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Hosted at the prestigious Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, The Young Lawyers Symposium offers an unparalleled experience, providing access to some of the most influential minds in law. Thought-provoking sessions, networking opportunities, and an unforgettable environment that inspires and elevates your legal career.

Please note that lunch will not be provided during the event, and attendees are kindly advised to make their own arrangements in advance.*

AGENDA

09:20 - 09:45 AM REGISTRATION

09:45 - 10:15 AM

Opening Session: Inspiring the Next Gen

Why Its Important to Empower Girls Human Rights Defenders

Join us for an inspiring and empowering event, “Inspiring the Next Gen: Why It’s Important to Empower Girls’ Human Rights Defenders.” Our speakers will share powerful insights into the challenges girls face as human rights defenders and the essential role they play in shaping a better, more equitable future.

Sultana Tafadar KC
Executive Director, Girls Human Rights Hub

Safiyah Tafadar Mian
Co-founder, Girls Human Rights Hub

10:15 - 11:45 AM

PLENARY SESSION 1: Human Rights in Practice

What Does Girl Human Rights Work Entail and What Impact Does it Have?

Join us for this compelling session featuring a panel of experts in the field of human rights advocacy. These distinguished speakers will share their insights, experiences, and the profound impact of their work on advancing girls human rights worldwide. This session is perfect for anyone passionate about creating meaningful change.

Ilvana Dedja
Director of Operations, Girls Human Rights Hub (Moderator)

Yasmine Ahmed
UK Director of Human Rights Watch

Professor Aoife Nolan
Professor of International Human Rights Law and Director of the University of Nottingham Human Rights Law Centre

Ann Olivarius
International feminist attorney and Chair of the Executive Committee of the law firm McAllister Olivarius

Speaker
TBC

Professor Dorinha
Senator for Tocantins, The Brazilian Federal Senate

Judge Renata Gil
Judge and Women’s Rights Advocate

Alessandra Figueiredo
Counsel at WFaria Advogados

11:45 - 12:00 AM BREAK - Connect with fellow attendees and speakers.

12:00 PM - 12:30 PM

KEYNOTE SPEECH

Soraya Alencar dos Santos
Brazilian politician and a lawyer

12:30 PM- 13:15 PM

PLENARY SESSION 2: Driving Change

The Impact and Vision of the Girls’ Human Rights Hub

The Girls Human Rights Hub is a community focused on advancing girls' rights through engagement and advocacy. Our network includes university ambassadors and school minibus promoting awareness and action on vital issues affecting girls. Our young experts lead campaigns addressing global challenges faced by girls, using strategies to promote their rights and foster sustainable change. Joining GHRH equips you with knowledge and skills while empowering the next generation of advocates. Together, we can amplify voices and work towards a just and equitable society for all girls. Engage with us to shape a better future for girls worldwide.

Shazia Aboobaker Siddik 
UK Mini Hubs Coordinator, Girls Human Rights Hub

Safiyah Tafadar Mian
Queen’s College London Mini Hub

Speaker
Cambridge University Girls’ Human Rights Hub

Ella Lawrence
#MakeFebruaryGirlsHumanRightsMonth Campaign Director, Girls Human Rights Hub

Roksanna Keyvann
Researcher, Girls Human Rights Hub

Zoe Yates
Coordinator, Girls Human Rights Academy

13:15 - 14:00 PM

NETWORKING - Connect with new acquaintances and discuss the morning's sessions!

14:00 - 15:30 PM

PLENARY SESSION 2: Essential Skills and Pathways

How Legal Practice and Advocacy Collaborate to Advance

Girls’ Human Rights and Drive Systemic Change

In this session, we will discuss the essential skills needed for success in human rights law, including legal expertise, advocacy, and strategic thinking. Our speakers will share insights on the various pathways to becoming a human rights lawyer, offering advice on the education, experience, and commitment required to make a meaningful impact in the field of human rights.

Gabriela Lusquinos
Public Prosecutor, Rio de Janeiro State Public Prosecutor's Office

Judge Juliana Martins
Judge, Court of Justice of Sergipe

Philippa Webb
Professor of Public International Law at the Blavatnik School of Government and co-founder and Director of the Oxford Institute of Technology and Justice.

