WELCOME to our third quarterly newsletter of 2020, 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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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. The MIGNEX Handbook on research methods recently added three chapters: ‘Qualitative Comparative Analysis conditions and measurements’, ‘Survey data collection’, and ‘Qualitative data collection’. Stay updated with MIGNEX news by signing up for the MIGNEX newsletter. |
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ANNOUNCEMENTS |
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Routledge Handbook of Migration and Development The recently published ‘Routledge Handbook of Migration and Development’, edited by Prof. Ronald Skeldon and Dr. Tanja Bastia, provides an interdisciplinary, agenda-setting survey of the fields of migration and development. The publication brings together, over 60 expert contributors from around the world, including several scholars from the Migration and Development Research Group at UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance as well as other MACIMIDE fellows. Prof. Hein de Haas wrote the chapter ‘Paradoxes of Migration and Development’, Prof. Ronald Skeldon discussed the topic of ‘Skilled Migration’, Prof. Melissa Siegel authored a chapter titled ‘Migration and Health’, and PhD Candidate Elaine McGregor wrote the chapter ‘Migration, the MDGs, and SDGs: Context and Complexity’. Given the increasing importance of migration in both international development and current affairs, the Handbook will be of interest both to policymakers, students and researchers of different disciplines. |
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NEW PROJECTS |
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Evaluation of urban response project WFP in Kenya The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Kenya have commissioned UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance to evaluate an urban intervention in Nairobi. The intervention seeks to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 situation on urban residents by providing life-saving humanitarian support (cash grants and food) to poor households residing in informal settlements. These households are often unable to meet their basic food and nutrition requirements as the restrictions that have been put in place by the government to control the spread of COVID-19 have compromised their access to income-earning opportunities, as well as to care and treatment. The project will run from June 2020 until December 2020. The project is led by Dr. Sonja Fransen and conducted in cooperation with researchers Alex Hunns and Francesco Iacoella, and PhD fellow Musa Hasen Ahmed. |
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UPCOMING EVENTS |
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Mondiaal Maastricht Online Majlis On Wednesday 8 July 2020, Mondiaal Maastricht will host its first online Majlis. A Majlis is a social and cultural space where community members gather to discuss and explore particular issues in depth. Mondiaal Maastricht’s first Majlis will centre around the problems faced by vulnerable communities during the COVID-19 crisis. As the main speaker at the event, researcher Soha Youssef will discuss the specific case of vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers in Egypt. Building on this case-study, Soha will enter into a dialogue with several other speakers whose work touches upon the situations of various vulnerable communities around the world. They will discuss the different challenges that vulnerable communities face as well as possible ways of thinking forward. You can join this thought-provoking session on 8 July at 19:00 via this link. Mondiaal Maastricht is a knowledge centre for sustainable development, global citizenship and climate action, functioning as a bridge between citizens, social organisations, knowledge institutions, municipality and companies. |
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H2020 Seminar Series: Zooming in on Migration and Asylum The Migration and Development Research Group at UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance is participating in the two EU-funded Horizon 2020 projects ‘Migration Management and the Migration–Development Nexus’ (MIGNEX) and ‘Advancing Alternative Migration Governance’ (ADMIGOV). MIGNEX and ADMIGOV are co-organising a webinar series together with the H2020 projects TRAFIG (Transnational Figurations of Displacement) and MAGYC (Migration Governance and Asylum Crises). The webinar series aims to expand participants’ collective knowledge base on matters related to migration and asylum and to facilitate evidence-based discussions and action at multiple levels. The first webinar on ‘Doing research on migration and asylum. Responsibilities and limits’ was held on 30 June 2020. On 25 August and 27 October, MAGYC will host the webinars ‘How the Pandemic Changed Migration Governance as We Knew It’ and ‘Comparing Crises across multiple Formations and Locations’ respectively. ADMIGOV will host the webinar ‘Access to Europe: Governing the entry of third-country nationals in the European Union’ on 29 September 2020. You can register online for the interactive 90min-webinars, conducted on the webinar platform Zoom. |
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Symposium on Health, Migration, and Integration We are pleased to invite you to the 1st Symposium on Migration, Health and Integration hosted by UNU-MERIT and its Graduate School of Governance. The Symposium is a collaboration between UNU-MERIT, the Maastricht Centre for Citizenship, Migration and Development (MACIMIDE), the Maastricht Centre for Global Health and the Radboud University Network on Migrant Inclusion (RUNOMI) in Nijmegen. The Symposium will be held in Maastricht on 26 November 2020. It will highlight the complex intersections between migration, health and integration through discussions with academics, health professionals, policymakers and representatives of civil society. The event will be free of charge. We invite submissions that cover a range of migrant health-related topics, including reflections from practice as well as academic research. Deadline for abstract submissions is 4 September 2020. You can find more information here. |
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PAST EVENTS |
