WELCOME to our fourth quarterly newsletter of 2019, 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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Maastricht Centre for Citizenship, Migration and Development (MACIMIDE) The Maastricht Centre for Citizenship, Migration and Development (MACIMIDE) is the interdisciplinary research platform of Maastricht University that brings together scholars working in the fields of migration, mobility, citizenship, development and family life. On 20 September 2019, the MACIMIDE Annual Work Conference took place at the Jan van Eyck Academie in Maastricht. The conference featured several interesting workshops and panels where MACIMIDE researchers as well as researchers from other universities presented their work on migration. Several members of the UNU-MERIT Migration and Development research theme participated in the Conference: Charlotte Mueller and Nora Ragab led the kick-off workshop on “Conceptualising Intangible Transfers”. Charlotte Mueller furthermore presented her work on “The structural environment of diaspora knowledge transfer”, with Dr. Katie Kuschminder and Dr. Michaella Vanore as discussants. The conference was jointly organised by Dr. Karlijn Haagsman and Dr. Swantje Falcke (both FASoS), Inge Hooijen and José Victor Cremonesi Giarola (both ROA, SBE), Julia Reinold (UNU-MERIT/MSGoG, SBE), and Dr. Zvezda Vankova (LAW) and received funding from the various participating faculties, the University Fund Limburg/SWOL and Prof. Valentina Mazzucato’s ERC grant. |
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Migration Management and the Migration–Development Nexus (MIGNEX) MIGNEX is a five-year research project (2018–2023) with the core ambition of creating new knowledge on migration, development and policy. MIGNEX is the largest-ever European-funded research project on migration, involving researchers from nine institutions in Europe, Africa and Asia. UNU-MERIT and the Faculty of Law at Maastricht University are part of the consortium led by Prof. Jørgen Carling at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) in Norway. MIGNEX recently published a number of background papers, including a contribution from Dr. Lisa Andersson and Prof. Melissa Siegel entitled “Empirical assessments of the development impacts of migration”. Measuring the impact of migration on development implies fundamental and wide-ranging conceptual and methodological considerations. This paper reviews key concepts and methodological approaches and provides suggestions for future research. To keep up to date with MIGNEX news, you can sign up for the MIGNEX newsletter here. |
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Institute for Transnational and Euregional cross-border cooperation and Mobility (ITEM) The Institute for Transnational and Euregional cross-border cooperation and Mobility (ITEM) is an expertise centre at the convergence of research, counselling, knowledge exchange, and training activities in the domain of cross-border mobility and cooperation. Complementary to the research centre MACIMIDE, ITEM conducts interdisciplinary research within the scope of cross-border Euregional mobility and cooperation issues, focusing on practical solutions for these issues. On 23 August 2019, ITEM celebrated its fifth anniversary with a festive gathering that brought together members of the Executive Council of the Province of Limburg, representatives of other important partners, such as the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, the Social Insurance Bank, the Municipality of Maastricht, the European Commission as well as ITEM researchers and staff. During the gathering, the promising results of an external evaluation were presented, as well as ongoing ITEM research projects, including the work of PhD candidate Julia Reinold on international highly-skilled migration in Dutch border regions. Registration for ITEM’s fifth Annual Conference, to be held in Enschede, the Netherlands, from 21 to 22 November 2019 is now open. |
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ANNOUNCEMENTS |
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Prof. Arjen Leerkes’ and Marloes de Hoon’s Research in De Volkskrant On 11 October 2019, De Volkskrant published an article about research conducted by Prof. Arjen Leerkens, Marloes De Hoon (PhD candidate, FASoS, UM) and Roxy Damen on the retention of asylum seekers in the Netherlands. The Dutch report “Blijven asielvergunninghouders in Nederland? Patronen en determinanten van vervolgmigratie en remigratie, cohort 1995-1999”, published by the Research and Documentation Centre (Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek- en Documentatiecentrum, WODC), finds that around one third of asylum seekers who were registered in the Dutch population register between 1995 and 1999 were no longer registered by the end of 2015 due to return migration (4.3 per cent), onward migration (12.4 per cent) or administrative removal (12.9 per cent). Based on survival and competing risk analyses, the researchers established that the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the permit holders influence the migration outcome. You can find more information about the research including an English summary here. |
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NEW PROJECTS |
