CALL FOR PAPERS - Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality and Anti-discrimination Law (BCCE) 9th Annual Conference 2022

BEKELEY CENTER ON COMPARATIVE EQUALITY

& ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAW

9th ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2022

Hosted by the University of Hong Kong, Faculty of Law, the Centre for Comparative 

and Public Law, the Human Rights Hub, and the Equality Rights Project 

22-24 June 2022

 

CALL FOR PAPERS 

Comparative Equality Law in a Post-Pandemic World 

The ninth annual conference of the Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law (BCCE) will be held at the Faculty of Law at The University of Hong Kong from 22-24 June 2022. Previous conferences were hosted in Paris (Sciences-Po 2012), California (Berkeley Law 2013), Brussels (Université Libre de Bruxelles 2014), Shanghai (Jiao Tong University 2016), Dublin (Trinity College 2017), Melbourne (Melbourne Law School 2018), Stockholm (University of Stockholm 2019), and Cape Town (University of Cape Town 2021). 

We plan to hold the conference on site in Hong Kong with options for online participation for those unable to join us in person. However, if a face-to-face event turns out to be impossible because of ongoing travel restrictions or other unforeseen circumstances, we will organize an entirely virtual conference instead. 

The conference will expand on many of the themes explored at the BCCE’s previous events and within its various working groups. It will focus on what Covid-19 has revealed about the causes and nature of inequalities which exist within and across countries and regions. Calls to tackle deep-seated structural and intersectional discrimination have increased in recent years, but so has the strong backlash against these campaigns. Indeed, in some places we see attempts to dismantle hard-won, progressive legal and policy change. In others, ongoing efforts to achieve much needed reform have been stalled or defeated. 

With these realities in mind, the conference will consider possibilities for crafting effective short-term and long-term responses as we move forward in a vastly unequal post-pandemic world. These may include: reforms to - or the better implementation of – equality and antidiscrimination law; improved enforcement mechanisms; re-energised social movements; fully representative governance; ensuring equality in economic recovery efforts; tackling inequalities in health care, education, employment, and other sectors; and identifying new, creative solutions in the digital space, the arts, and the media. 

These challenges and more will shape the discussions and plenary sessions at the 2022 conference. As always, the comparative insights and ideas presented by scholars from around the world will enrich the conference experience. We hope to further expand the BCCE’s network and particularly encourage emerging scholars - from within the Asian region and elsewhere - to join us. 

Paper proposals may address the broader themes described above or any area of equality and anti-discrimination law. Specific conference sub-themes reflect the focus of BCCE’s working groups: 

• Covid-19 

• Digital Equality

• Disability Rights

• Immigrant Justice and Climate Refugees

• Pay Equity and Living Wage 

• Sexual Harassment and Violence 

• Global Systemic Racism 

• LGBTQI 

Cross-cutting themes include: structural discrimination; equality and governance; equality and economic recovery; equality and socio-economic rights (healthcare, education, employment, etc.); enforcement and institutional responses; the impact on communities such as older persons, children, indigenous peoples, and non-citizens; the role of the arts and media in promoting equality; and civil society participation and social movements.

We are now inviting submissions for workshop presentations on topics related to these themes, and aspects of equality law more generally. Please submit a completed abstract of up to 500 words to bccehk@hku.hk on or before 1 December 2021. Please include a brief biography (suitable for publication on the conference website) and clearly indicate your objectives and methodology in your abstract. The abstracts will be reviewed by the conference committee and invitations to present will be sent out by early February 2022. Full papers will be due on 15 May 2022. Note that initial abstracts must be submitted in English, but we may be able to make some accommodation if you wish to present in another language at the conference. Please indicate this in your submission.