WELCOME to our third quarterly migration newsletter of 2014, keeping you up-to-date on our migration activities, events and publications at UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance. | ||
Vacancy notice: PhD Position in Migration and Entrepreneurship In the framework of the TRANSMIC project, Maastricht University’s Graduate School of Governance and UNU-MERIT is recruiting a Ph.D. researcher for a period of three years. The researcher will work on a research project concerning Entrepreneurship and Migration. This project will explore the linkages between migration and entrepreneurism either in the immigrant destination country or in the origin country upon return. Supervisors for this project include Prof. Dr. Wim Naudé and Dr. Melissa Siegel. The PhD candidate will be enrolled in the PhD programme in Economics and Governance. The successful candidate will also participate in the research training sessions in the framework of the TRANSMIC ITN Marie Curie project. Read more. |
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PROJECT ANNOUNCEMENTS |
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Integration policies: Who benefits? The development and use of indicators in integration debates UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance have recently become a partner of the project “Integration policies: Who benefits? The development and use of indicators in integration debates” (MIPEX 2015), co-funded by the European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals. The purpose of the project is to develop better tools to identify and measure integration outcomes through better evaluation of policy interventions. Özge Bilgili, researcher at UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance, and the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIBOD) is a lead researcher on this project where she will analyse existing impact analyses on integration policies in 14 EU countries as well as in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Click here for more information. |
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Independent Evaluation of the Swiss Migration Partnerships UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance have been awarded a contract to provide a comprehensive and independent evaluation of the Swiss Migration Partnerships with Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Nigeria and Tunisia, five years after the signing of the first agreement. The main objectives of the evaluation are: to provide information on the added value of migration partnerships compared to other forms of bilateral cooperation; to take stock of how migration partnerships are implemented and to what extent the objectives set in this instrument are achieved; and to reflect on the effects of migration partnerships. |
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Measuring Policy Coherence for Migration and Development UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance have been commissioned by KNOMAD to prepare a background paper on policy coherence for migration and development. The primary purpose of the paper is to develop a dashboard of indicators that can be used by domestic policymakers to assess the extent to which their policies are in line with global development goals. As migration looks set to have a place in the Post-2015 Development Agenda, efforts to promote better monitoring and evaluation of government efforts to promote the positive aspects of migration while mitigating the negatives, represent an important contribution. |
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UPCOMING EVENTS |
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11th Annual IMISCOE Conference The 11th annual IMISCOE (International Migration, Integration, and Social Cohesion) network conference will take place from 27-29 August in Madrid, Spain. The theme of this year's conference is "Immigration, Social Cohesion, and Social Innovation". Around 90 sessions will take place over three days and will include research panels, policy workshops, meeting by research group clusters, etc. As an IMISCOE member since April 2014, MACIMIDE will be represented by several researchers at the conference. More information on the IMISCOE conference can be found on the IMISCOE website. |
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Migration Seminars Over the course of the past few months many interesting topics have been covered at the Migration Seminar Series. In May, Elizabeth Collett, Director of the Migration Policy Institute Europe, spoke about the future of EU immigration and asylum policy. In June, Dr. Tamer Afifi, from the Environmental Migration, Social Vulnerability and Adaptation (EMSVA) section of the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) presented an overview of the theory and currently available empirical evidence on climate change induced migration. The Migration Seminar Series provides a platform to present research findings and to facilitate discussions on topics relevant to migration studies. The Seminar Series is taking a summer break but will start again in September 2014. To join our mailing list and receive invitations to future seminars please email: katie.kuschminder@maastrichtuniversity.nl. |
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PAST EVENTS |
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Human Migration: Myths, Hysteria and Facts On 27 June, Professor Hein de Haas delivered his inaugural lecture at Maastricht University. In his speech, de Haas dispelled seven myths of migration and called for more independent research. Hein de Haas is the Co-Director of the International Migration Institute (IMI) and University Lecturer in Migration Studies within the Department of International Development at the University of Oxford. De Haas holds a professorship in Migration and Development at UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance and has taught migration theory at Maastricht University for several years. For more information read the press release (NL). |
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Migrant and Refugee Integration in Global Cities: The Role of Cities and Businesses: Report Launch May 21 saw the launch of the Migrant and Refugee Integration in Global Cities report. The study, initiated by The Hague Process on Refugees and Migration (THP) in partnership with UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance, looks at how businesses and governments in global cities contribute to the economic and social integration of migrant and refugee populations. The report is based on the study of eight cities around the world representing a diversity of immigration experiences: Auckland (New Zealand), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Chicago (USA), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Lisbon (Portugal), Nairobi (Kenya), Rotterdam (The Netherlands), and São Paulo (Brazil). To accompany the launch, a policy brief was also released summarizing the kind findings of the study. |
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Migration Research Day: Discussion between Maastricht University and the Ministry of Security and Justice On 24 June 2014, four officials from the Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice attended a full day workshop in Maastricht. The day was intended to highlight the diversity of work being conducted at Maastricht University on policy relevant topics and to provide a platform for discussion between researchers and the policy community. Presentations were delivered on topics as diverse as return migration, migrant entrepreneurship, irregular migration, environmental migration, attracting the highly skilled, and policy coherence. The workshop facilitated fruitful and lively discussion between researchers from Maastricht University and the Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice. |