Judge Vanessa Cavalieri
Judge, Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice

Speaker
TBC

Speaker
TBC

15:30 - 16:00 PM

CLOSING & NETWORKING - Connect with fellow attendees and speakers over light refreshments

MEET OUR SPEAKERS

  • Appointed King’s Counsel in March 2022, Sultana is a highly experienced human rights, international law and criminal justice barrister, advising States, NGOs and individuals. She also advises large multi-national corporations on Diversity & Equality. She is Chair of the Bar Standard Board’s Taskforce on Religious & Belief. Sultana's unique expertise in high profile counter terrorism & national security cases spans across the Criminal Courts, Coronial Courts, Administrative and Family Divisions of the High Court and the Appellate Courts. She is part of the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Roster of Criminal Justice Sector Experts dealing with Counter-Terrorism. She advises on international human rights, international criminal law and humanitarian law issues. She is currently on the Advisory Board, Influencing Corridors of Power (ICOP), School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London; Member of Legal Expert Advisory Panel for Fair Trials International (LEAP); Special Advisor on Human Rights for the Oxford Initiative for Global Ethics and Human Rights; and on the Advisory Council for JUSTICE. Sultana is an award-winning barrister, winning Barrister of the Year 2022 at the Inspirational Women in Law Awards; appearing in the HERoes Top 100 Women Future Leaders, 2021; Winner of the Professions Category, Asian Women of Achievement, 2021; Finalist in BSN Lawyer of the Year (Chambers), UK Legal Diversity Awards; and Finalist, in Outstanding Woman in Professional category sponsored by Baker McKenzie, Precious Awards 2021. She is also the Founder & Director of Modest Fashion Festival which attracted a global audience of 1.56 billion.

  • Safiyah is 13  years old and the Co-Founder of GHRH. Safiyah has always been driven by the desire to become a human rights lawyer. She came up with the idea of creating a Hub where girls could learn more about their rights and how to claim them.  She loves representing and advocating on behalf of her peers. She has represented her year group on the School Council for two years. She has been a Form Captain and was voted vice House Captain this year. She is a Digital Ambassador at her school and has recently taken on the role of Inclusivity Ambassador. She loves debating and is a Lamda scholar.

  • A senior corporate lawyer with over 24 years of experience in national and international business environments, specializing in commercial litigation and debt recovery. Currently a Counselor at WFaria Advogados, she provides strategic legal support to multinational giants and maintains a strong institutional presence within the National Congress and the Ministry of Justice.

     

    Beyond her corporate practice, she is a dedicated Board Advisor for international organizations such as The Caring Family Foundation (UK) and Casa Patris (Netherlands). A landmark achievement in her career is her role as co-author of the law that established the International Day of the Girl Child in Brazil, reflecting her profound commitment to gender equity and the legal protection of girls and women.

  • Soraya Santos is a lawyer and third-term Federal Deputy for Rio de Janeiro. A trailblazer in the National Congress, she was the first woman to serve as First Secretary of the Chamber of Deputies and Secretary of International Relations.

     

    Currently, she serves on key committees including Constitution and Justice (CCJC), Education, and Artificial Intelligence. As the former Women’s Rights Ombudsman for the Chamber, she is a leading national voice for gender equality, education, and women's rights legislation.

  • Vanessa Cavalieri is a Judge at the Child and Youth Court of Rio de Janeiro. A specialist in her field, she is a Professor of Child and Adolescent Rights at both EMERJ (Rio de Janeiro State School of the Judiciary) and ENFAM (National School for the Formation and Improvement of Judges).

    She serves as the Coordinator of the Restorative Justice Center (CEJUSC) at the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice (TJRJ) and is a member of the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitors Leadership Program (Protecting Women and Children). She is also the author of the "Eu Te Vejo" (I See You) Protocol, a prominent initiative focused on preventing school violence.

  • Ann is Chair of the Executive Committee of the law firm McAllister Olivarius. She has achieved landmark settlements for survivors of abuse and advised high-profile clients including Margaret Thatcher, Demi Moore, and Nelson Mandela, who described her a “lawyer who has courageously advanced the cause of justice.” Before establishing McAllister Olivarius, Ann worked in the financial sector, advising Bill Gates on attracting investment after Microsoft’s initial public offering in 1986. As a negotiator for Mexico in the drafting of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) she introduced the concept of a feminist foreign policy at the trade negotiations, later adopted by countries across the world.

  • Philippa Webb is Professor of Public International Law, University of Oxford and the Blavatnik School of Government. In October 2025, she is launching the Oxford Institute of Technology and Justice in partnership with the Clooney Foundation for Justice. She is also a barrister at Twenty Essex and has appeared before the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the European Court of Human Rights and the UK Supreme Court. Philippa has held positions in the Presidency of the International Court of Justice, the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court and in United Nations Headquarters. In her human rights practice she has represented an individual who have been allegedly subjected to modern slavery and persons who claim to have been harassed through a State’s use of spyware. Philippa has represented small island States in international climate litigation and she is counsel to States intervening in cases concerning genocide. Her publications include Freedom of Speech in International Law (2024, chapters on insulting speech and false speech, A Clooney & D Neuberger eds), The Right to a Fair Trial in International Law (2021, with A Clooney), Oppenheim’s International Law: United Nations (2017, with Dame Rosalyn Higgins GBE KC, D Akande, S Sivakumaran and J Sloan), and The Law of State Immunity (2015, with Lady Fox KC).

