WELCOME to our third quarterly newsletter of 2017, keeping you up-to-date on our migration activities, events, and publications at UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance. |
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NEWS FROM OUR NETWORKS |
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UNU Migration Network Between April and July 2017, the UNU-Migration Network and the UNU Office in New York (UNU-ONY) are jointly convening a ‘Panel Series on Academic Thinking on Migration’ in New York. Four seminars have been organised thus far. The first one discussed issues related to the ‘Rise of Nationalist Politics and Policy Implications for Migration’, the second one explored the links between ‘Climate Change, Migration and Displacement’; the third one dealt with the inclusion of migrants in ‘Cities of Welcome’; and the fourth one identified strategies to ‘Addressing Women’s Rights in a Global Compact on Migration’. On 12 July 2017, Prof. Melissa Siegel will participate in the final panel to discuss ‘Alternative Ways of Thinking about Migration for Development’. You can find webcasts of past seminars here. The UNU Migration Network is now meeting on a more regular basis via virtual coordination meetings. The first two virtual meetings were held on 5 April and 6 June. The next meeting will take place on 12 September in Barcelona during the EISA Conference where Dr. Valeria Bello is co-chairing a section on ‘International Migration and International Relations: Forced Movements of People Across Borders and Interdisciplinary Approaches’. |
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Maastricht Centre for Citizenship, Migration and Development (MACIMIDE) MACIMIDE Co-Director Prof. Maarten Vink has been appointed Willy Brandt Guest Professor at the Malmö Institute for Studies of Migration, Diversity and Welfare (MIM) at Malmö University for the academic year 2017-2018. MACIMIDE member Dr. Natasja Reslow attended the informal thematic session on international cooperation and governance of migration at the United Nations in Geneva. The session formed part of the preparatory process for the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration. Dr. Reslow delivered a statement highlighting the importance of designing monitoring and evaluation mechanisms in the global compact on migration.
With an inspiring conference, the ERC funded research project MiLifeStatus (2016-2021) was officially kicked-off at Maastricht University on 27 June 2017. MiLifeStatus studies the relation between migrant naturalisation and integration. The kick-off meeting brought together the MiLifeStatus team and colleagues from Europe and North America. Project members Prof. Maarten Vink, Floris Peters and Swantje Falcke discussed their research plans and invited speakers gave additional presentations. |
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NEW PROJECTS |
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UNIDO UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance are currently working together with UNIDO to develop a position paper and strategy on migration. On 28 September 2016, the Global Migration Group (GMG) officially approved the application of UNIDO to join the group. Parallel to this development, a Cross Departmental Working Group was created by the Managing Director of the Programme Development and Technical Cooperation (PTC) in January 2017 to examine the issue of migration from a cross-departmental perspective, with the objective of improving coherence and enhancing technical expertise on migration. The team at UNU-MERIT, consisting of Prof. Melissa Siegel, PhD fellow Katrin Marchand and Researcher Elaine McGregor, has now visited Vienna twice, from 2-3 May and 12-14 June. These trips were used to meet with the Cross Departmental Working Group as well as other relevant departments in order to identify and analyse both the direct and indirect connections between the work of UNIDO and migration. |
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GIZ Project: Migration Routes in the East and Horn of Africa UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance were recently commissioned by the German Development Cooperation Office (GIZ) to summarise the evidence on the mixed migration trends in the East and Horn of Africa. In the context of this report eight countries from this region are being studied, namely Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda. The project is a response to a significant increase in the commissioning of projects related to (irregular) migration in Africa. In order to respond to these requests, which are expected to further increase in the coming years, GIZ aims to better understand the complex dynamics of migration in and from the East and Horn of Africa. In this context, it is particularly important to understand the main drivers of migration as well as the routes that migrants travel on. |
