WELCOME to our first quarterly newsletter of 2015, keeping you up-to-date on our migration activities, events and publications at UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance. | ||
In Memoriam Graeme Hugo UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance would like to express our sadness at the passing of Graeme Hugo, an eminent scholar in the field of migration. His premature passing leaves a huge hole but his legacy will continue through his prolific writings and the countless people he inspired. Our deepest sympathies go out to his family, friends, colleagues and students. |
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Update from the UNU Migration Network Since our last newsletter, the United Nations University Migration Network held its fourth and fifth meetings to discuss the future development of the Network and to plan joint events and research projects. The first meeting, on October 17, was held at the UNU Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS) in Bruges (Belgium). The second, held on January 12, took place at the UNU International Institute on Global Health (UNU-IIGH) in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). The meeting in Kuala Lumpur was planned alongside a Public Symposium on migration on January 13 during which recent results findings from the five institutes in the Network were shared with Malaysian stakeholders. At the next 9th Pan-European Conference on International Relations “The Worlds of Violence” (September 23-26, 2015 in Sicily, Italy), a section will address International Migration and International Security: From “The Securitization of Migration” to “Making Migration Secure for People”? The section will be chaired by Valeria Bello, Coordinator of the UNU Migration Network. More information to follow. |
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NEW PROJECTS |
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Two New Projects on Irregular Migration UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance have been commissioned to conduct two research projects on irregular migration. The first, commissioned by WODC, aims to investigate the routes of irregular migrants to Europe and to the Netherlands in particular. The second, funded by the Collaborative Research Programme of the Australian National University and the Australian Department of Immigration and Border and Protection’s Irregular Migration Research Programme will investigate the decision making processes of irregular migrants. Fieldwork will be conducted in Turkey in 2015. |
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Two New Projects on Diaspora Engagement UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance have been commissioned by GIZ to conduct two complementary studies on the engagement of two African diaspora groups in Germany. The studies build on an earlier research report conducted by researchers at UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance in 2013 on the Tunisian Diaspora. The studies will investigate the engagement of Kenyan and Nigerian diaspora organizations in Germany. |
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UPCOMING EVENTS |
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Inaugural Lecture: Ron Skeldon On February 25, 2015 at 16.30, Prof. Ronald Skeldon will deliver his inaugural lecture entitled ‘“Realities and illusions of human migration: a geographical perspective” in the Aula at Minderbroedersberg, 4-6, Maastricht University. Prof. Skeldon is a Professorial Fellow in the Department of Geography at the School of Global Studies at the University of Sussex. Prof. Skeldon holds a Professorship in Human Geography at UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance. More details to follow. |
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Migration Seminars In conjunction with MACIMIDE, the Migration and Development Research Cluster at UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance organizes a series of migration related seminars to provide a platform to discuss the research output of researchers at the School and to invite external speakers to share their work. The next scheduled seminar will take place on February 11, (12.30-13.30). On this occasion, Prof. Hein de Haas will provide some emerging insights from the Determinants of International Migration (DEMIG) project. On February 23, 2015, (12.30-13.30) Prof. Khalid Koser, Professor of Conflict, Peace and Security at UNU-MERIT and it School of Governance will also present (Title TBC). To join our mailing list and receive invitations to future seminars please email Michaella Vanore. |
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Inaugural WUN Migration Conference On 25-26 April 2015, The inaugural Worldwide University Network (WUN) Migration Conference will take place in Hong Kong. The conference will explore the issue of migration through the lens of WUN’s identified Global Challenges: public health, climate change, understanding cultures and global higher education. The conference aims to facilitate discourse that will contribute to the Post 2015 Development Agenda discussion. For more information please visit the conference homepage or contact Natasja Reslow. |
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PAST EVENTS |
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Roundtable and Launch of Comparative Research on Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration Project On January 16, Prof. Khalid Koser and Dr. Katie Kuschminder hosted an event in Geneva bringing together policy officials working in the area of Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration. Participants discussed the results of the Comparative Research Project, which included data collection in 15 different countries of destination, transit and origin. The study was funded by the Australian Department of Immigration and Border and Protection’s Irregular Migration Research Programme and conducted in cooperation with IOM. Read more. |
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UN Meeting on Migration and Development The head of our Migration and Development group, Dr. Melissa Siegel, joined a briefing for government officials at UN Headquarters in New York on December 17. She spoke about “migration as a development enabler”, giving particular attention to destination countries. The briefing was convened by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) as part of its mandate to provide a forum for policy discussion to States and other actors. As migration is a relatively underrepresented topic of discussion at the UN, the briefing sought to raise awareness on migration and development issues among member states. The presentation can be viewed online. |
