Statelessness Intensive Course - past courses overview
2023 Course
The wonderful cohort from the 2023 Intensive Course comprised participants from - Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Türkiye, Uruguay, and Uzbekistan. As in previous years, this year's cohort was outstanding, comprising academics, legal professionals, scholars, representatives from government and from international and human rights organisations. We were fortunate once again to have a wonderful team of presenters who helped make the course an outstanding success.
"As a practitioner of human rights and the media, the course provided an important professional development opportunity on an aspect of human rights often overlooked. The speakers were experts in their field, including with lived experience of statelessness. I would highly recommend this course." - Alister McKeich, Victoria University / journalist, photojournalist.
"As an anthropologist working on borders and migration, I found this course rigourous, holistic and pertinent. Its interactive sessions, including academics as well as practitioners, was expansive, engaging but most importantly, empathetic. This design enabled us to collectively question and deliberate the urgent but utterly complex nuances of statelessness across the globe. I would thoroughly recommend this programme to anyone keen on reconceptualising state-society relations and the multiple mobilities un/making them." - Shreya U.K., Georgetown University, Qatar / Parichay (Legal Aid Clinic)
"It was an amazing experience to learn from lectures by the academics in the McMullin Centre, from the speakers from international organisations, people with lived experiences of statelessness and from fellow attendees. The course attracts legal practitioners, academics and officials from around the world including metropolitan cities and regional areas. The ability to generate ideas for reform with other practitioners and learn from the work being done to address statelessness has been invaluable. I would recommend the course to anyone who may be interested to attend." - Jaskiran Rekhraj, Legal Aid ACT
"Despite the fact that I had been working with stateless communities for almost 4 years before participating in the statelessness intensive course, there was so much I didn't know. The course allowed me to learn about the issue of statelessness globally and think about angles that I had not even considered before. Perhaps more importantly, it gave me an opportunity to connect with others in the same or similar fields of work. I'd often felt like I was working in a vacuum where it seemed like no one else knew of or worked on statelessness. But being in the virtual classroom space fostered international connections and friendships that have persisted beyond the course. I would highly recommend the course to anyone working with or interested to learn about the issue of statelessness." - Hiba Thobani, Imkaan Welfare Organisation
“The course was a great learning opportunity and I look forward to using my new knowledge in my daily work.” – Deepa Dixit, UNHCR
2022 Course
In February 2022, we were lucky enough to once again have an exceptional group of participants in our Intensive Course. Participants were from Armenia; Australia; Bangladesh; Cambodia; Fiji; Georgia; India; Indonesia; Kazakhstan; Malaysia; Myanmar; Nepal; Philippines; Thailand, and Vietnam. The group comprised academics, government officials, lawyers, students, representatives from non-government organisations and human rights bodies and the UNHCR.
“This course offers an enlightening insight into a problem that is under-represented in global discourse. It was no less than a privilege to have been able to study with the wonderful team at the PMCS under the stewardship of Professor Foster, and to have gotten the chance to interact with and learn from colleagues from around the world. The course has not only taught me a lot and given me a lot to think about, but has also allowed me to expand my horizons and think about the statelessness problem in a whole new light." - Ahmed Hassan, Centre for Peace and Justice, BRAC University
“It has been a pleasure to attend the Intensive Course. It was an enriching experience and has given me the much-needed holistic understanding of statelessness. The lectures and discussions have provided me with new research ideas.” – Aakash Chandran, Asia Justice Coalition
“Thank you for the opportunity to participate in the intensive course, it really was far more comprehensive than I could have imagined and such an amazing group of lecturers and participants.” - Rebecca Webb, Refugee Legal
"As a practitioner, I found the Statelessness Intensive Course to be a unique and invaluable introduction to the causes, effects, and international law relating to statelessness and stateless persons. Involving practical and theoretical lectures and exercises, and diverse participants (including those with a lived experience of statelessness), the course provided an excellent grounding in topical and legal issues across a vast range of topics of interest to lawyers, decision-makers, civil society actors, and those in the field. I would wholeheartedly recommend the course to anyone working in the refugee/protection space." - Nathan Stormont, Administrative Appeals Tribunal
"It was an eye-opening experience to learn from the course about the issues and cases of statelessness in different contexts and parts of the world. The presentations were very comprehensive with thorough insights on the topic and related issues, especially those presenters who shared their personal experience of statelessness. I also liked learning about the interventions taking place through international treaties, regional, national and local approaches. Since I work directly on issues of statelessness in my country, these pieces of knowledge and the access to related documents I got from the course are fundamental for me to have more contribution to addressing the issues in my work." - Rattanak Ly, Women Peace Makers, Cambodia
2021 Course
We could not have been more pleased with the success of our first online course, which ran in February 2021. An outstanding cohort of participants joined us from a total of 14 countries (Japan; Nepal; Uzbekistan; Vietnam; South Korea; Cambodia; USA; Samoa; New Zealand; Myanmar; Fiji; Iran; Dominican Republic; India and Australia.) The group comprised academics, government officials, lawyers, representatives from non-government organisations and human rights bodies and the UNHCR. Contrary to our concerns that the online format would hinder a sense of collegiality during the course, we found that a rapport was quickly established within the group. Participants were continually engaged and generous with their input, utilising the various online communication tools, such as Zoom chat and forums to extend their participation and networking.