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Agreement with Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Signed UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance were recently commissioned by the FAO to empirically assess the impact of social protection interventions on migration dynamics in Senegal and to develop an FAO policy paper on the relationship between social protection and migration. The research team, headed by Dr. Bruno Martorano and Prof. Melissa Siegel, will use household data collected by FAO in collaboration with the National Agency of Statistics and Demography of Senegal to investigate the effects of social protection on household decisions regarding migration, and how these programmes affect household well-being. In addition, the team will probe the role of remittances as informal safety nets and as potential resource for agricultural and rural development in Senegal. |
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DRC Study: Syrian Diaspora Organisations in the Middle East and Europe The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) commissioned a team from UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance to conduct a study on the Syrian diaspora civil society organisations in the Middle East and Europe. The research carried out by researcher Eleni Diker and PhD candidate Nora Ragab explores the future roles of Syrian civil society outside Syria, in light of the changing realities inside Syria and in the six selected host countries (Lebanon, Turkey, Germany, France, Denmark and the United Kingdom). Through interviews and workshops with 81 Syrian civil society actors, the study aims to shed light on the challenges and opportunities arising from the changing realities inside Syria, in the host countries and at international level and to explore possible future scenarios and plans for action for the Syrian civil society. The comparison of diaspora groups in two distinct regional settings reveals similarities and differences between the cases, leading to a better understanding of how different transnational opportunities and constraints shape the practices of different diaspora groups. The final report of the study will be published in December 2019. |
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ICMPD Project: Evaluation of the EU Mobility Partnerships in Tunisia and Armenia A team from UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance has been commissioned by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) to conduct an evaluation of the European Union (EU) Mobility Partnerships in Tunisia and Armenia. The multidimensional and independent evaluation will examine the outcome of the partnerships on various levels, formulate lessons learnt and provide recommendations for the ways forward. The evaluation will be conducted through qualitative, in-depth interviews with representatives of European Commission Services and EU Agencies, as well as representatives from EU Member States, partner countries, international organisations, and civil society organisations. The evaluation will be led by Dr. Lisa Andersson and Sarah Roeder. |
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GIZ Project: Migration Policy Checklists UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance were recently commissioned by the German Development Cooperation Office (GIZ) to develop a migration policy checklists for the cooperation countries of its Programme Migration for Development (PMD). Through PMD, GIZ works on migration issues in 25 countries all over the world, namely Afghanistan, Albania, Cameroon, Columbia, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Georgia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Peru, Senegal, Serbia, Tunisia, Ukraine and Vietnam. The checklists aim to provide comparable and coherent information on the different migration trends, migration policies and migration governance actors in these countries. Based on desk research, they will serve to inform the activities of GIZ in the cooperation countries particularly regarding migration policy advice and capacity building relating to the aims of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. |
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UPCOMING EVENTS |
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Migration Seminars In conjunction with the Maastricht Centre for Citizenship, Migration and Development (MACIMIDE), the Migration and Development research theme 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 institute and to invite external speakers to share their work. On 16 October, we will welcome our next guest speaker Raphael Kamp, author, policy analyst and lecturer for migration, integration and the social protection system in Germany, who will talk about “Syrian Unaccompanied Minors’ Journeys to Germany and Initian Experiences Upon Arrival”. More information about past and future events is available here. To join our mailing list and receive invitations to future seminars, or to express interest in delivering a seminar, please email the seminar coordinators Veronika Georgieva and Charlotte Mueller. |
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PAST EVENTS |
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ICMPD Training on Labour Migration in Budva, Montenegro On September 24-26, the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) organised a training on Labour Migration in Budva, Montenegro. The purpose of the training was to build capacity of employment services and authorities to manage labour migration, and to share experience and best practices in organising labour migration. The training targeted representatives of migration authorities from the Prague Process participating states, and hosted participants from Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Dr. Lisa Andersson led two of the training sessions, one on labour matching and one on skills recognition and reintegration strategies in countries of origin. |
