The study visit to Thessaloniki and the participation of MIGREC team members Nataša Milošević and Ljiljana Ćumura, in the Summer School “Migration and the Crises of Solidarity in Europe”, was realized in the period from July 1st to 8th, 2022. The organizer of the Summer School was CITY College, University of York, Europe Campus in partnership with The University of York Migration Network (MIGNET), The Department of Politics of the University of York, The Department of Politics of the University of Sheffield, The Department of Sociological Studies of the University of Sheffield and The University of Sheffield Migration Research Group.
On the first day prof. Dr. Alexandra Prodromidou (SEERC, CITY College, University of York), MSc Nikos Zaharis (Director of the South East European Research Center), and Dr. Kelly Pasmatzi (SEERC, CITY College, University of York) gave a welcome speech and introduced the content and objectives of the summer school program. After that, participants had the opportunity to meet the history migration of Thessaloniki through a guided tour of Jewish culture and historical monuments. In the second part-day staff, International Organization for Migration (IOM) introduced various policies and programs for the integration of migrants and refugees in Greece.
The next day participants learned about the Ottoman cultural and historical monuments in Thessaloniki through the guided tour and visit of various sites. In the afternoon, Dr. Eli Auslender (York University – Politics) gave a lecture on the topic “Brick-by-Brick integration: The Importance of Housing Choice for Refugees”.
On the third day students, lecturers and professors toured settlements outside Thessaloniki and got acquainted with economic and social activities which have a strong influence on the socio-economic development of Greece.
The fourth day was a unique experience. Together with IOM Greece, participants visited the Kavala Refugee camp and on that occasion with migrants and refugees realized a few socially useful activities, with goal advancements and conservation life environment. Members of MIGREC team had a chance to speak with educators, translators, cultural mediators, refugees, representatives of various civil society organizations, such as Solidarity Now, and finally with the members of the Ministry of Education Greece.
On the fifth day, IOM realized outdoor, creative, and educative activities for students and migrants with an aim to support migrants and refugees in practicing English language. In the second part of the day, Dr Patricia Martuscelli (University of Sheffield – Politics) gave a lecture on the topic “Challenges to the Protection of Refugee Children”. The next day, the group visited the White tower and had a workshop about the history and culture of Thessaloniki using the museum education methodology.
On the seventh day prof. Dr. Simon Parker (Department for Politics University of York) gave a lecture on “Refugee Solidarity in Pandemic Times: Lessons from London”. The workshop “Solidarity in practice. Lessons from the field” was delivered by Verena Fink from Ecopolis – EMT. In the afternoon session, Dr. Maria Teresa Ferazzoli (University of Sheffield – Sociological Studies) realized the interactive lecture on the topic “Right to health, everyday bordering, and mental health: two case studies from Italy and England”.
The last day of the summer school was dedicated to networking and sharing good practices. PhD students: Mucahit Aydemir (University of Sheffield), Natasha Milošević (University of Belgrade), Ljiljana Ćumura (University of Belgrade), and Foteini Faye Ververidou (University of Sheffield) participated in the panel discussion on the topic “Challenges of doing a PhD on Migration” moderated by prof. Dr Alexandra Prodromidou. Milošević and Ćumura presented the activities and outcomes of the international H2020 program project “MIGREC”, coordinated by the Faculty for Political Science, University of Belgrade. A special focus of this panel was on ethics, challenges, and mixed methodology in migration research.
In the final session, researcher and activist Phevos Simonidis (Researcher – Activist) presented the lecture “Conducting research and investigations on human rights violations in Greece through testimonies (practices and considerations)”.
More than 50 students took part in the 4th edition of Summer School. Besides MIGREC team from Serbia and Greece, students came from Great Britain, Germany, Chile, Brazil, Albania, Turkey, Bulgaria, France, Poland, USA, Spain, Italy, Uruguay, etc. It was a great opportunity to share the experience and create new initiatives in the field of migration and solidarity in crisis.
