The symposium brought together prominent scholars, barristers and solicitors specialising in family law from across the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Italy to discuss their pioneering research on the fast-changing nature of parenthood and its implications in legal terms.

The speakers’ contributions focused on same-sex parent adoption, single parent adoption, surrogacy and the potential ethical and legal challenges in relation to parenthood.

The organiser of the symposium, Dr Andreas Yiannaros, a Lecturer in Law at the University said: “The idea of hosting a pioneering event on parenthood was something that we felt strongly about given the latest advancements in this field, including scientific developments in assisted reproductive technologies and stem cell technology.

“Apart from these scientific developments we have witnessed the progressive legal recognition of a right to adopt for same-sex couples, as well as adoption by single individuals.

“Considering the theme of this symposium, we felt that we didn’t want to be mere spectators, but actually take the lead as a forward-thinking institution and put together an event where world-renowned experts, scholars and practitioners could share a common platform and discuss whether legal reforms may be necessary to bring the law up to speed with new developments.”

Speakers included:

• Professor Susan Golombok, University of Cambridge
• Professor Brenda Almond, University of Hull
• Dr Andreas Yiannaros, University of Bedfordshire
• Dr Alexander Schuster, University of Trento
• Dr Ornella Feraci, University of Florence
• Dr Ester di Napoli, University of Ferrara
• Peter Morris, Irwin & Mitchell LLP
• Barbara Connolly QC, 7 Bedford Row Chambers
• Cara Nuttall, Slater and Gordon
• Alexandra Conroy Harris, British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF)
• Natalie Nikolina, Leiden University
• Carolyn Naughton, University of Buckingham
• Helen Bohme, University of Bedfordshire

The event was chaired by Mr Andrea Woelke, Principal at Alternative Family Law (London).