Aviv University), Maria Chiara Rioli (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia), Federica Stagni (Scuola Normale Superiore & SESAMO), Jairo Flores-Funez (Texas Tech University), Anna Younes (Graduate Institute), Malaka Shaikh (University of St Andrews)
WHAT?
The EUI Working Group on Palestine and the Legal and Political Theory WG present a joint two-part event, which will focus on the obstacles and repression faced by both Palestinian refugees and scholars working on Palestine. In the first part, we will explore and discuss diverse obstacles faced by Palestinian refugees locally in Florence, and comparatively in other contexts more broadly. Our speakers will share their perspectives and experience on approaching logistical issues such as visas, health insurance, discrimination – as well as navigating claims of antisemitism in doing work on Palestine. We will have a participatory open discussion, in which the aim will be to collectively discuss how to aggregate and account for these issues, so that we might produce action points to more proactively support Palestinian refugees to our local community in Florence, and to join our European University Institute. After a short break we will then focus on the more academic dimension and explore the difficulties and outright repression scholars working on Palestine face. Western universities often embrace anti- “cancel culture” narratives to justify their failure to combat racist, sexist, colonial, or homophobic speech on campus. Their response is however diametrically opposite when it comes to anti-racist researchers and professors, who find their voices suppressed by censorship and layoff threats. In Europe, just like racism itself, the problem continues to be ignored and hidden from the (white) public eye. Yet, that is the modus operandi of its academic institutions, especially regarding anti-Zionism. The recent developments in Israel’s genocidal colonial project have intensified that institutional persecution and shed light on how academic freedom is often limited to those who speak within the current hegemonic frame, while others must fear consequences to their career and lives. In the second part of our joint event, we invite all to break the myth of the “leftist university”. We welcome persons who have experienced said persecution to discuss academic repression and the fallacy of cancel culture in a world where most universities (and especially those in the Global North) are willingly furthering the status quo and actively impeding radical emancipatory critique. We will conclude, with recommendations on how to ensure academic freedom and how to protect scholars working counter-hegemonic projects such as the important work being done on Palestine.
About the speakers

Arees Bishara is a Palestinian Activist and doctoral student in political and economic sociology at Tel Aviv University, studying the Palestinian ICT sector, the Israeli high-tech industry – as well as indigenous encounters with neoliberalism, the knowledge economy, technology, and entrepreneurship in settler-colonial and patriarchal contexts.

Maria Chiara Rioli is Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Contemporary History at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy. She has hands-on experience with assisting Palestinian refugees, and chairs the Committee for Academic Freedom of the Italian Society for Middle Eastern Studies (SeSaMO).

Federica Stagni holds a Ph.D. from the Faculty of Political Sciences and Sociology of the Scuola Normale Superiore under the supervision of Donatella della Porta and Lorenzo Bosi. Her research focuses on anti-demolition and anti-eviction movements in Israel and Palestine, where she has spent periods of field research. Federica obtained a degree in International and Diplomatic Sciences from the University of Bologna and a Master’s in European and International Studies from the School of International Studies of Trento. She worked as a researcher for ACLED in the Middle East working group. She has published in several scientific journals, such as Critical Sociology, PACO, the International Journal of Qualitative Methods, and Theoria.

Jairo Flores-Funez (Texas Tech University)

Anna Younes (Graduate Institute)

Malaka Shaikh (University of St Andrews)

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Details

Date:

June 11, 2024

Time:

14:00 – 17:00 UTC+0

Organiser

Students and Researchers assembled in PIazza Shireen Abu Akleh (SNS, UniFi, EUI)

Venue

Sala Triaria (Villa Schifanoia) + on zoom

Florence,

Italy

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AltSOU'24 Opening Ceremony!
2024-05-20 13:45 - 14:15 (Europe/Rome) | Villa Schifanoia’s Gardens, European University Insitute, Florence, Italy
Join altSoU’24 opening ceremony!
Featuring statements from altSoU’24 organisers and an intervention of the EUI President Patrizia Nanz.

Venue

Sinking Europe, Thinking migration: the law in theory and practice
2024-05-20 10:00 - 12:00 (Europe/Rome) | Sala Triaria (Villa Schifanoia) + on zoom, Florence, Italy
WHO?
Martina Flamini (Ufficio del Massimario in Corte di Cassazione), Chiara Favilli (UniFi), Françoise Blum (Navire Avenir), Romain Lanneau (Statewatch), SOS Méditerranée (Name tbc), Tineke Strik (European Parliament)
WHAT?
The European Union seems to be determined to contain migration at any cost, including the high chance of being complicit in the death at sea of people attempting to access Europe, and of fundamental rights breaches at its borders. A growing number of regulations and legislative proposals aim at creating major obstacles to prevent people on the move from enjoying their fundamental rights. Additionally, internal regulations continue to separate people depending on the basis of social, cultural and ethnic faultlines. While theorizing migration law as racist and postcolonial seems quite straightforward, forging practices of resistance becomes more and more arduous due to the political landscape.The roundtable provides a platform for a critical discussion on the multifaceted challenges and complexities surrounding the legal framework of migration in the European Union (EU). Drawing on diverse perspectives from civil society, policymaking, activists and practitioners, the roundtable will delve into these matters through a collaborative dialogue. The hope is that through lively exchanges among the participants, innovative strategies of resistance and creative policy proposals can be imagined.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Martina Flamini, civil judge engaged in migration and asylum law, privacy law, human rights, data protection, non discrimination, and medical malpractice. She is currently working in Ufficio del Massimario of the Italian Court of Cassation. She is a member of groups “asylum and migration”, European project ACTIONES, REJUS and FRICORE in the field of asylum and migration. Martina Flamini is also a judicial trainer of the Italian School of Judiciary and of the EUAA. Martina Flamini is going to contribute to the collective reflection on (sinking) Europe dealing with migration and asylum drawing from her vast experience on the field as a judge.

