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ADOPT A REVOLUTION, AFRIQUE EUROPE INTERACT, NO BORDER CAMP, MEDICO INTERNATIONAL, SANS PAPIERS, TRANSBALKAN SOLIDARITY GROUP, HUNGARIAN HELSINKI COMMITTEE, BORDER VIOLENCE MONITORING NETWORK, CITY PLAZA ATHENS, SOS BALKANROUTE, MAIZ, SEEBRÜCKE WIEN, AFRO RAINBOW AUSTRIA, CROSS BORDER SOLIDARITY, MIGRANTE AUSTRIA

The failures of state institutions to provide assistance, the obstruction of sea rescue in the Mediterranean, extremely violent border protection, illegal push backs and increasingly deteriorating conditions in the camps along the Balkan route make 2020 as another horrific year for people on the move. Extended Frontex missions and ongoing imperial warfare represent a point zero in this deadly game that is intended to secure Fortress Europe and the privileges of its citizens.

Refugees and migrants, their support groups, and no border activists are resisting the European border regime. They fight against power – but the power strikes back: These groups are criminalized and threatened by a complex system of border surveillance and violence. The global COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the already difficult situation. Under these pressing circumstances, local and international solidarity, accountability and intervention are all the more urgent. The conference opens with closed workshop sessions for the participating groups to exchange and discuss these challenges, and to debate actions of solidarity and mutual empowerment.

The workshop will be followed by a public panel discussion where representatives of IOM, UNHCR and the European Commission will be confronted with the critiques of activists and asked to propose answers and suggestions for urgent action.

This event is supported by transform! europe. transform! europe is partially financed through a subsidy from the European Parliament.