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DRC Project: Mapping the Syrian Diaspora in Six European Countries UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance have been commissioned by the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) to carry out a diaspora mapping study on the Syrian diaspora in Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The main aim of the study is to develop a comprehensive overview of Syrian diaspora groups in the selected destination countries, through a mapping of Syrian diaspora organisations, associations and initiatives. Further, the study aims at providing a capacity assessment of, among other attributes, the strength, purpose and objectives of Syrian diaspora groups in order to identify areas of potential collaboration and to develop specific recommendations for action regarding context-specific and conflict-sensitive ways of involving members of the diaspora. Specifically, DRC will use the mapping and study to engage with the most relevant groups of Syrians (associations and individual) across Europe for consultations on future solution scenarios regarding the Syrian displacement crisis. |
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IDEA -International Project: Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Democracy Nora Ragab has been commissioned by IDEA-international to carry out a German case study within the project ‘Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Democracy’. Recognising the dual role of refugees and asylum seekers as political actors in host and origin countries, the project aims to generate knowledge on the impact of displaced populations on democracy in their host and origin countries, and to formulate and promote policy recommendations for their civic and political inclusion. Through this project, policy makers, including political parties, legislators, and organisations of refugees and asylum seekers, will be provided with relevant country examples and policy recommendations for the inclusion of refugees and asylum seekers in civic and political life. The project will produce a report based on findings of case studies carried out in eight host countries. The German case study will provide insights into the experiences of refugee and asylum seeker communities originating from Afghanistan and Syria. |
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UPCOMING EVENTS |
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APPAM Conference On 13-14 July, UNU-MERIT and MGSoG are hosting the Association for Public Policy and Management (APPAM) 2017 International Conference: ‘Public Policy and Governance Beyond Borders’. A key theme of the conference will be ‘Population, Migration and Refugees’, which will feature papers on migration, asylum and refugee governance and policy; the social, political, economic and health impacts of migration and forced migration; and the effects of politics and elections on Europe’s current refugee crisis, to name just a few. Additionally, one of the conference’s two Plenary Sessions will explore ‘How Effective is Migration Policy? Illusion or Reality’, with Prof. Ronald Skeldon; Prof. Khalid Koser, UNU-MERIT and the Community Engagement and Resilience Fund; Mr. Lukas Gehrke, ICMPD; and Dr. Alice Szczepanikova, Foresight and Behavioural Insights Unit, Joint Research Centre, European Commission. The Migration Plenary will be chaired by Dr. Michaella Vanore, and was organised by Ayla Bonfiglio, UNU-MERIT/MGSOG. |
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PAST EVENTS |
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Global Forum on Migration & Development From 28 June to 2 July, researcher Elaine McGregor participated in the 10th Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) in Berlin, Germany. On 28 June, Elaine participated in a pre-civil society day roundtable discussion with the Swiss Civil Society Platform on Migration and Development entitled 'The role for civil society networks, platforms and actors in developing a national compact on migration fostering multi-stakeholder policy dialogue' at the Robert Bosch Foundation where she discussed some of the highlights of the second edition of the Movement report which was released earlier this year. Elaine also contributed as a panelist to a side event entitled 'Strategies of national civil society platforms on influencing the Global Compact on Migration and national policies', which was also organised by the Swiss Civil Society Platform on Migration and Development. |
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14th Annual Conference of IMISCOE UNU-MERIT and MACIMIDE researchers presented their work at the 14th Annual Conference of International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion in Europe (IMISCOE) in Rotterdam on 28-30 June 2017. IMISCOE is Europe’s largest network of scholars in the area of migration and integration. This year’s conferencefocused on Migration, Diversity and the City. UNU-MERIT/MGSoG PhD fellow Katrin Marchand chaired a panel session titled ‘The Consequences of Migration in the Global South’ during which she presented findings on the labour market activities of refugees based on the Economic Impacts of Congolese Refugees in Rwanda Project. |
