Equality Talks 2025

You are warmly invited to a series of online Equality Talks organised by the Academy for European Human Rights Protection, University of Cologne. 

Despite legal texts guaranteeing equality and non-discrimination, the value and relevance of equality are increasingly contested in Europe and beyond. How can we make sense of the field and framework of equality law in such times of contestation? Against this backdrop, the seminar series aims to explore the role, significance, promise, and limitations of equality law. With a particular focus on European human rights law, the series will spotlight recent publications on equality and non-discrimination across key thematic areas, including migration, gender-based violence, intersectionality, and Roma rights.

Talk 1: Violence against Women and Regimes of Exception: Undoing Discrimination in Migration Law
11 November 2025, 6:00 – 7:30 pm CET
Speaker: Catherine Briddick (Associate Professor, University of Oxford) 
Discussants: Colm O’Cinneide (Professor, University College London) and Lourdes Peroni (Assistant Professor, University of Warsaw)
Register Here

Talk 2: Intersectionality from a Racial Justice Perspective 
25 November 2025, 6:00 – 7:30 pm CET
Speaker: Ashwini K.P., UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism
Discussants: Iyiola Solanke (Professor, University of Oxford) and Lena Holzer (Assistant Professor, University of Cambridge)
Register Here

 

Talk 3: The Rights of Roma in European Courts 
17 December 2025, 6:00 – 7:30 pm CET
Speakers: Kristin Henrard (Professor, VUB) and Lilla Farkas (Associate Professor, ELTE)
Discussants: Morag Goodwin (Professor, Tilburg University) and Cathérine Van de Graaf (Postdoctoral Researcher, Ghent University and University of Cologne)
Register Here

All talks will be moderated by Vandita Khanna, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Academy for European Human Rights Protection, University of Cologne. If you have any further questions, please contact her (vandita.khanna@uni-koeln.de).