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EURO-MED On November 17-19, 2014, Ayla Bonfiglio, PhD Fellow at UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance, participated in a meeting of the European Union-funded project on migration in the Euro-Mediterranean area, EUROMED Migration III, at the Dead Sea in Jordan. The meeting was attended by delegations from the Middle East and North Africa, comprising the various ministries involved in migration issues from these countries. The objective was to promote coordination on migration issues among the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) South Partner countries (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia) and EU countries, as well as among ENPI South Partner Countries. Ms. Bonfiglio was invited as a key expert to speak on best practices for developing and implementing diaspora engagement strategies. Please find a news story about the event here. For information about the presentation, please email Ayla Bonfiglio. |
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TRAINING PROGRAMMES |
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Migration Management Diploma Programme The third Migration Management Diploma Programme (MMDP) will launch on April 1, 2015. MMDP is currently sponsored by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MinBUZA) and the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC), who offer scholarships to government officials from 42 developing countries with at least three years’ experience in the field of migration and/or asylum procedures. If you are interested in receiving further information about the programme please email mmdp@maastrichtuniversity.nl. Watch a testimonial from one of our graduates. |
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Online Courses For those who are interested but do not have the time to take a full time course, UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance offer specially designed online courses to suit the needs of busy professionals interested in pursuing migration studies. Currently we offer three courses that can be started at any time: 1) Introduction to Migration Studies; 2) Migration and Remittance Effects; and 3) Comparative Migration Policy. Keep your eye on our website for the launch of two new online courses later in 2015 on Forced Migration by Prof. Khalid Koser and on Internal Migration by Prof. Ronald Skeldon. |
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PUBLICATIONS |
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Migration and Return 'Policy Perspectives of Turkey towards Return Migration: From Permissive Indifference to Selective Difference' is the first paper of its kind, based on analysis of official documents and a series of interviews with Turkish authorities, government officials and academics. It identifies several perspectives, ranging from the absence of specific legislation to control return migration to concrete attempts to regulate the return of a select group of migrants, namely the highly skilled. The authors show that these perspectives are built on a series of sometimes paradoxical arguments regarding economic development, past experiences about development initiatives and the country’s international objectives. By Drs. Özge Bilgili and Melissa Siegel. |
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'Contributions and Barriers to Knowledge Transfer: The Experience of Returning Experts' examines the knowledge transfer that results from returning experts (RE). In so doing the paper distinguishes between tacit and explicit knowledge transfer, analyses the perspective of both the knowledge sender and receiver, and considers barriers that may hinder the knowledge transfer and creation process. The study, produced on behalf of the Migration for Development (PME) Programme, which is being implemented by the Centre for International Migration and Development (CIM) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), makes several recommendations for the improvement of the support offered by CIM to REs. By Dr. Katie Kuschminder, Research assistant Georgina Sturge and PhD fellow Nora Ragab. |
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Migration and global environmental change 'Migration and global environmental change: methodological lessons from mountain areas of the global South' is a discussion paper published in ESDD by GPAC2 fellow, Andrea Milan et. al. The relationship between migration and environmental and climatic changes is a crucial yet understudied area. After an introduction to the topic, the authors present their empirical approach which combines household surveys, Participatory Research Approach (PRA) tools and key informant interviews to three case studies in Pakistan, Peru and Tanzania. This article suggests that the systematic use of transdisciplinary approaches, with a combination of quantitative and qualitative empirical methods, is the key to understanding global migration patterns in rural mountain areas of the global South. Access the paper here |
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Migration and Remittances In 'Measuring Remittances through Surveys: Methodological and Conceptual Issues for Survey Designers and Data Analysts', PhD fellow Sonja Fransen, Dr. Melissa Siegel et al. explore the complexities and challenges linked to the design of surveys on migrants’ remittances. The article draws on the authors’ experiences over a number of previous studies on migrants’ remittances across a wide range of countries and contexts, with the aim to raise awareness of key methodological choices and their implications, not only among those engaged in survey design, but also among analysts who rely on data collected by others. |
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In an insecure environment like Afghanistan it is believed that many families consider establishing household members at different geographic locations, frequently abroad, as a way to hedge against risks to a sustainable livelihood. In 'Revisiting the Motivations behind Remittance Behavior: Evidence of Debt-Financed Migration from Afghanistan', PhD fellow Craig Loshchman and Dr. Melissa Siegel test this notion by examining remittance patterns. Their results lead them to the conclusion that the sending of household members abroad as a risk-coping strategy may be less about having an alternative source of income and more about having an alternative location to escape to if the security situation happens to take a turn for the worse. The full article can be accessed in Migration Letters. |
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Other Notable Publications Children and Borders is an edited collection, bringing together research on the tangled relationship between children and borders with richly-documented ethnographic studies from around the world. The book provides an account of how borders affect children’s lives and, in turn, how children play a substantial role in the social life of borders. Carla Buil and Dr. Melissa Siegel contribute the findings of their work on Afghan unaccompanied minors to the collection. |
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Photo Credits: H Pijpers; [2] UN Photo: UNHCR P Behan; [3] UN Photo: T McKulka; [14] UN Photo: Stuart Price; [15] UN Photo: Eric Kanalstein; [16] Flickr: albertogp123 | ||
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