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First Annual Internal Conference of UNU-MERIT On 28 and 29 June 2017, UNU-MERIT hosted its first annual internal conference. The aim of this conference is to increase interactions between UNU-MERIT researchers, especially between the various research themes. Paper presentations were open to all UNU-MERIT staff, on all UNU-MERIT research themes. UNU-MERIT’s research programme is organised around eight research themes based on broadly common methodological approaches: 1. The Economics of Knowledge and Innovation; 2. Social Protection, Inclusive Innovation and Development; 3. Economic Development, Innovation, Governance and Institutions; 4. Sustainable Development, Innovation and Societal Transitions; 5. Innovation Systems Indicators and Policy; 6. Migration and Development; 7. ICT-enabled Innovation and Societal Transformations; 8. Population, Development and Labour Economics. |
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Education Congress Canada 2017 From 28 May-1 June 2017, affiliated researcher Özge Bilgili attended the annual Education Congress Canada 2017 with Prof. Louis Volante to present their forthcoming paper on the immigrant (dis)advantage in educational achievement in Canada. Their paper co-authored with Don Klinger and Prof. Melissa Siegel will be published in the Canadian Journal of Education. This paper examines first- and second-generation immigrant student achievement results in greater detail across Canada. Overall, Canadian achievement results are atypical in relation to the international community in that immigrant student groups significantly outperform non-migrants in some provincial jurisdictions, and also significantly underperform in other provincial jurisdictions, in topics such as reading, mathematics, and scientific literacy. |
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European Development Days 2017 During the European Development Days 2017 (#EDD17) PhD fellow Ortrun Merkle participated in a panel session entitled: 'Corruption & Migration: How Women and Girls Pay a Heavy Toll' on Thursday 7 June 2017. Ortrun presented the findings of two studies co-authored with fellow researcher Julia Reinold and Prof. Melissa Siegel, on the complex dynamics and effects of corruption in the context of migration. The first study developed a theoretical framework to explain how corruption can cause migration using a human security approach and applied it to the cases of Ukraine and Mali. The second study examined how women experience various forms of corruption including ‘sextortion’ during the migration process. Both studies were commissioned by the German Development Cooperation Office (GIZ). The audio recording of the panel session can be found here. |
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Inaugural Lecture: Melissa Siegel On 2 June 2017, Prof. Melissa Siegel successfully delivered her inaugural lecture ‘Migration &: The Depth and Breadth of Migration Studies’. Prof. Siegel was appointed Professor of Migration Studies at Maastricht University in August 2016. She leads the Migration and Development research theme at UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance. Prof. Siegel is also Co-Director and head of the Migration and Development research theme of the Maastricht Centre for Citizenship, Migration and Development (MACIMIDE), the Coordinator of the UNU Migration Network and a board member of the Hague Process on Refugees and Migration. The online version of Prof. Siegel’s inaugural lecture will be made available soon. |
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TRANSMIC Conference On 18 and 19 May 2017, the TRANSMIC conference ‘Migration, Rights and Citizenship: Coming Full Circle in a Challenging Environment’ was held at the European University Institute in Florence. Transnational Migration, Citizenship and the Circulation of Rights and Responsibilities (TRANSMIC) is a project funded under the FP7-PEOPLE-2013-ITN call and is part of the Marie Curie Actions — Initial Training Networks funding scheme. The aim of the project is to contribute to the understanding of transnational migration. The conference was jointly organised by Maastricht University and the European University Institute (EUI). All TRANSMIC fellows presented their work and were involved in the organisation of parallel sessions. In addition to these parallel sessions, keynote lectures were held by Prof. Katarzyna Grabska, Prof. Rainer Bauböck, Prof. Jackline Wahba, Prof. Valentina Mazzucato, Dr. Marleen Zoeteweij and Prof. René de Groot. |
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WUN Health and Maastricht Meeting On 15 and 16 May 2017, Prof. Melissa Siegel and Inez Roosen hosted the ‘WUN Health and Migration Maastricht Meeting’. This meeting was part of the World Universities Network (WUN) project ’Health and Migration, Well-being Across Borders’, which brought together academics from Sheffield (UK), Bristol (UK), Accra (Ghana), Alberta (Canada), and Maastricht (Netherlands). The international, interdisciplinary team included experts on health, migration, development, and social remittances. During the meeting, the team discussed the foundation for future collaborations and the base of the Welcome collaborative bid. Key concepts and terminology, case study topics and countries, preliminary literature findings on social remittances and health, data generation and analysis, stakeholders and pathways to impact, and capacity development were discussed to further health research through a transnational lens. The event also gave the team an opportunity to discover and enjoy the city of Maastricht. |
