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'Seas of (im)mobility, solidarity, and resistanceLink opens in a new window' was a one-day event that took place at Aston University on 12 February 2026. It was led by Pat Rubio Bertran.

The day consisted of panels, a workshop and a roundtable. It was attended by a mix of activists, academics, and PhD students. Speakers at the event had maritime activism experience or academic expertise. These interdisciplinary speakers contributed to bridging the gap between theory and practice in maritime migration, and provided a platform for dialogue and cross-industry research throughout the day. This topic is extremely important and relevant: the sea is often the forgotten space (especially in the fields of International Relations and Politics, so drawing attention to the types of (im)mobilities, solidarities and resistances that occur here is crucial to understanding the current global stage.

Participants shared that this was the conference they had been most excited to attend, as one speaker of the event said: ‘"Seas of (im)mobility, resistance and solidarity" was a fantastic academic event and brought together a terrific group of people. As a first-year overseas PGR, it was an amazing opportunity to present my preliminary work and network with colleagues/comrades from the UK but also globally. I just wished it had been two days long – choosing between panels was really hard since all research projects were so interesting!’