"The Intensive Course felt like a whirl-wind adventure alongside a richly diverse group of inquisitive and inspired participants into a dynamic, exploratory space where statelessness - a subject familiar to me first and foremost as lived experience, was made accessible from an exciting range of vantage points, offering a unique opportunity to not only deepen insight, but to network and further the spirit of solidarity among the global community of academics, impacted activists, members of civil society, government officials, and representatives of UN agencies.
Guided by Professor Michelle Foster and the highly knowledgeable staff at the Centre, we examined the intersection of statelessness with a vast array of global issues, exposing historical context, as well as perplexities and stress points in the modern system of human rights, and solution mechanisms. In addition, the course offers a valuable and impactful opportunity to shift perspective from the legal and academic space into the highly personal realm of human stories - with respect and sensitivity. I highly recommend the Statelessness Intensive Course to anyone wanting an immersive, inspiring, and transformative learning experience." - Ekaterina E, United Stateless founding member
"The issue of statelessness is an aspect of international law I had always been interested in but, due to lack of courses at my previous institutions, I was not able to expand my understanding from a legal and theoretical perspective.
The Statelessness Intensive Course helped broaden my scope by enabling me to hone in on the specific laws and frameworks on statelessness. It provided a comprehensive overview and in-depth analysis on the theoretical framework as well as current issues concerning statelessness in so many different contexts. The valuable input from participants from all sectors helped to equip me with the practical tools necessary in my career mission to galvanize systemic change so that we can create robust solutions to address issues of displacement and statelessness." - Rez Gardi, Co-founder, Centre for Asia Pacific Refugee Studies
"The course was truly an enriching learning and networking experience. It was a really great opportunity for me personally to learn about all aspects of statelessness which was clearly addressed by the experts of this course. Also the various perspectives and views of the participants from different diverse backgrounds has broadened my knowledge not just on the issue of statelessness but also other global issues." – Shalom Semi, Ministry of Prime Minister & Cabinet, Samoa
“We had nice interactions with people from different countries, different professions. It really helped me to broaden my view toward stateless persons and their protection. I so enjoyed meeting everyone and exchanging valuable information and experience. It was a great honor for me to participate in the training and through this course I gained much good experience on statelessness issues, which will be used to prevent and reduce statelessness in our country." Kuanishbay Beknazarov, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Republic of Uzbekistan
“I really enjoyed the course and it was a pleasure to interact with the other participants, lecturers and discussion facilitators! Thank you for preparing such an engaging and educational programme.” Kah-ul Kim, UNHCR South Korea
2020 Course
"I did not expect I would leave with several action points to take forward to my country, after being given such a thorough understanding of concepts and a range of aspects that surround the topic of statelessness. This was the best possible amalgamation of everything to learn on the topic." Elaine Alam, FACES Pakistan, Founder Member/Secretary General
"The Intensive Course places you right in the middle of tumultuous area of law – citizenship, statelessness and human rights. In a short span of 5 days, the course introduces you to key concepts in international law as well as comparative nationality laws from various parts of the world. It gives you an extra pair of eyes to see the problem (and solutions) from socio-legal vantage point. The contributors are professors from the best universities and international organisations – and given the rich experience of every attendee - each one of them is a contributor as well. Highly recommend!" Talha Abdul Rahman, Advocate on Record, Supreme Court of India
"What an outstanding week of learning and meeting people from diverse backgrounds. We may have come from 15 countries, but we share a common cause in our passion for the rights of people who have been left stateless. Although I come from a non-law background, I found the course very well-pitched and informative from a wide range of perspectives. We learnt about many different contexts that were unfamiliar to me – and I was constantly impressed by the calibre of teachers who gave their time to share their knowledge – both external lecturers and our own classmates. I will recommend this course as widely as possible." Cassie Cohen, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
"The course provides a comprehensive overview and in-depth analysis on the theoretical framework and current issues on statelessness. Participants from all sectors bring their hands-on experience to the discussion is highly valuable. Highly recommend for practitioners and scholars in the field." Qifan Wang, UNHCR
"I came into this course having mostly focused and worked with the issue of asylum seekers only. This intensive provided me with an exceptional background and context to statelessness, which has definitely motivated me to look at it more closely, both academically and beyond. As a recent graduate it was not only a pleasure but an honour to be part of a group where participants had come in with incredible professional experiences. This chance of networking and learning, both from panelists and fellow participants has provided me with an important basis for a professional career, which I am about to enter." Voja Gleichgewicht, refugee advocate and Melbourne Law School graduate
2019 Course
The Peter McMullin Centre's inaugural Statelessness Intensive Course took place at the Melbourne Law School from 4-8 February 2019. We were thrilled to have a cohort of 31 participants from 12 different countries, representing various types of organisations, from universities to government departments, to NGOs, legal corporations and human rights organisations.
"Taught by leading experts, the Statelessness Intensive Course offers a unique opportunity to situate current debates on citizenship, identity and inclusion on a solid foundation of international human rights law and social science. The interdisciplinary nature of the course and diversity of participants provides for rich and engaging discussions over the five days." - Dr Helen Brunt, International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
"The course offers a fantastic blend of theory and practice. An array of knowledgeable experts combined passion for the subject with clarity and commitment to effective delivery. Participants are drawn from academia, government, affected communities, international and national agencies and professionals, making it an infinitely enriching networking experience." - Jelvas Musau, Senior Regional Protection Officer (Statelessness), UNHCR Regional Office for South East Asia