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TRAINING PROGRAMMES |
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Migration Management Diploma Programme: Closing Ceremony On 26 June 2017, we bade farewell to our fifth cohort of students from the Migration Management Diploma Programme (MMDP) during the annual closing ceremony. After three months of intensive training on different aspects of migration policy-making, the students returned to their respective countries equipped with new knowledge and insights as well as an extensive network of contacts. The MMDP trains government officials from around the world working in the area of migration and development and is supported by the Swiss Development Cooperation and the Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice. If you are interested in receiving further information about the programme, please email or visit our website. |
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Online Courses For those who are interested but do not have the time to take a full-time course in migration studies, UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance offer a number of specially designed online courses to suit the needs of busy professionals. We currently 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 an eye on our website for the launch of a new online course in 2017 on Internal Migration by Prof. Ronald Skeldon and on Forced Migration later in the year. Watch introduction videos for the course on our YouTube channel (internal migration/forced migration). For further information please contact Katrin Marchand. |
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New Publications Volante, Louis, Don A. Klinger, Melissa Siegel & Özge Bilgili, 2017, Immigrant youth help to build nations, The Conversation, More information Merkle, Ortrun, Julia Reinold & Melissa Siegel, Jun 2017, A Study on the Link between Corruption and the Causes of Migration and Forced Displacement, comissioned by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), More information Laar, Mindel & Madhulika Sahoo, 2017, Migrant Health in India: APPAM Minority Report #2, APPAM Minority Report #2, More information Laar, Mindel & Sara Hamedani, 2017, Terror & Refugee Law in the Mediterranean Crisis: APPAM Minority Report #3, APPAM Minority Report #3, More information Marchand, Katrin, Inez Roosen, Julia Reinold & Melissa Siegel, 2017, Irregular Migration from and in the East and Horn of Africa, Report commissioned by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in the framework of the EU-funded Better Migration Management (BMM) Programme, More information Bilgili, Özge & Katrin Marchand, 2017, Domain 3: Protection and Migration, Thematic Input Paper - Agadir Regional Thematic Exchange Meeting. Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation: Bern, Switzerland, More information Kuschminder, Katherine & Khalid Koser, 2017, The role of migration-specific and migration-relevant policies in migrant decision-making in transit, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2017-022 Bilgili, Özge, Craig Loschmann & Melissa Siegel, 2017, The Gender-Based Effects of Displacement: The Case of Congolese Refugees in Rwanda, KNOMAD Working Paper 21, More information McGregor, Elaine, Mar 28, 2017, Intergovernmental Organizations, Migration and the Sustainable Development Goals , The Migrating out of Poverty Research Programme Consortium held its 'From Evidence to Policy' conference at the Brunei Gallery at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London on 28th and 29th March 2017., More information Marchand, Katrin, Apr 10, 2017, Exploring the Labour Market Outcomes of Congolese Refugees in Rwanda, MACIMIDE Workshop 2017 Maastricht Marchand, Katrin, Mar 29, 2017, Exploring the Labour Market Activities of Congolese Refugees in Rwanda, Migrating out of Poverty: From Evidence to Policy 28-29 March, 2017 at the Brunei Gallery at SOAS in London McGregor, Elaine, Mar 2017, MOVEMENT: A Global Civil Society Report on Progress and Impact on Migrants’ Rights and Development: 2nd edition: 2017 , This publication has been commissioned by the International Catholic Migration Commission Europe (ICMC Europe) with financial assistance from the European Union as part of the activities for the Migration and Development Civil Society (MADE) Network programme, 84, More information |
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Photo Credits: H. Pijpers, S. Brodin, E. McGregor, J. Linssen, [19] Flickr: Albertogp123 |
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