SOLIDARITY We created space for honest and reflective conversations about the challenges, lessons learned, and good practices of building solidarity in the statelessness field that shape our pursuit of knowledge and determine our change priorities. With stakeholders holding and exercising unequal levels of power, building multi-stakeholder solidarity that challenges existing power structures and aims to transfer power to persons with lived experience of statelessness, requires clarity of the context-specific roles of different stakeholders. As part of this process, participants were requested to think about what solidarity means to them, why building solidarity is important, and what can be done better to strengthen solidarity in the statelessness field. Here are some key learnings from the conversations and reflections surrounding ‘solidarity’: The lived and learned experience dichotomy should be contextualised, understood and constantly revisited. Currently, the statelessness field is not led by persons with lived experience of statelessness, but concerted efforts are being made to centre stateless people in the field. This requires building trust and solidarity and acknowledging positionality and privilege on the part of all actors. It also requires us to find ways to ensure we are not boxed in and limited by the identifiers ‘lived’ or ‘learned’ experience, but that we recognise the legitimacy and importance of our roles, as well as the multi-faceted and fluid natures of our identities and perspectives. Importantly, the field needs to create and foster safe and brave spaces for open dialogue, for questions to be asked and answered, for trust to be built and for reciprocal vulnerability. LEND ME SOME STRENGTH FRIENDS LEND ME SOME FALSE HOPE From the poem “Every day on the calendar is Nellie” by Abdul Kalam Azad “ The real change I have observed since I’ve been working on statelessness since 2010, but particularly in this conference, is the voice of people with lived experience being amplified, the opportunity provided and equal dignity and respect given. In the past there was willingness but there was no platform. So I think coming here and then seeing that voice being given, and people of lived experience being considered as equal partners, I think this is a big change and is going to change more.” Parsu Sharma-Luital Solidarity can be an immense source of strength and courage, amounting to an act of collective self-care that helps to reinvigorate the belief that change can be achieved. Solidarity in the form of empathy in action also creates a sense of community among people who constantly face othering and the denial of their belonging and place in the world. In that sense, without true solidarity, we won’t achieve sustainable change. “ The world is busy dividing people. We don’t do that here, we are all the same. I don’t feel alone in this statelessness movement… we are all together and that is strength.” Conference participant Solidarity is an act of resistance against the systemic violence that creates and perpetuates statelessness, and is essential if we are to achieve meaningful change. By coming together and showing we care for each other and will stand by each other, we send a powerful message to actors who ‘win’ by isolating us. “ I’m here today, not just as a former stateless person, but also as a symbol of resistance of human rights and hope and solidarity for all stateless individuals who are still fighting for their rights. My message is quite simple, freedom is to be fought for, we must not ask for their sympathy and mercy. I believe one must rise and resist. We have an obligation to help our fellow human beings in their struggle, and let us work together to ensure that no human should fall into statelessness. Together we must fight.” Wong Kueng Hui