Community

The Fellowship is the beginning, not the end, of research and social justice practice.

We continue to grow and uplift our community of researchers through opportunities of publicity, professional development and collaboration.

Ash Neel Fowkes-Gajan, Fellow 2025

Thanks to the Fellowship in the summer, I took my paper 'Integration or Isolation: Maghreb communities in France and the incompatible nature of multiculturalism and assimilation in the twenty-first century' to Finland to present at the Social Policy Conference in October 2025.

The conference theme this year was trust so I spoke in particular about the relationship between assimilation and laicite through spatial politics in French suburban parts of Paris and Lyon. I also mentioned Marseille's Maghreb identity and the debate surrounding the multicultural facade for tourism and mayoral funding. The Finnish talks covered their national healthcare system and policies which rethought the concept of retirement as a productive process. The working group was convened by Professor Johannes Kananen at the University of Helsinki. The conference was a great opportunity to travel and see such an amazing city alongside the neighbouring picturesque town of Porvoo.

Image: Ash Neel Fowkes-Gajan

Image: Avery Benton

Avery Benton, Founder and CEO, Access Academia

In addition to running Access Academia and coordinating our research initiatives, I also engage in independent research.

In September 2025, I had the pleasure of attending the Joint Mid-Term Conference of the Research Networks on Social Theory and Qualitative Methods of the European Sociological Association, titled 'Grasping the Social Reconnecting Sociological Theory and Qualitative Research'.

I was super honoured to be accepted as an independent researcher for my work 'Reflections on the Social Researcher’s Social Positioning: The Digitellectual'. The conference was held at the University of Passau with a collection of researchers from around the world and Europe’s institutions. A part of research that is so important is gaining connections, networks, and friendships with academics within and outside of your discipline! Thank you to the European Sociological Association for accepting my presentation and for putting on such a great conference.

Lesley Cheung, Director of Outreach and Marketing, Access Academia

Building on the project on spontaneous memorials I supported as research assistant at the University of Manchester, I developed independent research speculating and evaluating spontaneous memorials as loans for institutions to provide professional collections care and space for community healing, through the lens of the Spectrum collections management framework by Collections Trust. I presented the paper at the ICOM UK Student and Emerging Professionals Conference in April 2025.

I also had the honour of co-presenting a workshop at the Memory Studies Association Conference in Prague in July 2025. It was an immensely fruitful experience hearing from leading scholars about radical silence, Agaciro, victimhood nationalism and transitional justice, thanks to Dr Kostas Arvanitis for the opportunity.

Image: Memory Studies Association

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