News

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.

The workshop „Survey Design, from scratch to using data analysis tools“ was held at the Faculty of Political Science on October 26, 2022. Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy organized the workshop. Lecturer was Dr. George Siakas, Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science, Democritus University, Komotini, Greece and Research Director at the Public Opinion Research Unit, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece. Senior and junior researchers as well as PhD candidates and master students attended the workshop.

The workshop focused on the two pillars of a survey, the representation and the questionnaire design. The workshop included the following topics, such as survey design, scope, purpose, specifications of each approach, selecting an appropriate mode of data collection; questionnaire design; sample design; quality assessment of each survey as well as survey administration techniques.

The international scientific conference “Migration on the Edge of Europe: trends, policies and challenges”, organized by the Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies (Croatia), was held in Zagreb on September 29-30, 2022. The conference brought together scholars and experts from the region and worldwide working on migration issues and included many panels and discussions. Members of the MIGREC team presented three papers.

Natalija Perisic and Dejan Pavlovic presented their paper entitled “The Vicious Cycle of Migration Policy Planning in the Republic of Serbia.” The authors discussed whether there is authentic strategic thinking and action in Serbia regarding the challenges of migration. Accordingly, they analyzed numerous laws, regulations, and policies related to formal migration policy. They emphasized that migration management in Serbia is also influenced by other incentives that come from the EU or international organizations dealing with migration.

Danica Santic, Marija Antic, Milica Langovic, and Natalija Perisic presented the paper entitled “The Impact of COVID-19 on the Migration Patterns in Serbia”. The presentation aimed to determine the change in migration trends in Serbia since 2020 under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was pointed out that during this period returnees and irregular migrants were particularly vulnerable. The researchers also discussed migration policies in Serbia during this period towards these categories of migrants.

Milica Langovic, Danica Santic, Biljana Apostolovska-Tosevska, Mirjanka Madjevikj and Marija Ljakoska presented their research “Identification of Migration Intentions of Geography Students in Serbia and North Macedonia”. The presentation focused on the migration intentions of students and the factors that influence their decision to migrate or stay in their country of origin. It was highlighted that a large number of students in Serbia and Macedonia intend to migrate. Accordingly, certain measures were offered to reduce the outflow of young people from these countries.

The international scientific conference “Challenges of Central and Eastern Europe – Conflicts and Migration”, organized by the Institute of Central and Eastern Europe, the Three Seas Foundation and the Doctoral Science Club on Politics of the University of Silesia, Poland was held online on September 13-14, 2022. The conference brought together scholars and experts from the region of Central and Eastern Europe and worldwide working on migration and peace issues and included many panels. The overall framework of the conference was set by developments from recent months during which the world witnessed the migration crisis on the Polish – Belarusian border, with currently about 2 million Ukrainian refugees in Poland. As a consequence, migration challenges in Europe intensify.

Natalija Perisic, member of the MIGREC team, presented at the expert panel her presentation “Conflicts and Migration – A View from Serbia”. She touched the challenge of migration and conflicts in the context which is social, historical, economic and legal. She focused her presentation around the impact of wars on migration and mobility in the Western Balkans, the differences between the impact of migration “crisis” of 2015 and the Ukrainian crisis in Serbia and preparedness of the state to react in emergency situations. She also presented the main obstacles and opportunities for the integration of migrants in Serbia as well as the impact of war trauma to the destination communities.

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.