Date: 4 & 5 June 2013
Location: University of Limerick, KBG13, Kemmy Business School
Booking: Please RSVP by Friday 24 May 2013 to Karol Balfe at kbalfe@christian-aid.org or telephone 017758094. The venue is fully accessible.
The recent surge in large scale land acquisitions by foreign companies, governments and private individuals has made land an issue that requires urgent political attention. This two-day seminar will focus on the impacts of large scale land acquisitions on local communities. It will identify the political and economic structures and agencies involved in land acquisition and examine how affected communities have engaged with or challenged them. It will explore the aims and effects of protests against land grabbing and facilitate networking and dialogue around strategies of resistance, protection and advocacy. Among other issues, the seminar will include perspectives on environmental sustainability, human rights, conflict and violence, gender, strategies for resistance, the reaction of governments, the role of foreign direct investment, the illicit economy and international mechanisms for resisting land acquisition.