A unique conference is taking place at the University of Liverpool this Friday (16th May) which brings together campaigners, academics, key public figures and journalists all focusing on state, institutional and corporate violence.
One of the themes centres around the policing of the Barton Moss anti-fracking protests, under the title of Corporate Violence. Speakers in this strand include Salford Star photographer and co-founder, Steven Speed, whose photos came to define the protest, and Will Jackson from Liverpool John Moores University, who has researched extensively on the function of the police at Barton Moss.
"The reason Steve and I have been invited to speak is clearly a result of the police violence at Barton Moss but there are, of course, broader issues about state and corporate violence that are relevant to the experience of protectors at Barton Moss and in relation to fracking more generally" says Will.
"There are panels on Corporate Violence, The Violence of Austerity, The Violence of Detention and the Violence of Security all of which I think relate to the issues raised at Barton Moss" he adds "The organiser's aim is to bring people together and to have academics contribute but not dominate a discussion, nor speak only to those within the university; the contribution of activists, campaigners and journalists is central to making the academic work relevant and useful."
There are high profile campaigners and experts from all over the country attending and speaking including justice campaigner, Carol Duggan, Shiela Coleman from the Hillsborough Justice Campaign, Ewa Jasiewicz from Fuel Poverty Action, Becca Fisher from Corporate Watch, Deborah Coles from Inquest, Amandla Thomas-Johnson from Cage and Salford's Hilda Palmer from Families Against Corporate Killing.
"The goal at the conference is to allow a discussion to develop in which we try to consider systemic and institutionalized violence and think through connections between seemingly disparate issues" explains Will Jackson "So to have Carol Duggan and Sheila Coleman speaking about their campaigns against police violence alongside a discussion of GMP response to the camp at Barton Moss will I think be very interesting."
How Violent Is Britain?
Friday 16th May 9:30am-5:30pm
University of Liverpool
Eleanor Rathbone Lecture Theatre
£20 waged; £5 unwaged
For further details on all the speakers and subjects, and for details of how to register see the conference website – click here or click on the conference advert at the top of our website page.
To get an idea of Will Jackson's talk read his article on the Barton Moss policing – click here
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