Events
Training, Conference, Workshop Organized
2024
Advisory opinion on the scope of the state obligations for responding to the climate emergency (23 - 25 April 2024)
On January 9, 2023, Chile and Colombia submitted a joint advisory opinion request before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) with the aim to clarify the scope of the state obligations for responding to the climate emergency under the frame of international human rights law. Prof. Fornalé together with a group of leading scholars (Prof. Bilkova V., Prof. Burgorgue-Larsen L., Dr. Cristani F., Prof. De Vido S., Prof. Doebbler C., and Dr. Hertogen A.) submitted an Amicus Curiae.
Our Amicus focus on the Human Rights-Climate Change Nexus to address the exposure of climate migrants to human rights violations. Then, the analysis includes a focus on general principles of international: Humanity; International Cooperation and Common Concern/Community Interests; Good Neighbourliness; In dubio pro natura; and In dubio pro futuribus generationibus.
The text is available here
On 23-25 April, he attended the IACHR public hearings held in Barbados. The hearings were a historic opportunity for the Court and the world to hear directly from NGOs, international organisations and civil society on the impacts and risks posed by climate change.
2024
Regional Consultation on the elaboration of CEDAW General Recommendation No. 40 on the equal and inclusive representation of women in decision-making systems for Eastern European States and Western European and other States (25 - 26 March 2024)
Prof. Fornalé has been invited to take part to the Regional Consultation on the elaboration of CEDAW General Recommendation No. 40 on the equal and inclusive representation of women in decision-making systems for Eastern European States and Western European and other States.
Prof. Fornalé gave a presentation on ‘Unlocking the Transformative Potential of the Gender-Economics Nexus to Enhance Women’s Participation’.
The meeting took place in Istanbul, Turkey (25-26 March). The meeting has been organized with the support of the Office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), UN Women, and the CEDAW Committee to provide an interactive forum for Civil Society Organizations, UN agencies and other experts to inform the draft text of GR 40 and ensure it is responsive to the priorities and needs of different regions in relation to overcoming challenges and paving the way for and sustaining women’s equal and inclusive representation in decision-making systems.
2024
Promoting Equal and Inclusive Representation of Women in Decision-Making Systems: A Holistic Approach to Economic Empowerment (26 February 2024)
26 February 2024, with GQUAL and the Institute of International Relations of Prague, the WTI held a conference on “Promoting Equal and Inclusive Representation of Women in Decision-Making Systems A Holistic Approach to Economic Empowerment”.
With a strong focus on gender equality and women’s empowerment, participants came from a wide range of backgrounds such as CEDAW, international organisations, the private sector, research, legal and policy fields. During the conference, participants had the chance to gain deeper insight into the CEDAW’s Draft General Recommendation on Equal and Inclusive Representation of Women in Decision Making Systems.
2023
Expert consultation: Perspectives on CEDAW´s future General Recomendation No 40 (25 - 26 September 2023)
The week from 25 to 29 September, the GQUAL Campaign hosted a thematic expert consultation at the American University Washington College of Law in Washington D.C. to inform the drafting process of the UN CEDAW Committee’s future General Recommendation 40 on women’s equal and inclusive participation in decision-making systems, together with Academy of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law and American University Washington College of Law, and in collaboration with the CEDAW Committee. SNSF Professor Dr. Elisa Fornalé participated in the expert consultation that brought together more than 40 global leaders from critical fields - including international and human rights law, peace and security, humanitarianism, foreign policy and diplomacy, international trade and arbitration, among others - to discuss key issues, norms and practices. aspects of women's right to equal and inclusive participation in international representation and decision-making.
2023
5th Swiss Symposium on Refugee and Migrant Health - Climate Change and Migration (15 September 2023)
WTI's CLIMCO2 team presented at the 5th Swiss Symposium on Refugee and Migrant Health which took place on 15 September at the Inselspital, University Hospital Bern. The title of the intervention was "Recognition and Protection of Environmental Migrants: New Legal Challenges".
The focus of this year's symposium was a discussion with experts on the complex relationship between climate change and migration. The negative impacts of climate change on health, human rights protection and migration flows were discussed.
Programme
2023
The Promise of Women’s Equal Representation and Participation in International Decision-Making ( 12 July 2023)
SNSF Professor Dr. Elisa Fornalé co-organised with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (TBC) and GQUAL Campaign the SIDE EVENT – 53rd Session of the Human Rights Council entitled "The Promise of Women’s Equal Representation and Participation in International Decision-Making" that took place on 12 July 2023 at Room XXIV, Palais des Nations, Geneva.
