6:00pm – 7:30pm | Room 7-119 | In-Person Program Open to Registered Guests
Leitner Center for International Law and Justice
Fordham Law School
150 West 62nd Street
New York, NY 10023
In the absence of political leadership civic society and individuals have turned to the courts in Northern Ireland. In this talk, Emma DeSouza will speak to the intersection of strategic litigation and social movements as a tool for advancing progressive change, the impact of Brexit, and the continued efforts to create a rights-based future in Ireland.
Speaker Bio: Emma DeSouza is a journalist, award-winning campaigner, and peace activist who changed UK law in a landmark human rights case relating to the Good Friday Agreement. She is the founder and co-facilitator of deliberative democracy platform The Civic Initiative, Director of the Northern Ireland Emerging Leaders Program at the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, and a transatlantic adviser on peace processes and civic innovation. Emma is the former women’s leadership coordinator at the National Women’s Council of Ireland and led in the creation of the first All-island Women’s Forum, serving as Chair and Facilitator (2021-23). As a journalist, she writes for several publications including the Guardian, Irish Times, Irish News, Euronews and Byline Times. In 2023, she hosted a limited podcast series on the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement titled ‘Lost in Implementation’.