WELCOME to our first quarterly newsletter of 2018, keeping you up-to-date on our migration activities, events, and publications at UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance. | ||
NEWS FROM OUR NETWORK |
||
UNU Migration Network The UNU Migration Network is a platform across the institutes of the UNU system encouraging collaboration between researchers working on migration. The network is currently coordinated by UNU-MERIT. From 21-22 November 2017, the UNU Migration Network Meeting took place in Maastricht and brought together researchers from half a dozen UNU Institutes, including UNU-MERIT, UNU-CS, UNU-GCM, UNU-EHS, UNU-CRIS, UNU-IIGH and UNU-INWEH. During the two days, members discussed the coordination of the network and brainstormed on future research opportunities on migration and health topics. In addition, it was the first time that the UNU Migration Network Meeting was also used as an opportunity for members to exchange their research in an internal conference. In December 2017, the network released the "Lessons from the UNU Panel Series on Academic Thinking on Migration" which draws conclusions from the “UNU Panel Series on Academic Thinking on Migration” organised by UNU-ONY in New York between April and July 2017 |
||
ANNOUNCEMENTS |
||
Prof. Melissa Siegel joins the Maastricht Young Academy Established in 2017 at Maastricht University, the Maastricht Young Academy (MYA) is a dynamic and innovative platform bringing together 12 talented scientists from various disciplines to discuss visions of science, science policy as well as internal and external science communication. One of its aims is to encourage interdisciplinary research between different faculties. The MYA consists of two members from each faculty, who are expected to act as “ambassadors” for their departments. The Faculty of Humanities and Sciences (FHS) is represented by Prof. Melissa Siegel of UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance and Dr. Steven Kelk, Associate Professor at the Department of Data Science Knowledge Engineering. The MYA follows the example of the Young Academy of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) established in 2005. |
||
Book Release: A Long Way To Go. Irregular Migration Patterns, Processes, Drivers and Decision-Making The book “A Long Way To Go. Irregular Migration Patterns, Processes, Drivers and Decision-Making”, edited by Prof. Khalid Koser and Marie McAuliffe, was released in December 2017. Published by the Australian National University (ANU) Press, the book aims at rectifying some of the imbalances in migration research by presenting empirical research findings on irregular migration undertaken in origin, transit and destination countries using a range of methods and employing interdisciplinary approaches. The book includes contributions from several researchers of the Migration and Development research group at UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance, including Prof. Khalid Koser, Prof. Melissa Siegel, Dr. Katie Kuschminder and Dr. Craig Loschmann. |
||
NEW PROJECTS |
||
ICMPD Project: Evaluation of European Union Mobility Partnerships UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance have been contracted by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) and its Mobility Partnership Facility to carry out an independent evaluation of selected European Union (EU) Mobility Partnerships, namely those with Cabo Verde, Georgia and Moldova. The evaluation seeks to examine the extent to which the objectives for the Mobility Partnerships have been met, what sort of impact they have had, as well as how their implementation and functioning could be improved in the future. The evaluation will involve a number of in-depth interviews with representatives of European Commission services and EU agencies, EU Member States, partner countries, and international organisations and NGOs. A final report is expected in April 2018. |
||
World Bank Project: Reintegration of Returnees in the Western Balkans Dr. Katie Kuschminder and Prof. Melissa Siegel will contribute to a World Bank project on the Reintegration of (Roma) Returnees in the Western Balkans funded by the European Commission’s (EC) Directorate General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR). The aim of the overall project is to identify relevant policy responses and implementation pathways for the effective reintegration of returnees in the Western Balkans – with a particular focus on Roma returnees - based on the evidence of reintegration experiences. Dr. Kuschminder and Prof. Siegel will contribute by supporting the design of the project methodology, acting as reviewers to the stakeholder mapping, and writing an academic paper on the reintegration of processes of returnees, with a focus on Roma returnees. |