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EURO-MED III Events From 25-28 March, the German Development Agency, GIZ, hosted a workshop on the private sector development through migration in Frankfurt, Germany. The workshop was financed through the EU EUROMED Migration III project. PhD fellow Katrin Marchand was a Key Expert and Coordinator for the workshop. The first two days looked at the private sector and development, the needs of migrant entrepreneurs and not least the roles of small and medium entrepreneurs. This theme was expanded on day three going on to discuss practical successful examples including the case of a transnational entrepreneur, a GIZ funded return migrant programme. Read the press release. From June 10-13 Vivianne van der Vorst attended another EUROMED III workshop in Rotterdam to discuss the Migration Profile Process. Senior country representatives from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia were present. Read the press release. |
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TRAINING PROGRAMMES |
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Migration Management Diploma Programme Closing Ceremony On 24 June, we said goodbye to our second cohort of government officials and international staff who have spent the past three months intensively studying different aspects of migration management instructed by a wide range of experts. The Management Diploma Programme (MMDP) is sponsored by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who offers scholarships to government officials from 40 developing countries with at least three years’ experience in the field of migration and/or asylum procedures. The programme will run again in 2015. For more information please download the brochure here. Watch a testimonial from one of our graduates. |
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Online Courses For those who are interested but do not have the time to take a full time course, UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance have specially designed a number of online courses to suit the needs of busy professionals interested in pursuing migration studies. Currently we 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 your eye on our website for the launch of two new online courses later in 2014 on Forced Migration by Prof. Khalid Koser and on Internal Migration by Prof. Ronald Skeldon. |
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PUBLICATIONS |
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Migration and the Post 2015 Development Agenda ‘A New Global Partnership for Development: Factoring in the Contribution of Migration’ examines the relationship between migration and development and argues that migration should be part of the discussions for the post-2015 development agenda. This report, commissioned by the International Organization for Migration, provides a systematic update of the evidence base regarding migration’s relevance to and impact on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It further presents two ways in which migration could be incorporated in the post-2015 development agenda: i) situating migration alongside other “enablers” of migration such as trade in a reformulated version of MDG 8 on global partnerships; and (ii) through the inclusion of migration-related indicators as a cross-cutting theme in the new development goals. |
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Afghanistan in Focus As Afghanistan goes through elections and troops withdraw, many eyes remain firmly on the country. ‘Afghan returnees as actors of change?‘, ‘The changing nature of return migration to Afghanistan‘ and ‘Afghanistan’s displaced people: 2014 and beyond‘ are three articles featured in the 46th edition of Forced Migration Review contributed respectively by PhD fellow Marieke van Houte; PhD fellow Katie Kuschminder, and Dr. Melissa Siegel; and Prof. Khalid Koser et al. This edition of FMR analyses Afghanistan’s capacity to address the challenges of return, integration and reintegration, protection, access to rights, and continuing displacement of a large part of its population. Further from home, a new working paper, Afghan unaccompanied minors in the Netherlands: Far away from home and protected?‘ by Dr Melissa Siegel and Carla Buil fills a research gap by providing insights into the migration situation of Afghan unaccompanied minors (UAMs) in the Netherlands and the extent to which the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) is respected. |
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Return Migration In, ‘To return permanently or to return temporarily? Explaining migrants’ intentions’, PhD fellow Ozge Bilgili and Dr. Melissa Siegel study migrants’ intentions to return to their origin country by making the distinction between permanent return, temporary return and participation in temporary return programmes. Using survey data from first generation migrants in the Netherlands, this working paper finds that significantly more people are interested in temporary return than permanent return. In ‘Policy perspectives of Turkey towards return migration: From permissive indifference to selective difference’, the same authors take an innovative approach to looking at policy perspectives on return migration in Turkey, based on an analysis of official documents and a series of interviews with Turkish authorities, government officials and academics. This article published in Migration Letters identifies several perspectives ranging from the absence of specific legislation to control return migration, to concrete attempts to regulate the return of a select group of migrants, namely the highly skilled. |
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Remittances and Household Wealth after Conflict While remittances are the frequent subject of research, few researchers have looked at the use of remittances in conflict-affected countries. In a new paper in World Development, Post-Doctoral Researcher, Sonja Fransen and Prof. Valentina Mazzucato use urban Burundi as a case study to test three hypotheses: relative deprivation, investment, and insurance. Results show that remittances are common among wealthier households, rejecting the relative deprivation hypothesis. Remittances have strong effects on non-productive assets, such as living conditions and food security, and weak effects on productive assets, such as asset ownership. Poorer households invest mostly in non-productive assets, suggesting that remittances are insurance for the poor, whereas wealthier households seem largely unaffected by remittances. |
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International Students and Skill Mobility in the MENA Region ‘Migration of international students and mobilizing skills in the MENA Region‘ uses both descriptive and comparative approaches to provide an overview of the migration of international students from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This working paper by Affiliated Researcher, Samia Nour, finds that the number of international students from the MENA region has increased substantially in recent years. The study corroborates a second hypothesis that international students from the MENA region are concentrated in few countries and supports the third hypothesis that skills of international students can be better mobilized in their countries of origin by addressing the push-pull factors that determine migration of skills from the MENA region. |
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Photo Credits : H. Pijpers / UNU-MERIT, Flickr; Lauren Mitchell, Flickr: Gideon Malias, Flickr: isafmedia; MIPEX, GIZ, | ||
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