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CORDAID Interview: Melissa Siegel on the effects of migration on countries of origin and destination Prof. Melissa Siegel was interviewed by the Catholic Organisation for Relief and Development Aid (CORDAID) as part of its project ‘Migration, Interconnectedness, Development’ (MIND), which aims to raise awareness about the links between migration and development among policymakers and the general public. In the interview, published in Dutch, Prof. Siegel stressed that migration should not be seen as a problem that needs to be solved, but rather as part of the world we live in. She explained why development will not stop migration and how migration can contribute to development in countries of origin and destination. Read the complete interview here. |
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17th IMISCOE Annual Conference The International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion (IMISCOE) Annual Conference took place on 1 and 2 July 2020. With 55 members, including the Maastricht Centre for Citizenship, Migration and Development (MACIMIDE), IMISCOE is Europe's largest interdisciplinary research network in the field of migration, integration and diversity studies. Several MACIMIDE researchers, including members of the Migration and Development Research Group at UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance, presented their work at the conference, which was held for the first time online. PhD fellow Anny Yip-Ching Yu presented her paper ‘Pathways to Intergenerational Welfare Assimilation: Evidence from the Netherlands’, co-authored with Prof. Melissa Siegel, Prof. Bart Verspagen and Prof. Hans Schmeets during a panel on ‘Immigration, Immigrants and the labour market in Europe’. PhD fellow Charlotte Mueller presented her work with Dr. Katie Kuschminder ‘Beyond ‘Just Comes’ and ‘Know-it-alls’: Exploring temporary returnee’s strategies to deal with returnee stigma’ in a panel titled ‘Conceptualising reintegration: the role of context and of stakeholders’ positionality’. You can find the complete programme booklet here. |
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Melissa Siegel and Maarten Vink on 'Migrants in Times of Corona' In May 2020, Prof. Melissa Siegel and Prof. Maarten Vink (FASoS), both members of the MACIMIDE Executive Board, gave an interview for Maastricht University’s ‘We’re Open’ series. The series informs about activities of the university community during the coronavirus pandemic. In the interview, Prof. Siegel and Prof. Vink describe how the crisis is affecting migrants in the Netherlands and abroad. They explain that irregular migrants and refugees are in a more vulnerable position because of their limited access to health care and testing in many parts of the world, which is why the protection of migrants is especially important during this pandemic. They also explain what other countries can learn from Portugal in dealing with the pandemic. Read their interview online. |
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Ronald Skeldon interviewed for the Global Development Institute podcast In this special podcast of the Global Development Institute, Prof. Ronald Skeldon and Dr. Tanja Bastia, talk about their long-term collaboration in the fields of migration and development and their wish to build on long-standing research by bringing together established thinkers and new areas of research – an approach which has culminated in the Routledge Handbook of Migration and Development. They explain why this work is timely and valuable. Furthermore, four of the authors who contributed chapters to the Handbook, including Prof. Melissa Siegel, give insight into their areas of expertise. For more information and to listen to the podcast, follow this link. |
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Melissa Siegel on Studium Generale/ Quarantaine In June 2020, Prof. Melissa Siegel talked to the Head of Studium Generale, Rob van Duijn, about the impact of COVID-19 on migration and how migrant issues seem to be pushed off the agenda by the pandemic. You can watch the talk on Prof. Siegel’s youTube channel. Maastricht University’s Studium Generale usually offers a programme of lectures, debates and talk shows, lecture series, film-, theatre, and poetry nights. As it is not possible to meet “offline” at the moment, Studium Generale continues online as Studium Quarantaine to offer some positive stimulation during these troubling and for most people unprecedented times. |
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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 University Nations University institute UNU-MERIT and Maastricht University. The programme provides students with a variety of skills, tools and knowledge which enables them to work as policy designers and policy analysts in public and private institutions. The programme offers seven different specialisations including Migration Studies. You can find a portrait of our former student Soha Youssef and her experiences specialising in Migration Studies here. The application deadline for our next intake starting in September 2020 is 15 June for non-EU students and 15 July for EU students. You can find more information on our webpage. This short video film will give you a glimpse into what it is like to study at UNU-MERIT and Maastricht University from a student’s perspective. |
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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 Yu, Yip Ching, Jul 01, 2020, Pathways to Intergenerational Welfare Assimilation: Evidence from the Netherlands, IMISCOE Conference 2020 Yu, Yip Ching, Jun 25, 2020, Pathways to Intergenerational Welfare Assimilation: Evidence from the Netherlands, EALE SOLE AASLE World Labour Economics Conference 2020 Siegel, Melissa, 2020, Migration and Health, in: Bastia, Tanja & Ronald Skeldon, Routledge Handbook of Migration and Development, Routledge, UK, More information Soete, Luc, May 2020, Hammer or nudge? Science-based policy advice in the COVID-19 pandemic, More information Ragab, Nora Jasmin, 2020, Diaspora Mobilisation in a Conflict Setting: The Emergence and Trajectories of Syrian Diaspora Mobilisation in Germany, PhD dissertation Maastricht University / United Nations University Nour, Samia S. O. M., 2020, Migration of higher education students from the North Africa Region to the United Kingdom, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2020-016 |
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Photo Credits: H. Pijpers, S. Brodin, M. Siegel, [14] Flickr: Albertogp123 |
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