||
CEDEFOP Project: Complementary Pathways for Adult Refugees UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance are contributing to a research project commissioned by the European Centre for Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP) led by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) and the Italian-based International and European Forum on Migration Research (FIERI). The purpose of this research project is to increase the evidence base for complementary pathway mechanisms for admission of adult refugees from a first host country to an EU country through the use of vocational education and training (VET), skills and qualifications. The project involves national experts for Canada, Norway, Greece, Italy, Germany, Spain, Finland, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden. Prof. Melissa Siegel and Katrin Marchand will contribute to all four phases of this project as national experts for the Netherlands. |
||
Erasmus + Project: Helping Students in Acceptance In October 2017, Prof. Melissa Siegel and Veronika Fajth attended the first project meeting in Athens for the new Erasmus+ project on Helping Students in Acceptance (HESTIA). The aim of the project is to help the integration of immigrant children at schools from five countries: the 6th Primary School of Egaleo, Greece, GO! Basisschool Schaarbeek Hendrik Conscience, in Brussels, Belgium, Istituto Comprensivo Statale "Gianni Rodari", Palagiano, Italy, Associação Jardim Escola João de Deus, Leiria, Portugal, and Maristes Sants Les Corts Fundació Champagnat, Barcelona, Spain. Over the course of two years (2017-2019), participating schools will implement a multitude of activities teaching pupils about migration and human rights. From 22-26 January 2018, UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance will organise a workshop, during which teachers from participating schools will learn about integration of migrant and refugee students and share best practices with Dutch migrant education professionals. |
||
UPCOMING EVENTS |
||
Prof. Melissa Siegel to give UM Star Lecture in Munich On 1 February 2018, Prof. Melissa Siegel will give a UM Star Lecture on “Understanding migration in a European context” in Munich. During the lecture, Prof. Siegel will discuss common misconceptions about migrants and human mobility with a focus on the European migration experience in a global context. Special attention will be given to the German government’s role regarding international highly-skilled migration. The UM Star Lectures are organised for alumni and students and take place in 13 different cities in four countries simultaneously. The series aims at (re)connecting with UM alumni as well as sharing academic insights and experiences. You can find more information about the UM Star Lectures, the individual speakers and registration here. |
||
UNU -MERIT Panel at the 2018 International Forum on Migration Statistics From 15-16 January 2018, several researchers affiliated with UNU-MERIT’s migration research group will present works related to the improvement of migration data at this year’s International Forum on Migration Statistics 2018, organised jointly by OECD, UN DESA and IOM in Paris. Dr. Craig Loschmann, Dr. Özge Bilgili (UU), Veronika Fajth, Dr. Sonja Fransen (UvA) and Katrin Marchand will form a panel titled “Considering the benefits of hosting refugees: Evidence of refugee camps influencing local labour market activity and economic welfare in Rwanda”, in which they will present their findings from the UNHCR-commissioned project “The Economic Impacts of Congolese Refugees in Rwanda: Labour Markets, Social Infrastructure and Aid Effectiveness Project”. Veronika Fajth will also present the first report prepared for the REMINDER project, titled “Monitoring and mapping migration within the EU with existing data”, while Dr. Katie Kuschminder will present her paper “Sustainable Reintegration? Moving towards clarity in return data and research”. |
||
H2020 Project REMINDER: First Review Meeting with the European Commission On 21 February 2018, Prof. Melissa Siegel and Veronika Fajth will meet with consortium partners in Brussels for the First Review Meeting with the European Commission as the first year of the H2020 Project ”Role of European Mobility and its Impacts in Narratives Debates and EU Reforms” (REMINDER) project reaches completion. The consortium consists of 13 institutions and is led by the University of Oxford. The consortium combines expertise from different fields including development, economics, linguistics, media studies, political science and public policy. During the meeting, partners will present and discuss the progress of all 12 work packages. UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance are responsible for work package 2, which maps patterns and dynamics of migration within the European Union. |