Programme
2023
Neuchâtel Graduate Conference 2023 (11 - 12 July 2023)
Migration and Im/Mobility in Times of Entangled Crises
The Neuchâtel Graduate Conference (NGC) is an international graduate conference organized by the nccr – on the move, Swiss National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) for migration and mobility studies. It provides a stimulating environment in which PhD and Postdoctoral fellows from different universities and research institutions can exchange ideas, establish networks, and initiate collaborative research.
The 6th edition takes place from 11 to 12 July 2023 in Neuchâtel, providing opportunities to meet other researchers in formal and informal gatherings. The topic is ‘Migration and Im/Mobility in Times of Entangled Crises.’
SNSF Professor Dr. Elisa Fornalé will participate as a mentor in the panel "Migration and Mobility in Times of
Climate Crisis"
Programme
2023
AspirE examines the decision-making of aspiring (re)migrants in 11 countries across Asia and Europe (9 - 10 July 2023)
A humanising research framework is at the core of this collaborative project
SNSF Professor Dr. Elisa Fornalé participated as a member of the EXTERNAL EXPERT ADVISORY BOARD (EEAB) MEMBER of the HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-04 research project Decision making of
aspiring (re)migrants to and within the EU: the case of labour market-leading migrations from Asia.
2023
Meeting of Mediterranean territories for climate action (22 - 23 June 2023)
To support the process of combating climate change, integrated strategies have been put in place at the basin level. The Mediterranean area has a wealth of actors active in the fight against climate change and likely to support the implementation of the NDCs but also to increase the ambition of climate action. The SNSF Professor Dr. Elisa Fornalé was invited to participate, as a Swiss representative, by the Swiss Embassy at the Meeting of Mediterranean territories for climate action, third edition of MEDCOP, which took place over two days, on 23 and 22 June 2023, in the city of Tangier. With the participation of more than 500 key players of climate change subject: The structure of the MEDCOP was articulated around thematic hubs, B2B spaces, trainings, and exhibition spaces with additional events related to a competition to select best climate pilot projects that could be supported.
Programme
Concept note
2023
Bern conference on sea level rise (9 June 2023)
On 9 June 2023, the University of Bern World Trade Institute (WTI) co-organised, together with Fridtjof Nansens Intitutt (FNI), an international conference on sea level rise. The conference, as well as the meeting of the Committee on International Law and Sea Level Rise held in conjunction with it on 10 June, were chaired by FNI Research Professor Davor Vidas and SNSF Professor Dr. Elisa Fornalé (WTI). Held in Bern, Switzerland, this was yet another in a row of international conferences on sea level rise that the FNI set up together with universities and other institutions in several countries.
2023
Dalla non discriminazione alle pari opportunità (8 March 2023)
Un itinerario di confronto, di ricerca e di sperimentazione di buone prassi a UNISA
SNSF Professor Dr. Elisa Fornalé, spoke at the international study conference on the occasion of International Women's Day on 8 March 2023, held in the "Aula Magna Vincenzo Buonocore", edificio A2 campus di Fisciano, Università degli Studi di Salerno.
2023
Riconoscimento e protezione dei migranti ambientali: una sfida per l’Europa (3 March 2023)
SNSF Professor Dr. Elisa Fornalé, spoke at the III lecture in the series "Migrazioni forzate e cambiamenti climatici" organised by "Gruppo Volontari per i Rifugiati della MCLI di Berna" and titled: "Riconoscimento e protezione dei migranti ambientali: una sfida per l’Europa", held on Friday 3 March 2023 at 19.30 at the "Sala Teatro della Missione cattolica di lingua italiana", Bovetstrasse 1, 3007 Bern.
2023
Equal and inclusive representation of women in decision-making systems (23 February 2023)
Professor Elisa Fornalé and the GQUAL Campaign, the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, organised the conference entitled ‘Equal and inclusive representation of women in decision-making systems’ which was held on 23 February 2023 at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights (Cassese Room), Villa Moynier, Rue de Lausanne 120B, 1211 Geneva. The conference underscored the importance of the process initiated by the Committee with a wide audience of stakeholders and contributed to the discussion by engaging experts in a dynamic conversation that addressed key issues. The event developed through dynamic conversation in which the panelists answered a question introduced by the moderator and reacted to the other panelists' presentations.
2022
Conference "Migration and Rights at the time of the Anthropocene" (15 - 16 December 2022)
SNSF Professor Dr. Elisa Fornalé, spoke at a conference in Naples (Italy) part of the research project "Anthropocene/Capitalocene and international migration. A critical reading." The event is co-organized by the University of Naples L'Orientale and the World Trade Institute, CLIMCO2 Project.