Chiara Favilli, lawyer and professor of EU law at University of Florence. Chiara acted as a lawyer in a Dublin case before the CJEU in preliminary reference procedure (C‐228/21, C‐254/21, C‐297/21, C‐315/21 e C‐328/21). She will share her experience in challenging the most disreputable piece of legislation in EU migration law

Françoise Blum, former European civil servant, she is currently engaged in the Navire Avenir Project, which aims at the creation of a European Maritime Flag for operations of rescue of migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. Françoise will present how this project fits into the European migration context and discuss the role of the law in shaping the rescue of migrants at sea.

Romain Lanneau, Consultant researcher working for Statewatch, a civil society organisation that produces and promotes critical research, policy analysis and investigative journalism to inform debates, movements and campaigns on civil liberties, human rights and democratic standards. Romain will discuss the use of secret evidence in migration and asylum cases in the EU and the potential (in theory) for data protection to offer an effective remedy

Tineke Strik is an MEP in the European Parliament since 2019, affiliated with the Greens. She is also a professor of Citizenship and Migration Law at Radboud University. She will offer a political perspective on European migration law and in particular talk about the New Pact on Migration and Asylum that has been discussed in and adopted by the Parliament in April 2024.

REGISTER HERE

Details

Date:

June 11, 2024

Time:

14:00 – 17:00 UTC+0

Organiser

Students and Researchers assembled in PIazza Shireen Abu Akleh (SNS, UniFi, EUI)

Venue

Sala Triaria (Villa Schifanoia) + on zoom

Florence,

Italy

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Pricey silence! Are The EU values at stake in the Southern Neighbourhood?
2024-05-14 10:00 - 12:00 (Europe/Rome) | Sala del Capitolo (Badia) + on zoom, European University Insitute, Florence, Italy
Joint event organised by STG Fellows
WHO?

Abbas Sibai, Policy Leader Fellow
Louis Blin, Visiting Fellow, Robert Schuman Centre
Nicholas Milanese, Visiting Fellow, Florence School of Transnational Governance
Elena Asciutti, Coordinator for External Relations, European University Institute

WHAT?

This talk will discuss the EU’s approach to the Southern Neighborhood, focusing on Lebanon and Gaza, where pressing geopolitical dynamics impact stability, security, and prosperity.
Against economic crises, political instability, and humanitarian concerns, this talk aims to assess whether the EU’s European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) adequately reflects its values and interests in promoting positive change. Panelists will offer diverse perspectives and actionable recommendations and provide insights into geopolitical factors shaping the ENP’s trajectory. The talk will invite attendees from policymaking, academia, and development practice to explore innovative strategies for EU-civil society collaboration and discuss practical solutions tailored to the region’s needs.
REGISTRATION
Registration via the EUI event page: https://www.eui.eu/events?id=568037

Venue

European Launch of the PWO Report: “Workers in all but pay, name, and conditions”
2024-04-29 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/Rome) | Sala del Capitolo (Badia) + on zoom, European University Insitute, Florence, Italy
Who?

PWO – Postgraduate Workers’ Organisation (Ireland)
EUIRU – European University Institute Researchers’ Union (EUI)
PNN – Promovendi Netwerk Netherlands (Netherlands)
ADI – Associazione Dottorandi e Dottori di Ricerca in Italia (Italy)
ESU – European Students’ Union (Europe)
FJI-Precarios – Federacion de Jovenes Investigadores (Spain)
CEU Students’ Protest Group (Austria/Private)
CEU Students’ Union (Austria/Private)
EURODOC – European Council of Doctoral Candidates and Junior Researchers (Europe)
ABIC – Associação dos Bolseiros de Investigação Científica (Portugal)
Leibnitz PhD Network (Germany)
ASM – actionuni der Schweizer Mittelbau (Switzerland)
LJZA – Latvijas Jauno zinātnieku apvienība (Latvia)

What?
In 2023, the Postgraduate Researchers’ Organisation (PWO) of Ireland commissioned its branch at the European University Institute (EUI) to issue a survey and compile a report on instances of employee status for PhD researchers across the European Research Area (ERA). This report, thanks to the support of the USI and SIPTU was published and launched in Ireland on 14 February 2024 to promote and support the PWO demand for employee status for PhD researchers. Since then, elements of the report have been read into the Irish parliamentary record, and the report itself has received extensive press coverage. Given the Europe-wide relevance of the contents, findings, and conclusions of this report, the Researchers’ Union at the EUI(EUIRU) have offered to host a European launch at the EUI and online, to which all PhD researcher representative unions, organisations, associations, and collectives are invited to send delegates and participate. Other interested parties are welcome to observe.
Registration (hybrid event)
Please send an email to registrations[at]altsou[dot]com

This side event is organised as part of the AltSOU’24.

Programme Launch and Fiasco Fundraising Party with Karaoke!
2024-04-19 19:00 - 23:59 (Europe/Rome) | Fiasco Social Club, Badia Fiesolana, EUI, Florence, Italy
Join us for our fundraising party as we launch the programme of the AltSOU unconference 2024 (29 April, 20-22
May).

There will be karaoke! So come together, sing your heart out, raise a glass and embrace the joy of collective action!

Note: +1€ on all drinks to go towards AltSOU costs.

Fiasco opens: 19:00
Programme launch: 19:30
Karaoke: eight ’till late!
