Casino l’Aliança del Poblenou, Barcelona
Three days of panels, strategy and solidarity — activists, artists, academics and trade unionists from across Europe and Palestine, marking over twenty years of the BDS movement.
Over twenty years ago, Palestinians launched a call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions as a powerful, nonviolent strategy to confront injustice and build people power. Two decades later, that call has grown into a global movement led by Palestinians, connecting millions of people, organizations, trade unions, cultural figures, academics, artists and movements across continents.
Today, during the ongoing US-Israeli genocide, sustained by global complicity and devastating double standards, the need for solidarity has never been more urgent. Yet, even in the darkest of times, people around the world have refused to remain silent. Together, we have transformed grief and rage into action, solidarity into organized power, and outrage into campaigns that challenge Israeli impunity and the systems that sustain it.
Every crack we have helped create in the wall of complicity has carried a message of hope to our people.
On the night of 18 November, we will launch the BDS@20 Europe Regional Conference with a public event. It will bring together representatives and powerful voices from Palestine and around Europe. Activists, artists, academics, trade unionists, cultural figures and public leaders will gather and reflect on what we have collectively built, as well as to confront the challenges before us, and imagine what becomes possible when millions act together.
We look ahead with determination. We persist in the struggle to end Israel's genocide and to dismantle its decades-old regime of settler-colonialism, apartheid and military occupation. And we know that the road ahead will demand greater courage, creativity, strategic vision, resilience and stronger intersectional alliances.
Join us. Bring your voice, your solidarity and your power. Celebrate over twenty years of BDS—not simply to look at what we have achieved, but to shape collectively what comes next.
Because the future is not something we wait for. It is something we build together.
The public opening panel brings together voices from across the movement.
Reconstructive surgeon
Palestinian-British surgeon who treated Gaza's wounded through Israel's genocidal assault on the besieged strip, and was elected Rector of the University of Glasgow on a mandate of solidarity with Palestine and divestment from complicity in Israel's crimes.
Legal Scholar & Human Rights Attorney
Palestinian-American legal scholar and author of Justice for Some, whose work exposes how international law has been weaponized to entrench Israeli impunity, and reclaims it as a tool for Palestinian liberation.
Co-Founder, BDS movement
Palestinian human rights defender, co-founder of the Palestinian-led BDS movement, and recipient of the 2017 Gandhi Peace Award. Author of BDS: The Global Struggle for Palestinian Rights (Haymarket, 2011); his commentary has appeared in the Financial Times, the Guardian, and elsewhere
UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories
The UN's independent expert on the occupied Palestinian territories since 2022, and one of the world's most fearless voices exposing Israel's occupation, apartheid and genocide against the Palestinian people, despite repeated attempts to silence her voice.
Vocalist & Producer, Massive Attack
Vocalist and producer of Massive Attack, one of the defining acts of trip-hop and electronic music. A long-standing advocate for Palestinian liberation, Del Naja has used his platform to advocate for meaningful solidarity with the Palestinian people since the 1990s, from boycotting performances in Israel to publicly opposing its occupation, apartheid and ongoing genocide.
Actress and Advocate of Palestinian rights
Hiba Abouk is a Spanish actress of Tunisian descent. She rose to prominence playing Fátima in El Príncipe - a role that made her one of the most recognizable faces in Spanish drama. Over the years, Hiba has also used her public profile to stand with the Palestinian people, advocating for their rights, and helping to keep their reality visible in the public sphere.
Pakistani writer, journalist and outspoken advocate for Palestinian liberation.
She is the co-editor of the book, Gaza: The Story of a Genocide (2025). Through her writing, public commentary and activism, she has challenged international complicity in Israel’s occupation and violence against Palestinians. A vocal supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, she has used her platform to amplify Palestinian voices, defend student protest movements and demand accountability for Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Trade union leader, community activist, artist and author
Zita Holbourne FRSA is a multi-award winning equality and human rights campaigner, trade union leader, community activist, multidisciplinary artist and writer /author. She is co-chair of Artists’ Union England, Chair and Co-founder of race equality and justice organisation, BARAC UK, a trustee of Action for Southern Africa, the successor organisations to the Anti-Apartheid Movement, part of UNESCO Coalition of Artists for the General History of Africa, and honorary fellow of University of Wales and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Her published works include, Striving for Equality, Freedom and Justice, a collection of poetry and Zita, A Life of Activism.
Colombian politician and former Minister of Mines and Energy.
Ómar Andrés Camacho is a strong advocate for Palestinian rights through concrete economic action. In 2024, he defended Colombia’s decision to prohibit coal exports to Israel, describing it as a humanitarian measure amid the devastation in Gaza. His role connected Colombia’s energy policy with international solidarity and efforts to challenge economic ties with Israel.
Facilitator
Inés Hernand is a Spanish presenter, communicator, and content creator born in Madrid. She studied Law at the Complutense University of Madrid and became widely known through her work on Gen Playz, an RTVE programme aimed at young audiences, which won an Ondas Award for Best Entertainment Programme.
She currently co-directs and co-hosts the sociopolitical current affairs podcast Saldremos Mejores alongside Nerea Pérez de las Heras. The podcast received an Ondas Award for Best Conversational Podcast. She also contributes to Radio Nacional.
Facilitator
Olga Rodríguez is a journalist, writer, and researcher specializing in International Relations, the Middle East, and Human Rights. Over the past 26 years, she has covered some of the most significant events in the region including the Second Palestinian Intifada and the genocide in Gaza since 2023. She is the author of several books, including Aquí Bagdad (This Is Baghdad) and co-wrote the screenplay for the fiction film En los márgenes (On the Fringe). Her awards include the 2026 Contexto Award for her “ethical commitment and the quality of her journalistic work” and the 2025 Desalambre Award for Perseverance, recognizing her commitment to human rights..
Former President of Ireland, poet, and university teacher.
Higgins is a life long advocate of human rights and visited the illegally occupied Gaza and the West Bank in 2005. During his presidency (2011 - 2025) he was among the first European heads of state to call for a ceasefire in 2023, condemning Israel’s crimes against Palestinians and its blockade of humanitarian aid, and in 2025 urged the UN to guarantee humanitarian access to Gaza.
Chancellor of Nelson Mandela University; Chairperson of the Nelson Mandela Foundation Board; Former Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Republic of South Africa.
Naledi Pandor is a South African politician and academic. As Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, she was part of South Africa’s team in its landmark genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice and supported legal efforts to challenge Israel’s occupation and apartheid. Her advocacy has reinforced calls for accountability under international law and strengthened South Africa’s solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for justice and liberation.
Attend in person at the Casino l’aliança del Poblenou, Barcelona. Register now, capacity is limited to 800 seats.
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Register here ↗Can’t attend but want to support the movement? Your support is important.
Donate ↗Press and media covering the Conference — reporting, photographing, or recording on site or remotely — must apply in advance for accreditation.
Apply for accreditation ↗The BDS@20 Europe Conference is organised by the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC),
including the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), and
its BDS-affiliated partners and allies in Europe.
The BNC is the broadest Palestinian civil society coalition that leads the global BDS movement
for Palestinian rights.
The global BDS movement is supported by partners in over 130 countries worldwide. In Europe,
there are now BDS-affiliated groups active in almost every European country, from Iceland to
Poland, from Portugal to Greece.