Download the book
2022
Expert Meeting/Workshop "Cooperative Duties, Human Rights and Climate Change" (8 December 2022)
SNSF Professor Dr. Elisa Fornalé (University of Bern) and Professor De Vido Sara (University Cà Foscari) organized the Expert Meeting/Workshop titled ‘Cooperative Duties, Human Rights and Climate Change’ to be held on 8 December 2022, at the World Trade Institute, University of Bern.
Download the full program
2022
World Trade Congress on Gender: "Gender Equality for Sustainable Trade and Recovery" (5-7 December 2022)
Under the theme “Gender Equality for Sustainable Trade and Recovery”, the World Trade Congress on Gender took place at the WTO from 5 to 7 December to explore how gender equality can foster sustainable trade and how trade can support women in times of crisis. During the conference, SNSF Professor Dr. Elisa Fornalé spoke at the book launch: Women’s Empowerment and its Limits, held on 7 december at the Atrium.
Download the full program
2022
Slow violence, gender, climate agency (5 December 2022)
New global crisis such as the COVID19 pandemic, wars, economic crisis and climate disasters are ‘produced and mediated by existing gender inequalities and discriminatory gender norms across societies’ (EGM, 2021). This presentation explored the gendered dimension of climate change and, more generally, of slow violence. Some attention has been paid to the inclusion of a gender perspective in climate change issues. However, much less attention has been paid to women’s invisibility in the legal and political debate on climate change combined with other situations falling within the definition of slow violence. Slow violence may or may not lead to major disasters but has a disproportionate impact on women and girls. This has been largely overlooked by existing legal debates.
The conference was held at 18:15 in lecture room Raum A022, UniS, University of Bern.
2022
The proposed EU directive on combating gender-based violence: towards greater protection of women in Europe? (event in Italian)(28 November 2022)
On the occasion of the international day against violence against women, WTI's SNSF Professor Dr. Elisa Fornalé spoke at the conference "The proposed EU directive on combating gender-based violence: towards greater protection of women in Europe?". The conference took place from 9.30 to 13.30 at Dipartimento di Economia, Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia(Italy) or online (Zoom).
2022
Confini, Migrazioni e Diritti Umani (22 November 2022)
SNSF Professor Dr. Elisa Fornalé co-organised with the Italian Embassy in Berne the presentation of the book entitled "Confini, Migrazioni e Diritti Umani", curated by Maurizio Ambrosini, Marilisa D’Amico and Emilia Perassi, Milano University Press, Milan 2022.The presentation was held on 22 November 2022 at the lecture hall Silva Casa, World Trade Institute, Bern University, Bern.
2022
Preparing for sea level rise (18 November 2022)
SNSF Professor Dr. Elisa Fornalé spoke at the conference titled "Preparing for sea level rise" which took place from 18 November at the Faculty of Law, University of Lisbon in Lisbon, Portugal.
2022
Citizenship and Migration: Europe's 21st Century Challenges (4-8 July 2022)
In July 2022, SNSF Professor Dr. Elisa Fornalé gave a lecture at the Radboud Summer School "Citizenship and Migration: Europe's 21st Century Challenges". The topic was “Sea Level Rise, Human Mobility and International Law: A Legal Overview of Emerging Protection Gaps”.
The summer scholl course took place from 4 to 8 July 2022 to explore the interconnected fields of citizenship and migration in the European Union with a view to understand relevant policies and laws affecting migrants and citizens.
2022
The 2022 ILA conference was held in Lisbon. Photo by André Lergier on Unsplash
Biennial Conference of the International Law Association (ILA) in Lisbon (19-24 June 2022)
SNSF Prof. Dr. Elisa Fornalé was part of this year’s Biennial Conference of the International Law Association (ILA) in Lisbon, which took place from 19-24 June, as Co-rapporteur of the ILA Committee on International Law and Sea Level Rise. The ILA promotes the study, clarification and development of international law as its main objectives. Its work is organized through international committees and study groups convened to examine topical international legal issues. Among the current 20 international committees, the Committee on International Law and Sea Level Rise brings together 45 prominent legal experts from 23 ILA branches, and is chaired by FNI Research Professor Davor Vidas, of the Norwegian ILA branch. As Co-Rapporteur of the ILA Committee on International Law and Sea Level Rise, Elisa Fornalé presented the interim report of the committee addressing implications of sea level rise for: the law of the sea (Part II), and statehood and the rights of affected populations (Part III) together with Professor Davor Vidas. This year’s report is the third one, following up on the reports presented in 2016 and 2018.
