Event Details
Wed, March 25, 2026
18:00 – 19:30
Villa Sassetti
VILLA LA PIETRA
Via Bolognese, 120
50139 Florence, Italy
Guest speakers:
Amanda Bisong, Ph.D., Policy Leader Fellow, Florence Transnational School of Governance, EUI
Lisa Clare Ginsborg, Ph.D., Research Fellow, Florence Transnational School of Governance, EUI;
NYU Florence
Negar Katirai, J.D., Visiting Fellow, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, EUI;
Clinical Law Professor, University of Arizona
Moderated by Mitra Rastegar, NYU Florence
An evening of conversation with people working in diverse fields of Global Human Rights.
– Migration
– Labor & trade
– Gender justice
– Child welfare
– Media & disinformation
What were their pathways to working in these fields?
What motivates them and what do they seek to accomplish?
What advice do they have for pursuing a path that is meaningful to you?
Featured Biographies
Amanda Bisong
PH.D. POLICY RESEARCH FELLOW, FLORENCE SCHOOL OF TRANSNATIONAL GOVERNANCE, EUI
Amanda Bisong (PhD) is a policy analyst and researcher. Her research and policy work focus on migration governance, labour mobility, diaspora and remittances, trade facilitation and the interlinkages between trade and migration in Africa. Her work critically examines the dynamics of AU-EU partnerships and offers insights into creating mutually beneficial and development-oriented cooperation frameworks.
Amanda has a bachelor’s degree in law and holds two master’s degrees in International Law and Economics from the World Trade Institute in Bern, and in International Trade Policy and Trade Law from Lund University. She completed her PhD in International Law at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, where she was awarded the rare distinction of cum laude for her outstanding dissertation on regional migration governance in West Africa.
She has over 15 years of policy implementation and research experience in international law, development, migration, and trade. She has worked with African political representatives at the national, regional, and continental levels. She has also liaised with the European Union Commission and partners and engaged in policy discussions in Brussels.
She has written several articles and op-eds on free movement policies in Africa, linking the African Continental Free Trade Agreement and labour mobility with the AU free movement protocol and trade facilitation in Africa.
Lisa Ginsborg
PH.D. RESEARCH FELLOW, FLORENCE TRANSNATIONAL SCHOOL OF GOVERNANCE, EUI; NYU FLORENCE LECTURER
Lisa Ginsborg is a Research Fellow at the European University Institute (EUI) School of Transnational Governance where she leads training and research for the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO) and is a Lecturer in International Human Rights at NYU Florence. She has worked in a number of research and teaching positions, including at UCD Ireland, the EUI Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom, and the Global Campus of Human Rights. She has also worked for international human rights organizations, including the International Secretariat of Amnesty International and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Her research interests in the field of international human rights law, include digital technologies, international institutional law and disinformation and counter-terrorism policy and regulation. She recently co-edited a book on “Disinformation: a Multistakeholder Analysis” (Springer, 2026), providing a multidisciplinary analysis of disinformation and strategies for tackling it.
Negar Katirai
PH.D. VISITOR FELLOW, ROBERT SCHUMAN CENTER FOR ADVANCED STUDIES, EUI
Negar Katirai is a Visiting Fellow at the European University Institute’s Migration Policy Center and a Clinical Professor of Law at the University of Arizona College of Law, where she directs the Gender Justice and Child Welfare Workshop. Her scholarship focuses on the intersection of immigration, family law, and experiences of gender-based violence, emphasizing collaboration between academics and practitioners.
As Director of the Gender Justice and Child Welfare Workshop, she supervises law students in research and advocacy projects aimed at influencing policy and improving protections for vulnerable populations. She is also involved in U-LEAD, a participatory research and skills-building initiative involving unaccompanied minors and local youth in partnership with UNICEF’s Europe and Central Asia Regional Office.
Her career spans multiple and varied settings, including the United Nations Development Programme, the Council on Foreign Relations, and an extensive career as a lawyer in both corporate and public service settings, with significant experience representing survivors of domestic violence in court.
Negar’s work has been recognized with a Fulbright award to study Domestic Violence Fatality Reviews in Australia and the Distinguished Public Service Scholar Award from the University of Arizona. She applies trauma-informed approaches in legal and policy settings and is actively engaged in research on domestic violence, femicide, and migration-related gender-based violence.