December 2022

Members of the MIGREC team, Nataša Milošević, Tamara Milanov and Ljiljana Ćumura from the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Political Science, participated in a one-week study visit in Athens, Greece.

During the visit, MIGREC researchers and PhD candidates had meetings, interviews and fruitful discussions with the representatives of several national and international organizations, such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), International Organization for Migration (IOM), Doctors without borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Arsis – Association for the Social Support of Youth.

Nataša Milošević, PhD candidate at the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Political Sciences, Department for Social Policy and Social Work, is writing a PhD thesis titled “Policies of Integration of forced migrants into the Labour Market from 2015 to 2022 in the Republic of Greece”. This study visit was an excellent opportunity for her to collect data and various perspectives from the actors involved in the process of managing the integration of forced migrants in Greece. In accordance with the research plan as part of her doctoral dissertation, Nataša conducted semi-structured interviews with IOM, UNHCR and IRC representatives.

Tamara Milanov and Ljiljana Ćumura, both PhD candidates at the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Political Sciences, Department for Social Policy and Social Work, are doing research on the topic “Complementarity of public policies and programs of international organizations in the field of migrant health care – lessons learned since 2015”. Through the meetings with representatives of MSF, IOM and ARSIS they had a chance to learn more about experience, activities, projects and initiatives regarding migrant health care and well-being not only in Greece but in North Balkan, as well.

The study visit was held from December 9 to 16, 2022 within the H2020 Migration, Integration and Governance Research Center (MIGREC) project.

From September 26 to 28, 2022 the Refugee & Migrant Education Network (RMEN) in partnership with the Blessing Foundation held its annual international conference entitled “Initiatives in Refugee & Migrant Education: Moving Forward – Diving Deeper – Together”. The organization of the program was assisted greatly by the UNHCR and JRS at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy. The conference was an international gathering of experts, university faculties, students, educational practitioners as well as leaders of NGO’s, international agencies as well as humanitarian organizations in the field of migration.

The conference included a large number of panels, discussions and more than 20 workshops and plenary sessions with the world-renowned experts such as Sarah Dryden Peterson, Alan MacKay, Roberta Malee Bassett, Rebecca Telford, Marco Tavanti, Chiara Cardoletti-Carroll, etc. More than 175 participants from all over the world had an ample time for networking and collaboration to explore future initiatives, as well as discussion of current opportunities and challenges in the unsettled and difficult times that the world faces.

The main speakers at the conference were the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, and Director of Jesuit Refugee Service International, Tom Smolich SJ. Dr Anthony Cernera, RMEN Founder & Team Lead and cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development welcomed the participants at the beginning of the Conference.

In the section dedicated to the families of migrants and workers, members of the MIGREC team Ljiljana Ćumura and Tamara Mihajlović from the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Political Sciences presented their work and research in the field of education of migrant children in Serbia and Malta and discussed with the attendees the challenges in modern education systems for migrants and refugees around the world and how we can overcome them.

On the second day, Ljiljana presented MIGREC project and informed the audience about the main goal, activities and outcomes. This was a great opportunity for networking and new collaboration with leaders of NGO’s, international agencies, and humanitarian organizations who are committed to enhancing and expanding educational opportunities for refugees and displaced people.

Day after the conference, on September 29, the private audience with His Holiness, Pope Francis was organized in Vatican.

Members of the MIGREC team, professors, assistants and junior researchers from the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Political Science and Faculty of Geography, visited the University of Sheffield. This study visit was held within the framework of the H2020 Migration, Integration and Governance Research Center (MIGREC) project, in the period from December 5 to 9, 2022.

Through the networking of the MIGREC team and members of the Migration Research Group from the University of Sheffield, academic work in the area of ​​migration at the two universities was presented. Members of the MIGREC team were introduced to the research projects of the University of Sheffield’s Migration Research Group. As part of those presentations, they visited Rotherham, where they toured the communities where the so-called social boundaries are mapped, and the center “Football unites, racism divides”, where they were presented with a model of empowerment through the so-called liquid integration of young migrants through sports activities.