Law, Crime and History (2013) 1 107 MODERN ACTIVISM CONFERENCE REPORT Strand B, 27-30 June 2012, Liverpool Zoe Alker and Leah Bleakley 1 Introduction This SOLON conference brought together scholars specialising in law, crime and history from the United Kingdom, Europe and Australia to address a range of issues relating broadly to modern activism. The interdisciplinary conference was a joint initiative between SOLON at Liverpool John Moores University, the Centre for Contemporary British History at Kings College London, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and the universities of Liverpool and Hull. The conference consisted of two strands; Activism, Rights, Conflict and Its Impact and Criminal Justice’s History and Activism. Throughout the conference, activism was defined as follows: Individuals or groups believing action pertaining to a cause is necessary, and voluntarily, with no expectation of personal reward, peacefully or non-peacefully and independently from the state seeking a resolution or a change. Prior to the Modern Activism conference, there has not been a conference in the United Kingdom which endeavours to investigate activism as a phenomenon. The conference sought to encourage collaboration between activism and academia to further our knowledge of the impact of activism and to facilitate scholars engaging with activism in order to develop an outward perspective. Opening Plenary: Lesley Abdela, Global Women’s Activism: from the 300 Group to UN Security Council Resolution 1325, Parliament to Peace Talks The cross-conference opening plenary was presented by Lesley Abdela, an international human rights advocate and expert on the advancement of women in public and political spheres due to her numerous international campaigns for female empowerment. Abdela 1 Zoe Alker is a sessional lecturer in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University and is completing a PhD ‘The 1860s Garotting Crisis: Crime, Culture and Power in North-west England’. Leah Bleakley is a doctoral research student in the History Department at Nottingham Trent University exploring nineteenth century prostitution – ‘Outsiders outside of London: Fallen Women and Provincial Towns (1850-1890)’.