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Main Conference programme

DAY 1

Wednesday

7 June 2023

Conference Programme
#VSEAC2023 Brochure

DAY 1: Setting the Scene – Why democracy and fundamental freedoms matter for victim’s rights?


09:00 – 10:00 Welcome Coffee & Registration


10:00 – 10:35 Opening Addresses

Chair: Rosa Jansen (President, Victim Support Europe)

  • Welcoming remarks
    • Rosa Jansen | President, Victim Support Europe
  • Live testimony
    • Astrid Passin | Spokeswoman for the survivors and victims of the attack on Breitscheidplatz on 19 December 2016
  • Opening speech
    • Richard Sonnenschein | Director of Directorate responsible for criminal and civil justice in DG Justice, European Commission
    • Katarzyna Janicka-Pawlowska | Coordinator for Victims’ Rights, European Commission

10:35 – 10:45 Icebreaker Session


10:45 – 11:40 Plenary session: Crime victimisation and public support for democracy

Chair: Bianca Biwer (Federal Executive Director, WEISSER RING e. V.)

  • Make Empathy Great Again. A plead to beat populism with its own weapons.
    • Tom De Bruyne | Founder, Behavioural Design Academy
  • The fourth pillar of democracy: How journalism can give victims a voice and how disinformation risks silencing them
    • Lauren Walker | General Reporter, The Brussels Times
  • Safeguarding freedom of religion in Europe
    • Elie Kagan | Head of Crisis Management, Security and Crisis Centre by European Jewish Congress (ECJ)

11:40 – 12:10 Coffee Break


12:10 – 13:15 Panel discussion: Fundamental freedoms and the future of Europe’s victim support

Moderator: Petra Klein (Vice-President, Victim Support Europe)

  • The role of religious organisations in victims’ recovery and their role in prevention/protection
    • Ahmad Mansour | CEO, MIND Prevention
  • The role of youth in victim support
    • Lena Weilbacher | Youth coordinator Lower Saxony, WEISSER RING e. V.
  • Gender, culture, and terrorism: Why women are victimised and silenced
    • Fatima Ali Haider | Founder & Chairperson, The Grief Directory
  • Helping politicians, media professionals and journalists who have been the victims of reprisal
    • Katharina Wall | Programme Manager Engagement, Körber Foundation

13:15 – 13:30 IMMERSONAL Icebreaker Session


13:30 – 15:00 Lunch


15:00 – 17:00 Workshops

      • More information about workshops can be found here.

17:00 – 17:15 Master of Ceremony’s summary


Doors open at 19:30 Social event with flying buffet at The Museum für Naturkunde

      • More information about social events can be found here.

DAY 2

Thursday

8 June 2023

DAY 2: Nexus between fundamental rights protection, conflict prevention, and police work


09:00 – 10:00 Welcome Coffee & Registration


10:00 – 10:15 Opening Addresses

Chair: Rosa Jansen (President, Victim Support Europe)

  • Welcoming remarks
    • Rosa Jansen | President, Victim Support Europe
  • Opening speeches
    • Yong Woo Lee | President & Founder, Victim Support Asia
    • Hak Seok Kim | Vice President, Victim Support Asia

10:15 – 11:15 Plenary session: How victim-oriented is policing?

Chair: Levent Altan (Executive Director, Victim Support Europe)

  • Policing, ethics and fundamental rights
    • Ben Bradford | Professor of Global City Policing at the Department of Security and Crime Science, University College London
  • Community Trust building
    • John Letteney | President of Executive Board, International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
  • Innovative Approaches to Planning and Preparing for Supporting Crime Victims
    • Staci Beers | Victim Services Coordinator, FBI Victim Services Division

11:15 – 11:30 Icebreaker Session


11:30 – 12:00 Coffee Break


12:00 – 13:15 Panel discussion: Putting victims at the heart of policing

Moderator: Rosa Jansen (President, Victim Support Europe)

  • Police training on diversity and protecting the vulnerable within the police and those who encounter the police
    • Elena Sánchez | Executive Board Co-chair, LGTBIpol
  • Equality, Inclusion and Respect in the Workplace
    • Jochen Kopelke | Senior Police Officer & Federal Chairman of the Police Union Germany
  • Community Trust building
    • John Letteney | President of Executive Board, International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
  • Putting victims at the heart of policing: OSCAD’s experience
    • Francesca Romana Capaldo | Lieutenant Colonel, Italian National Police & Director of Secretariat, Observatory for Security Against Acts of Discrimination (OSCAD)

13:15 – 13:30 Icebreaker Session


13:30 – 15:00 Lunch


15:00 – 17:00 Workshops

      • More information about workshops can be found here.

17:00 – 17:15 Master of Ceremony’s summary


19:00 – 00:00  Social event: seated dinner at Wintergarten Variete

      • More information about social events can be found here.

DAY 3

Friday

9 June 2023

DAY 3: Supporting victims from conflict-affected areas


09:00 – 10:00 Welcome Coffee & Registration


10:00 – 10:15 Opening Addresses

  • Welcoming remarks
    • Levent Altan | Executive Director, Victim Support Europe
    • Hilde Vandevoorde | National Member for Belgium and Chair of the Counter-Terrorism Team, Eurojust

10:15 – 10:30 Icebreaker Session


10:30 – 11:30 Panel session: Supporting victims from conflict-affected areas (victim support perspective)

Moderator: Andrea Walraven-Thissen (Critical Incident Manager)

  • Supporting victims of hate crime from conflict-affected areas
    • Anna-Lena von Hodenberg | Founding Manager, NGO HateAid
  • Practical support to LGBTQ+ Ukrainians and Russians seeking asylum abroad
    • Svetlana Shaytanova | Quarteera e.V.
  • Sharing knowledge – Shared Trauma: scaling knowledge from Israel to Ukraine
    • Hila Shvoron | Deputy CEO, NATAL
  • Representing victims of international border crimes
    • Patrick Kroker | Senior Legal Advisor, European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights e.V.

11:30 – 12:00 Coffee Break


12:00 – 13:00 Panel discussion: Supporting victims from conflict-affected areas (policy perspective)

Moderator: Levent Altan

  • Migrants as victims of trafficking in human beings: the need to step up protection
    • Tetiana Rudenko | Senior Coordination Adviser, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
  • Eurojust’s work in supporting victims of trafficking in human beings 
    • Hilde Vandevoorde | National Member for Belgium and Chair of the Counter-Terrorism Team, Eurojust
  • Strategic coordination of psychosocial support in conflict-affected areas
    • Ea Suzanne Akasha | Technical Advisor, Psychosocial Centre of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

13:00 – 13:15 Closing of conference

  • Rosa Jansen | President, Victim Support Europe

13:15 Lunch Box