The Call for Contributions for the Side Event programme of VSE’s 2025 Annual Conference is now open. The deadline for submitting your proposal is Thursday, 31 October 2024.
VSE’s 2025 Annual Conference “35 Years of Victim Support in Europe – Transforming Lives Today, Inspiring a Brighter Tomorrow” will take place in Lisbon from 22 – 23 May 2025 and will be co-organised in close cooperation with VSE member APAV (Portuguese Association for Victim Support). It will be a hybrid conference, and we hope to welcome victim support community and affiliated professionals from around the world both on-site, at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, and digitally.
VSE’s 2025 annual conference commemorates 35 years of victim support while addressing both current challenges and the tools needed to advance the field in the near future. The conference will cover a broad spectrum of topics, including the development of support systems, the practical implementation of international cooperation and legislation, and strategies for political advocacy. Discussions will explore the growing role of technology and AI in improving victim services. Youth will also feature prominently, with sessions focusing on their role as both victims and contributors to change. Looking to the future, the event will spotlight innovative approaches and tools required to meet evolving victim support needs and address emerging challenges.
We are inviting inspiring and inspired speakers to contribute to our conference by conducting a side event. This year, we are organising two types of side events:
- Blitz Talks: Short, impactful presentations in the format of an elevator pitch, ideal for sharing innovative ideas, key findings, or new initiatives that address one or more of the themes outlined below. These sessions are designed to be informal and hands-on, allowing participants to share their insights in a flexible, creative manner. While you are welcome to use PowerPoint or other presentation tools, it is not required. The Blitz Talks will be held in a rotation format, where participants move between different tables or booths. While no specific time limit is set for each talk, the entire session will last 30 minutes in total, ensuring multiple ideas can be explored in a short, engaging format. For reference, the Topics for Side Events are listed at the end of this document.
- Workshops or Interactive Sessions: Engaging, hands-on sessions (1.5 hours) designed to facilitate in-depth discussions, skills-building, or collaborative problem-solving on one of the “Topics for Side Events” outlined at the end of this document. We strongly encourage the use of interactive and creative methods to ensure that participants can engage meaningfully and gain practical tools or knowledge to implement in their organizations. We are looking for practical moments that offer solutions or ideas that can be directly applied to their work in victim support. We welcome interactive and creative working methods. For example:
- Debating session,
- Short training or instruction sessions (introducing skills or tools),
- Educational games or simulations (roleplaying, quiz, association cards),
- Short movie/documentary presentation,
- Casuistic session (discussion of relevant issues using real life cases or victims’ stories).
TOPICS FOR SIDE EVENTS
We invite professionals working in the field of rights and services for victims of crime to submit proposals for a side event. These side events offer a unique opportunity to share practical experiences, showcase innovative solutions, and foster meaningful dialogue among practitioners. The goal is to inspire concrete actions and cross-border collaboration, enhancing victim services across Europe. We encourage sessions that go beyond theory, offering real-world applications and examples that can be adapted by other organisations. The conference side events programme will focus on the following key areas:
- Turning Legislation into Action How can current victim support frameworks be better implemented and what changes are needed to strengthen these systems?
- Emerging Practices and Tools in Victim Support: Highlighting new practices, tools, and innovations that are shaping the future of victim support, with an emphasis on the use of technology (including mobile apps, online platforms, and artificial intelligence) or other emerging practices as a means to both promote the adoption and effective incorporation of cross-cutting themes to victim support provision.
- Empowering Victims and Youth as Agents of Change: Exploring how crime impacts youth and how they can contribute as both victims and advocates for societal transformation. These sessions will focus on building resilience and equipping young people to navigate the challenges of today.
- The Role of Digital Tools in Victim Support: Exploring how technology, including mobile apps, online platforms, and artificial intelligence, is transforming victim support services.
While addressing the transversal topics highlighted above, we invite you to further examine them through the lens of both:
- particularly vulnerable groups of victims (victims of terrorism, organised crime, human trafficking, gender-based violence, violence in a close relationship, sexual violence, exploitation or hate crime, and victims with disabilities shall be duly considered), with emphasis to sexual crimes against children; elderly victims of crime
- most pressing criminal phenomena in the current and future global context, in light of socio-political situation worldwide, with highlight to: hate crimes; war crimes; group/gang violence; AI-based crimes;
- importance of integrated trauma-informed approaches and intervention models, in understanding and addressing the complex emotional and psychological needs of victims in the aftermath of victimisation.
Please share with us your suggestions!
PROCEDURE AND DEADLINE
Side event proposals can be submitted by filling out this online form.
Submissions close on Thursday 31st October 2024, at midnight CET.
While we appreciate the commitment and enthusiasm of all the candidates, please, note that we usually receive more requests for presentations than we can realistically accommodate into our conference programme. To make sure that the programme is presenting a balanced content the Programme Committee will review the proposals using the following criteria:
- Conformity with the overall theme and focus of the VSE conference,
- Interactivity and creativity of the proposed workshop format or working method,
- Equal representation of all the topics in the programme.
Attention: Please note that unfortunately we are not able to reimburse the participation fee nor the travel/accommodation arrangements for side event conductors. The conference’s side event programme provides a unique opportunity to give visibility to your initiatives and to create valuable connections. Furthermore, priority will be given to VSE member applications.
We aim to complete selection and inform all candidates about the outcome of their submission by Friday, 22 November 2024. The final side events programme will be published on the conference website after all submitters are informed.
If you have any questions, please contact info@victimsupporteurope.eu
