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School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health
Shows roundtable session at the Intersex Insights conference hosted on the St Patricks campus
The final roundtable session featuring from left to right Manuela Falzone (Intersex Esiste, Italy), Luna Lara Liboni (Irish Council of Civil Liberties, Ireland), Dr Adeline Berry (Intersex Ireland, Ireland), Maddalena Bianchi (OII Europe)Ellsworth Camilleri (Council of Europe SOGIESC Unit), and Dr Sean Saifa Wall (Moderator)

DCU hosts major international Intersex Studies conference

Research News - DCU Hosts international intersex conference
Two-day conference was the final output of CHRISALIS

This month, Dublin City University hosted Intersex Insights: Heritage, Visibility and Recognition, a two-day conference dedicated to advancing interdisciplinary conversations on intersex studies and variations of sex characteristics (VSC). The event took place on 9 and 10 June 9th and was led by Dr Marta Prandelli as the final output of CHRISALIS, a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship funded by the European Union.

The programme featured over 50 experts across 15 parallel sessions, engaging with key issues across healthcare, law, ethics, policy, culture, advocacy, and lived experience. In addition to academic panels, highlights included a creative programme of film and art, and the launch of the book Intersex, Variations of Sex Characteristics, DSD: Critical Approaches.

The conference concluded with a high-level roundtable on the future of intersex research, advocacy, and inclusive care, featuring representatives with lived experience as well as voices from civil and human rights institutions across Ireland, Italy, and Europe. On 11 June, DCU also hosted a first-of-its-kinds in-person event for early career researchers in intersex studies, providing space for emerging scholars to build networks, share ideas, and help shape the future of the field.

Intersex Insights was supported by the European Union and the Health Research Board through the Conference and Event Sponsorship Scheme 2025.

 

 

Shows book launch event at recent DCU conference
The conference included the launch of the new book Intersex, Variations of Sex Characteristics, DSD: Critical Approaches

Main conference co-organisers:

  • Dr Marta Prandelli (DCU, School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health)
  • Dr Tanya Ní Mhuirthile (DCU, School of Law and Government)
  • Dr David Gibson (DCU, Institute of Education)
  • Dr Daniela Crocetti (Intersex Esiste, Italy)
  • Somya Dixit (DCU, School of Law and Government) – Operations Lead

ECR Day co-leads:

  • Prof Peter Hegarty (Open University, UK)
  • Dr Sean Saifa Wall

Final roundtable participants

  • Manuela Falzone (Intersex Esiste, Italy)
  • Luna Lara Liboni (Irish Council of Civil Liberties, Ireland)
  • Dr Adeline Berry (Intersex Ireland, Ireland)
  • Maddalena Bianchi (OII Europe)
    • Ellsworth Camilleri (Council of Europe SOGIESC Unit)
  • Dr Sean Saifa Wall (Moderator)
  • Claudio Uberti (Certi Diritti, Italy) – online (not shown in the picture)

Intersex Insights is the final event of CHRISALIS, a comparative project between Ireland and Italy led by Dr Marta Prandelli, funded by the European Union through the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01; Grant ID: 101067189). 

Intersex Insights is also supported by the Health Research Board, through the Conference and Event Sponsorship Scheme 2025 Cycle 1 (ID: CES-2025-019).