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H2020 project REMINDER: Final Consortium Meeting in Vienna At the beginning of September, Prof. Melissa Siegel and Dr. Katrin Marchand travelled to Vienna for the final consortium meeting of the H2020 project “Role of European Mobility and its Impacts in Narratives, Debates and EU Reforms” (REMINDER). This project adopts a multidisciplinary approach to understand free movement in Europe by examining the drivers and impacts of intra-EU migration, as well as the political and media narratives of intra-EU migration. The consortium consists of 14 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 presented the results of all 12 work packages (WPs). Prof. Siegel presented the results of WP2, a mapping of data sources and analysis of patterns and dynamics of migration within the European Union, while Dr. Marchand presented the results of WP3 on the determinants of migration, highlighting the complexity of decision-making on intra-EU movements. |
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First class of officials graduate from the Migration Management Diploma Programme in Rwanda The first 30 graduates of the Migration Management Diploma Programme in Rwanda graduated on 30 August 2019. This is a spin-off programme of the Migration Management Diploma Programme (MMDP) offered in Maastricht by UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance. The programme is a partnership between the Rwandan Government’s Director General for Emigration and Immigration and UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance. During the three-month full-time programme students learn the ins and outs of migration. The partnership will extend to training 30 staff members each year over consecutive years. |
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EMN Educational Seminar on Migration in Bratislava The EMN Educational Seminar on Migration 2019 “Impacts and Opportunities of International Migration” took place in Bratislava, Slovak Republic, on 20-22 August. The conference was co-organised by the European Migration Network (EMN), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic and covered the topics “politics and migration”, “how and why people decide to migrate”, “good governance as a way forward in migration”, and “migration in an urbanising world”. During the event, Prof. Melissa Siegel gave a presentation on the nexus between migration processes and corruption and its implications for all parties involved/affected, unveiling 11 key linkages between migration and corruption. Furthermore, she discussed whether corruption facilitates irregular migration, enables the protection of refugees, stimulates migration desires, impedes the development benefits of migration, discourages return migration or promotes the transnational ties of elites. The conference brought together more than 80 participants from Slovakia and 15 other countries, including representatives from government and intergovernmental organisations, NGOs, think tanks and academia. Podcasts, videos and/or PDFs of all presentations can be downloaded here. |
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TRAINING PROGRAMMES |
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Master of Science in Public Policy and Human Development The Master of Science in Public Policy and Human Development programme is a double-degree programme of Maastricht University’s Graduate School of Governance and University Nations University’s institute UNU-MERIT. The programme provides students with a variety of skills, tools and knowledge which will enable them to work as policy designers and policy analysts in public and private institutions. In doing so, it offers seven different specialisations including Migration Studies. Our next intake will start in September 2020. You can find more information in our brochure. Recently, a short video film showing what it is like to study at UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance from a student’s perspective was released. |
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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. Watch introduction videos for the course on our YouTube channel (internal migration/ forced migration). For further information, please contact Dr. Katrin Marchand. |
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NEW PUBLICATIONS |
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Leerkes, A., Marloes De Hoon & Roxy Damen, 2019, Blijven asielvergunninghouders in Nederland? Patronen en determinanten van vervolgmigratie en remigratie, cohort 1995-1999. Den Haag: WODC/ Ministerie van Justitie en Veiligheid. Andersson, L. & Melissa Siegel, 2019, Empirical assessments of the development impacts of migration, MIGNEX Background Paper. Oslo: Peace Research Institute Oslo. Kuschminder, K. & Anna Triandafyllidou, 2019, Smuggling, Trafficking, and Extortion: New Conceptual and Policy Challenges on the Libyan Route to Europe, Antipode, https://doi.org/10.1111/anti.12579 Bilgili, Özge, Craig Loschmann, Sonja Fransen, & Melissa Siegel, 2019, Is the Education of Local Children Influenced by Living near a Refugee Camp? Evidence from Host Communities in Rwanda, International Migration, 57 (4), July 2019, https://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12541 |
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Photo Credits: H. Pijpers, S. Brodin, Melissa Siegel, [3] ITEM, [6] Basam Khabieh, [11] Xanthe Ashburner, [16] Flickr: Albertogp123 |
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