2022
Gli impatti dell'innalzamento del livello del mare, diritto internazionale e mobilità umana: un' introduzione ai lavori del Comitato ILA (10 May 2022)
SNSF Professor Dr. Elisa Fornalé spoke at the conference “Gli impatti dell'innalzamento del livello del mare, diritto internazionale e mobilità umana: un' introduzione ai lavori del Comitato ILA (The Impacts of Sea Level Rise, International Law and Human Mobility: An Introduction to the Work of the ILA Committee)” held on 10 May at Palazzo Giusso, Naples. The meeting was part of a cycle of seminars organised as part of the PRA activities " Antropocene/Capitalocene e migrazioni internazionali. Una lettura critica (Anthropocene/Capitalocene and International Migrations. A critical reading)".
2021 - 2022
In early 2019, the WTI Gender Team established the Know the GAP Lecture Series. For 2022, the title is "Looking for Gender Parity".
These lectures are conceived as an innovative venue to bring accomplished scholars, leaders of international organizations, government, and the private sector, to the University of Bern. Throughout the year we will share the stories of inspirational women and the results of original research to make a concrete contribution to the progressive achievement of United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 – Gender Equality.
Speakers will engage the public on numerous pressing gender issues and topics, including: gender history; gender equality and human rights; politics of gender and race in the Anthropocene; and gender equality and women’s empowerment.
2022
La vulnérabilité dans la jurisprudence des cours européennes et dans l’activité des autorités indépendantes (9 June 2022)
SNSF Professor Dr. Elisa Fornalé spoke at the seminar titled "la vulnérabilité dans la jurisprudence des cours européennes et dans l’activité des autorités indépendantes (vulnerability in the jurisprudence of the European Courts and in the work of independent authorities)" held on 9 June at the International Centre
for Mechanical Sciences, Udine.
2022
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Cambiamenti climatici e pace, migrazioni e inclusione (28 May 2022)
SNSF Professor Dr. Elisa Fornalé spoke at the conference titled "Climate Change and Peace, Migration and Inclusion" held on 28 May at the “Sala del Giudizio” of the City Museum in Rimini, part of the intercultural event “Interactions” that this year is entitled "S-Climate Change", a project entitled “OrientaMenti” in Citizenship from School to Work. The conference also included the presentation of the exhibition of diffuse contemporary art “(IM)PERSISTENZE”, curated by Marica Franchini, teacher of painting disciplines at the artistic high school "A. Serpieri" in Rimini, and her class, the 5th T, scheduled at the City Museum and the Mier Concept Place.
2022
Gender and Climate Change: an update from the Sixty-Sixth Session of the Commission on the Status of Women(29 March 2022)
The occasion of the webinar is the work of the sixty-sixth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66) that took place from 14 to 25 March, 2022. The webinar offered an opportunity to discuss the key messages, challenges and opportunities emerged from CSW66 and the priority theme: 'Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies, and programmes'.
SNSF Professor Dr. Elisa Fornalé focused on the human rights implications of the gender-environmental nexus.
Program
2022
Climate Change Inaction and Children’s Rights (20 January 2022)
Commentaries by Dr. Elisa Fornalé and Tamara Köhler
Dr Elisa Fornalé, a Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) lecturer at the World Trade Institute (WTI) at the University of Bern, and Tamara Köhler, her research assistant for the SNSF project Climate Change and Human Mobility, discussed the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child's ruling on a landmark petition filed by 16 children against Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany and Turkey for failing to prevent and mitigate the consequences of climate change (Nos. 104-108/2019).
2021
Gender, Identity & Politics: Representation, Exclusion and Vulnerability (11 November 2021)
Virtual Workshop hosted by University of Surrey.
SNSF Professor Dr. Elisa Fornalé held the keynote speech on the topic of “Unequal Participation: Clothing the Invisibility of Women at International Level”. In the first part of the workshop, scholars from Finland, Spain and Sweden will shed light on different aspects of Gender and Politics. In the second part of the workshop, scholars and and an attorney will talk about Crossing Borders and Vulnerability.
2021
Disappearing Land and Displaced Persons: Climate Change and International Law(28 October 2021)
Webinar hosted by American Branch of the International Law Association’s International Law Weekend (ILW).
It is no secret that the world (and indeed humanity) is facing the imminent challenge of climate change over the upcoming decades. Due to rising sea levels, States are losing territory and some island-States face the reality of submersion. The loss of land due to climate change is coupled with the consequent displacement of people who live on those lands or are losing their livelihood to climate change. These issues present novel challenges for international law. This panel shall discuss how international law, in particular the law of the sea, confronts these challenges today and in what direction international law needs to develop to face these intensifying challenges in the future.