  • Yasmine Ahmed is UK Director of Human Rights Watch. She has two decades of experience as a public international lawyer, and human rights advocate. In her current role, she advocates for the United Kingdom’s foreign and domestic policies to be consistent with human rights. Yasmine is a well-known human rights commentator and regularly appears on the BBC, Sky, Times Radio, Al Jazeera and other broadcasters, and her comments have featured in the Guardian, the Independent, the Times, and the Washington Post.

    Prior to Human Rights Watch, Yasmine was Executive Director of the multi award winning human rights organization, Rights and Security International. She also worked as a public international lawyer for the UK and Australian Governments and the UN at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the Serious Crimes Unit in Timor-Leste. She started her career supporting asylum seekers and refugees in Australia. She is a Chevening Scholar, has an LLM in Public International Law from the University of London, and has taught public international law at the School of Oriental and African Studies and the University of Adelaide, South Australia. She also worked as an Associate to a Judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia and qualified as a solicitor (former solicitor) of England and Wales and a barrister and solicitor in Australia.

  • Aoife Nolan is Professor of International Human Rights Law and Director of the Human Rights Law Centre at the University of Nottingham. Since 2023, she has been President of the Council of Europe's European Committee of Social Rights, Europe’s leading economic and social rights monitoring body, to which she was elected in in 2017, having served as Vice-President from 2021-22. Aoife’s professional experience in human rights and constitutional law straddles the legal, policy, practitioner and academic fields. She has acted as an expert advisor to several governments as well as a wide range of international and national organisations and bodies working on human rights issues, including numerous UN Special Procedures, UN treaty bodies, the Council of Europe, the World Bank multiple NHRIs and NGOs. She has held visiting positions at academic institutions in Europe, Africa, the US and Australia. In addition to her academic role at Nottingham, she is currently a Visiting Professor at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, LSE, and at Ulster University. She is an Academic Expert member at Doughty Street Chambers where she co-leads the Children’s Rights Group and is a member of the Doughty Street International Steering Group. In 2025, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts on the basis of her "world-leading expertise and practice on the rights of children, especially in relation to the socio-economic impacts of poverty and cost of living".

  • Bio to be added soon!

  • Maria Auxiliadora Seabra Rezende, known as Professora Dorinha, is a lifelong educator and specialist in literacy. After a distinguished career as a university professor and serving as the Secretary of Education and Culture of Tocantins for nine years—where she led a statewide educational transformation—she served two terms as President of the National Council of Education Secretaries (CONSED).

     

    Following three terms as a Federal Deputy, where she chaired the Education Commission and led the Women’s Caucus, she was elected to the Federal Senate in 2022 with a record-breaking vote. Currently, she serves as the President of the Regional Development and Tourism Commission and continues her leadership as the Head of the Senate’s Women’s Caucus.

  • With over 22 years of legal experience, Gabriela Lusquiños has dedicated the last 15 years to defending the rights of children, adolescents, and women. She holds advanced legal training from EMERJ, specializing in Civil Liability, Children’s Rights, Juvenile Justice, Mediation, and Restorative Justice.

     

    She created and implemented the "Bem-Me-Quer" Program, a benchmark for humane care and the prevention of revictimization for sexual violence survivors. Currently, she serves in the 7th Children and Youth Prosecutor's Office of the Capital, where she coordinates protection networks and public policies for child advocacy. She is also a member of the DEGASE/MPRJ Task Force, investigating and addressing institutional violence.

  • Juliana Nogueira Galvão Martins has been a member of the Judiciary since 2009. She is currently the Presiding Judge of the 2nd Special Court for Domestic and Family Violence against Women in Aracaju and serves as the Coordinator for Women’s Affairs at TJSE (2025-2027). Throughout her career, she has received official recognition for judicial efficiency and the reduction of case backlogs.

     

    At the national level, she holds leadership positions as the 2nd Secretary of the Executive Commission of COCEVID and 1st Secretary of the National Forum for Protective Justice (FONAJUP) for the 2024-2026 term. Additionally, she is the Vice President of the State Forum for Children and Youth (FOEJI-SE). She is a prominent advocate for gender equity and professional training within the judicial system.