1. INTRODUCTION
The European Network on Statelessness (ENS) is a registered Charity in the UK (Registered Charity
Number 1158414).
ENS is a civil society alliance of over 170 organisations and individual experts in 41 countries and is
committed to ending statelessness and ensuring that everyone living in Europe without a nationality
can access the rights they are entitled to under international law.
ENS’ London-based Secretariat coordinates the activities of a range members from large
international NGOs to grassroots and community organisations, legal advice agencies, ‘thinktanks’,
stateless activists, and prominent international law experts.
Who are Community Speakers?
ENS works with a range of people affected by statelessness including both stateless changemakers
and representatives of communities affected by statelessness (e.g. Roma community advocates).
This is a diverse group where individuals prefer different by-lines to describe their experience or
expertise. In the following document we use the term ‘community speaker’ as a catch-all term to
describe both stateless changemakers and community representatives.
This External Speaker Policy is intended to set basic standards and expectations for external
organisations working with ENS who request recommendations for speakers with experience of
statelessness or representing communities affected by statelessness. These standards and
expectations have been co-designed with stateless community representatives, based on their
recommendations and outlined needs.
2. AIM
ENS wants to increase the presence of stateless community members in advocacy spaces and spaces
of influence and does not want to act as a gatekeeper keeping communities away from influential
spaces.
At the same time, where possible, we want to encourage other organisations to be guided by best
practice when working with community speakers, including to ensure a trauma-sensitive, respectful
approach including not requiring people to ‘tell their stories’. When connecting new organisations
with community speakers, ENS also wants to avoid our contacts feeling pressured to ‘tell their
stories’ because ENS connected them.
3. PROCESS
ENS liaison with community speaker
Prior to sending the speaker’s details to an external contact, ENS will check with the speaker if they
are interested in the event and consent to their contact details being shared.
If so, ENS will:
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pass on their details after the above policy is outlined to the external organisation
offer support to the speaker in preparing for the event (e.g., editing, speech practice etc.)
check-in with them after the event