SNSF Professor Dr. Elisa Fornalé spoke on the displacement of persons caused by rising sea levels and took part in the discussion together with Cecilia Jimenez-Damary, Nicola Swan and Donald Rothwell.
2021
Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise (1 October 2021)
Legal Consequences from the Law of the Sea, Statehood and Affected Persons Perspectives
The occasion of the webinar is the work of the International Law Commission (ILC) on the issue of sea level rise within the broader context of the climate change discourse. As climate change is one of the main causes of sea level rise, the webinar aims at providing an in-depth overview of the work that the ILC is conducting on this important topic.
SNSF Professor Dr. Elisa Fornalé spoke on forced migration and rights of the affected population.
2021
Trade and Gender Summer Course (5-9 July 2021)
This course explores the potential of the trade-gender nexus in accelerating the path to gender equality and to influence gendered structures that embrace the distributions of economic resources. Over the last years, gender equality and women empowerment has been grappled with domestic and international trade in different frameworks. Extremely influential in this regard, came the Buenos Aires Declaration on Trade and Women’s Economic Empowerment, which was adopted in 2017. This Declaration, for the first time, expressly linked equal participation of women and men in trade policy to the notions of inclusive economic growth and sustainable development.
2021
Citizenship and Migration: Europe's 21st Century Challenges
In August 2021, Prof. Fornalé will teach at the Radboud Summer School "Citizenship and Migration: Europe's 21st Century Challenges" The course will take place from 2 to 6 August 2021. In this course we will explore the interconnected fields of citizenship and migration in the European Union with a view to understand relevant policies and laws affecting migrants and citizens.
2020 - 2021
WTI Know the GAP: Gender Lecture Series
Reflecting on Equal Participation, Representation and Women’s Empowerment.
2021
Training in Migration Studies for professionals, co-organized with Cinformi (Center for Migration), Province of Trento, Friday, 19 – Sunday, 21 November 2021. .
2020
Webinar for educators of the Trentino Region
On Thursday October 29, prof. Fornalé organized a professional webinar for educators of the Trentino Region. Her work, the interactive mapping exercise and the geo-archive, have been translated into resources for educators to bring climate migration into the classroom, including teaching materials for introducing students to this emerging field of study. The webinar featured real stories from her fieldwork in the Small Pacific Islands States. The training is a collaboration between Fornalé’s research team and the ACCRI association within the framework of the project “Insieme per l’Ambiente. Sensibilizziamo le giovani generazioni sulla giustizia climatica” (Together for the Environment. Attract younger generation to engage with climate justice), funded by the Italian Ministry of Labour and Social Policy.
www.accri.it/insieme-per-lambiente/
2019
“Connecting Environmental Changes and Human Mobility as a Way to Draw New Maps of Knowledge”, International Conference, co-organized by Prof. Elisa Fornalé (UBERN), Marco Armiero (KTH), Prof. Denis Lalanne, Human-IST Institute, University of Fribourg, and Prof. Elspeth Guild, Queen Mary University. It took place on 3–6 March 2019, at the Congress Centre Monte Verità, Ascona (Switzerland) (7900 CHF Grant).
2019 - 2020
In early 2019, the WTI Gender Team established the Know the GAP Gender Lecture Series . These lectures are conceived as an innovative venue to bring accomplished scholars, leaders of international organizations, government, and the private sector, to the University of Bern. Speakers will engage the public on numerous pressing gender issues and topics, including: gender history; gender equality and human rights; politics of gender and race in the Anthropocene; and gender equality and women’s empowerment.
2019
“Futur en tous genres”, one-day workshop for children, co-organized with the Bureau de la promotion de l'égalité entre femmes et hommes et prévention des violences domestiques, 14 November.
https://www.futurentousgenres.ch
2018
Participation to the first Swiss-UN Day co-organized by the Gesellschaft Schweiz-UNO, the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) and the World Trade Institute (WTI) of the University of Bern that took place in Bern (CH).
www.wti.org
Prof. Elisa Fornalè (UBERN) was part of the Scientific Committee of the event and had the responsibility of the organization of the Panel on “Towards reaching an internationally actionable plan on migration”, which featured the following international speakers.
Interdisciplinary Training in Environmental Humanities "Loss, Damage and Mobility in the context of Climate Change" for young scholars and policy-makers,co-organized with the KTH Environmental Humanities Laboratory Stockholm, University of Naples and the Municipality of Naples.
2017
United Nations side event “Labour Mobility and Skills Recognition: insights from ASEAN and ECOWAS”, co-organized with the sponsorship of the Mission of the Philippines, United Nations, Geneva.
International workshop “A change of environment for common concern and human mobility”, organized at the World Trade Institute within the framework of the CLI_M_CO2 project.