||
Migration Seminars In conjunction with the Maastricht Centre for Citizenship, Migration and Development (MACIMIDE), the Migration and Development research group at UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance organises 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 first migration seminar of 2018 will be held by UNU-MERIT PhD Fellow Ayla Bonfiglio on 31 January, 2018. Next, on 21 February, Samuel Schmid, PhD researcher at European University Institute, will give a seminar on “Beyond the liberal paradox? Immigration and Citizenship Policies in 20 OECD countries 1980-2010”. The following seminar, on 21 March, will be held by Santino Severoni, the Public Health and Migration Coordinator from the WHO Regional Office for Europe. To join our mailing list and receive invitations to future seminars, or to express interest in delivering a seminar, please email Veronika Fajth. |
||
PAST EVENTS |
||
Presentation of the GIZ Projects on Migration in East and West Africa On 30 November 2017, Prof. Melissa Siegel, Katharina Koch, Vittorio Bruni, and Zachary Strain travelled to Eschborn, Germany, to give a presentation at the German Development Cooperation Office (GIZ) on the commissioned reports: Study on Migration Routes in West & Central Africa and Study on Migration Routes in Study on Migration Routes in the East & Horn of Africa. Together, the studies covered 21 countries, namely Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal in West and Central Africa, as well as Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda in the East and Horn of Africa. The aim of the reports was to synthesise the available evidence on migration for the focus countries, to identify development needs and challenges related to the regions’ migration patterns. |
||
International Population Conference 2017 in Cape Town From 29 October – 4 November, the International Population Conference 2017 took place in Cape Town. Affiliated researcher Dr. Özge Bilgili presented the World Bank KNOMAD working paper co-authored with Dr. Craig Loschmann and Prof. Melissa Siegel on the gender-based effects of displacement in the case of Congolese refugees in Rwanda. The study contributes to the existing literature by not only detailing differences in well-being between refugees and the local population along gender lines, but also by exploring variation in experiences among refugees themselves. It gives recommendations regarding the socioeconomic integration of female refugees to reduce their dependency on humanitarian aid and general vulnerability as well as to improve their empowerment and self-determination. The full paper can be found here. |
||
Panel Debate: Voluntary Return Policy as a Tool for Migration Management On 21 November 2017, Dr. Katie Kuschminder participated in a Panel Debate on “Voluntary Return Policy as a Tool for Migration Management” in Brussels organised by the College of Europe, with the Head of the Return Sector Irregular Migration, DG Home Affairs, PICUM, and the Swiss Mission. Dr. Kuschminder opened the discussion by addressing the topic of “Challenges of Assisted Voluntary Return from Europe”. Referring to the terminology used by practitioners, she suggested a rephrasing from “voluntary return” to “sustainable reintegration” and called for more effective and long-term monitoring of returning migrants. The panel session was followed by a lively debate where both speakers and participants raised their questions or remarks on the topic, following the different interventions. The event was moderated by Jesús Ballesteros, Director of the College of Europe Development Office. |
||
Protestant Academy Loccum's Conference From 1–3 December 2018, PhD fellow Nora Jasmin Ragab participated in the Conference “Diaspora Communities and Peace: On the Path to a More Active Diaspora Engagement in Civil Conflict Transformation?” organised by the Protestant Academy Loccum, Germany. In a diverse range of panel discussions, presentations and workshops, the conference addressed the questions such as: When, under what conditions, and how diaspora communities could play a positive role in peace processes? Is it advisable to extend the current system of diaspora empowerment to the field of civil conflict management? How should a future diaspora engagement system in peacebuilding look like? Nora contributed to the event by chairing the workshop “Development of peace projects - How to set up concrete diaspora peace projects”. |
