When: June 11, 2025, from 14:30 – 16:00
Where: Tallinn University, Room M-328
Registration: Pre-registration is required. Please register here by June 9.
This Border Lab Forum brings together practitioners and researchers to reflect on how credibility is assessed in asylum and border procedures, including how document validity, identity, religion, and personal narratives are evaluated in different institutional contexts. Drawing on experiences from the Baltic States (including Estonia), Italy, and Bulgaria, the discussion will explore how credibility assessments shape protection outcomes and reflect broader logics of inclusion and exclusion.
The event is not intended to present a single narrative, but rather to offer grounded insights from
different roles in the asylum system – from policy and fieldwork to case-level experience – in
order to encourage open and critical discussion. Key questions for this event include:
- How is credibility assessed in practice at borders and within asylum systems?
- What role do cultural context and religion play in these assessments?
- What are the impacts of credibility assessments on asylum-seekers’ experiences and sense of agency?
Key speakers:
- Teele Jänes, University of Eastern Finland
- Mr Priit Paakspuu, Estonian Police and Border Guard Board
- Timothy Anderson, Tallinn University
Moderator: John Allen Buchanan, Tallinn University
Format:
This will be an in-person roundtable event (not hybrid). Each key speaker will offer brief opening
remarks (~10 minutes), followed by moderated discussion and Q&A. The session will follow Chatham House Rule to encourage open dialogue.
Project no 101077207 „Advancing Trans-Regional Border Studies“ is funded by the European Union.