WELCOME to our fourth quarterly migration newsletter, keeping you up-to-date on our migration activities, events and publications at UNU-MERIT and the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance. We are excited to share some of the highlights of a busy quarter with you. | ||
PROFESSOR ANNOUNCEMENTS We are delighted to welcome three new migration professors to the school: |
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Hein de Haas is the Co-Director of the International Migration Institute (IMI) within the Department of International Development at the University of Oxford. Hein de Haas now holds a professorship in Migration and Development at UNU-MERIT and the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance. |
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Khalid Koser is the Deputy Director and Academic Dean at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. Dr Khalid Koser now holds a Professorship in Conflict, Peace and Security at UNU-MERITand the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance. |
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Ronald Skeldon is a Professorial Fellow in the Department of Geography at the School of Global Studies at the University of Sussex. Prof. Ronald Skeldon now holds a Professorship in Human Geography at UNU-MERIT and the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance. |
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PROJECT ANNOUNCEMENTS |
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Call for Papers: IS Academy End Conference Plans are underway for our final IS Academy conference on 22–24 January 2014. The conference marks the end of a five-year project financed by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We are currently seeking papers on the three thematic areas covered by the project: (1) return migration; (2) remittances; (3) and the highly skilled in Afghanistan, Burundi, Ethiopia, Morocco and the Netherlands. See the call and registration form for the conference here. In the run-up to the final conference we will also be holding civil society days in the Hague, the Netherlands on 25-26 November 2013 to share key findings from the IS Academy. |
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*NEW* Migrant and Refugee Integration in Global Cities: The role of Cities and Businesses In collaboration with UNU-MERIT and the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance, The Hague Process on Refugees and Migration (THP) has launched a research project on the economic and social integration of migrants and refugees in cities. The project specifically focuses on efforts by the private sector and city governments – both separately and in partnership – to provide protections and create greater opportunities in employment markets and communities. |
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*NEW* The Tunisian Diaspora in Germany Based on a request from GIZ Tunisia, UNU-MERIT and the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance will conduct a study on the characteristics of the Tunisian Diaspora in Germany, the level and structures of their organizations, and their engagement in development. This will also involve mapping of diaspora organizations in order to provide an overview of Tunisian associations, federations, and trade associations in Germany. |
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EVENTS |
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UNU-wide Migration Network On 12-13 June, Dr Melissa Siegel attended the first meeting of the UNU wide Migration Network. The group aims to build bridges and develop synergies between different institutes within the UNU that are working on migration issues. |
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Club of the Hague Meeting On 4 June, Dr Melissa Siegel attended the 11th Club of the Hague meeting. The Club of The Hague is the high-level advisory council of The Hague Process (THP), providing policy direction and discussing key topics on the refugee and migration agenda within a human rights and development perspective. The Club features 60 prominent members, either active or associate, representing various stakeholders and regions covered by THP in the Northern and Southern hemispheres. The meeting was opened by HRH Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands, chairman of THP Board. Watch interviews with participants at the meeting. |
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Complexities and Challenges in Afghan Migration: Policy and Research Event Afghanistan faces many changes and challenges in 2014, with the impending withdrawal of coalition forces and presidential elections set for the spring. In this climate of uncertainty, many are tempted to adopt a ‘wait and see’ attitude; yet the country's many complex challenges require urgent coordinated responses. This was the message of an April 2013 conference organized by the School of Governance in the framework of the IS Academy project. Read the policy brief, blog and watch brief interviews with conference participants. |
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Moldova and Georgia End Conference On 7 June our final conference in the European Commissioned financed ‘Effects of migration on children and the elderly left behind in Moldova and Georgia’. The project was organised in Maastricht and provides an innovative look at the effects of migration on those left behind by using sophisticated econometric techniques to analyse nationally representative data. The team uses a multidimensional poverty index to explore the effects of migration on different aspects of the lives of those left behind. Interviews with some of the event participants can be found on our YouTube channel. |
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Remittances, Entrepreneurship and Development Debate and Workshop Our International Policy Debate on 29 May gathered academics, policy makers, and practitioners to discuss their latest research and policies for remittances, entrepreneurship and development in a globalizing world. The event was co-organized by the Dutch Foreign Ministry and UNU-MERIT and the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance. It was followed by a two-day workshop presenting some of our key work on the topic. Interviews with some of the event participants can be found on our YouTube channel. |
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UNICEF Training in Iran From 4 - 9 May, Queshm Island, Iran, hosted 32 officials for a course on poverty concepts and measurement, with a special focus on child refugees and migrants. Trainers from UNU-MERIT and the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance provided interactive workshops on deprivation, poverty, social exclusion and vulnerability. Participants learned about social budgeting, how to measure multidimensional poverty, and how to create indicators for the Iranian context. Attendees included policy makers, civil servants and administrators from several Iranian ministries, plus representatives from UNICEF and UNHCR. The course was sponsored by UNICEF Iran. |
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Marieke van Houte |
Migration Seminars Each year we host a series of migration seminars, providing a platform for researchers to present their work in the field of migration. In May, PhD fellow Lisa Andersson, of the University of Gothenburg, presented ‘Do International Remittances Stimulate Private Transfers? Panel Data Evidence from Ethiopia’ and Dr Cécile Hoareau and Ms Paulina Panoska provided a comparative analysis of higher education attainment among foreign born populations in Europe. In June, Orcun Ulusoy gave a presentation on asylum and migration in the Aegean Region and Marieke van Houte presented one of her PhD chapters of return migration to Afghanistan. The migration seminar series will start again in the fall. |
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Migration Management Diploma Programme On 25 June we held the closing ceremony for the first cohort of students on our Migration Management Diploma Programme. Over the course of the past three months, UNU-MERIT and MGSoG have hosted 10 students from developing countries, all on scholarships from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Watch some testimonials from our participants. Applications for our next course, starting April 2014, will open later this year. |
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PUBLICATIONS |
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This quarter, the migration group released a number of publications. PhD fellow, Katie Kuschminder’s paper on knowledge transfer and capacity building through temporary return of qualified nationals to Afghanistan is currently available for early view on International Migration. Dr Melissa Siegel co-authored a methodological paper with David McKenzie from the World Bank looking at ways in which irregular migration can be better measured using sophisticated sampling techniques. Dr Melissa Siegel and PhD fellow, Carla Buil wrote a background paper for the European Report on Development 2013. The paper assesses the feasibility of establishing an international framework for labour migration. Project Coordinator, Elaine McGregor prepared a report detailing the key findings of an international exchange programme established by the Dutch Government and organized by Panteia to promote dialogue between policy makers working in the area of civic integration and forced marriage. |
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Photo Sources: The Hague Process; Herman Pijpers; Howard Hudson; Flickr: albertogp123; isafmedia | ||
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