||
DRC Conference: Diaspora support to durable solutions - Syrians in Europe On 24 November 2017, Nora Jasmin Ragab attended the conference “Diaspora support to durable solutions - Syrians in Europe” organised by the Danish Refugee Council’s (DRC) Diaspora Programme in collaboration with the Durable Solutions Platform (DSP) and the BMZ-funded GIZ project “Qualification initiative for Syrian Civil Society, Women and Community Representatives (QICS)”. The conference brought together representatives of diaspora organisations in Europe, humanitarian and development practitioners, as well as a government representative to discuss durable solutions to Syrian displacement. Next to presenting the key findings of a mapping study on Syrian diaspora groups in Europe, Nora also contributed to a panel entitled “Syrian diaspora organisations in Europe vs in the Mena Region”. The conference report can be accessed via this link. |
||
TRAINING PROGRAMMES |
||
Migration Management Diploma Programme: Applications closed Applications for the next cohort of our Migration Management Diploma Programme (MMDP) starting in April 2018 were closed in December 2017. Students follow three months of intensive training on different aspects of migration policymaking. The MMDP trains government officials working on migration management issues and is supported by the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC), the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), and the Dutch Repatriation and Departure Service (DTenV). More information about our programme can be found in the latest brochure. |
||
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. |
||
NEW PUBLICATIONS Ronald Skeldon, 2018, Internal and International Migration: Separate or Integrated Systems? In G. Farrer and B. Yeoh (eds.), Handbook of Asian Migrations, London, Routledge.
Ronald Skeldon, 2018, High-skilled Migration and the Limits of Migration Policy, in M. Czaika (ed.), High-skilled Migration: Drivers and Policies, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Bilgili, Ö. (2017). The "CHARM" Policy Analysis Framework: Evaluation of Policies to Promote Immigrant Students' Resilience. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 158, OECD Publishing, Paris.
Loschmann, Craig, Katherine Kuschminder & Melissa Siegel, Dec 2017, The Root Causes of Movement: Exploring the Determinants of Irregular Migration from Afghanistan, in: Marie McAuliffe and Khalid Koser, A long way to go: Irregular migration patterns, processes, drivers and decision making, ANU Press, Canberra, More information
Koser, Khalid & Katherine Kuschminder, Dec 2017, Assisted voluntary return and reintegration of migrants: A comparative approach, in: Marie McAuliffe and Khalid Koser, A long way to go: Irregular migration patterns, processes, drivers and decision making, ANU Press, Canberra, More information
Kuschminder, Katherine, 2017, Afghan Refugee Journeys: Onwards Decision Making in Turkey and Greece, Journal of Refugee Studies, More information
Ragab, Nora Jasmin & Amer Katbeh, Nov 2017, Syrian Diaspora Groups in Europe - Mapping their engagement in Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, commissioned by Danish Refugee Council’s (DRC) Diaspora programme as part of a project with the Durable Solutions Platform (DSP) joint initiative of DRC, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). , More information
Mahé, Clotilde, 2017, Does publicly provided health care affect migration? Evidence from Mexico, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2017-049
Siegel, Melissa, Elaine McGregor & Sarah Langley, 2017, Guidelines on mainstreaming migration into local development planning, Commissioned by the UN Joint Migration and Development Initiative, 1-112, More information
Hoogenboom, Alexander & Julia Reinold, Nov 2017, Cross-border (Im)mobility of Students from Third Countries in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine (Dossier 4), Maastricht: Institute for Transnational and Euregional cross border cooperation and Mobility (ITEM), More information
Lemmens, Paul, Hans Dupont & Inez Roosen, Oct 2017, Migrants, asylum seekers and refugees: an overview of the literature relating to drug use and access to services. Background paper commissioned by the EMCDDA for Health and social responses to drug problems: a European guide, The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), 1-16, More information |
||
Photo Credits: H. Pijpers, S. Brodin, K. Kuschminder, V. Fajth, J. Seinen, [16] Flickr: Albertogp123 |
||
Pingback: UNU Newsletter on Migration – April 2015