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Annual International Conference of the Royal Geographical Society was held from August 31 to September 3, 2021 under the title “Borders, Borderland and Bordering” (https://www.rgs.org/research/annual-international-conference/attending-the-virtual-conference/). The main topics of the Conference were: What is the role of geography and geographers in producing knowledge and understanding about the multiple, multi-scalar and ceaselessly changing forms of environmental, physical, symbolic, smart/digital and invisible borders? How can geographers illuminate and creatively engage with borderlands? How can we interrogate the multiplicity of bordering technologies and practices? How are the disciplinary borders of geography itself being reified, challenged and reshaped in an academic environment that increasingly promotes trans-disciplinary research? What truly progressive ideas and research can geographers develop, what actions can we take and what alternatives can we propose that challenge those borders and bordering practices that control and confine?

Prof. Dr. Danica Šantić from the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Geography presented on “Migrants, borders and competing narratives in the Western Balkans: A Serbian Perspective” in front of the MIGREC team which included also Natalija Perišić, Rebecca Murray, Ryan Powell and Majella Kilkey. MIGREC’s presentation was a part of the panel “Exchange and twinning in an age of borders: (inter)nationalism, mobility, encounter, and participation”.

Prof. Šantić presented the main twinning ideas behind the MIGREC project, its aims, goals and activities as an overall framework. Drawing on insights from the project, she sought to place the western Balkans at the centre of debates which contribute to the disruption of east-west dichotomous thought through a migration lens.  Through a critical engagement with migration narratives in Serbia before and during COVID-19, Prof. Šantić presented three analytical moves: decentering Western Europe from these debates; capturing diversity within the region underlying logics and rationales in challenging the homogenisation of responses as “post-communist”; disrupting contemporary narratives of an intolerant, xenophobic and homogeneous post-communist “east” juxtaposed with a liberal, multicultural and cosmopolitan “west”.  Through international collaborative practice within the MIGREC, myths perpetuated by dichotomous and normative thinking by theorizing from and with Serbia were challenged.  The variable, divergent and often ambivalent ways in which migrants are positioned and governed, highlighting care and solidarity alongside hostility and racism (just as in “western Europe”) were nuanced. This revealed a far more dynamic, complex and variegated context in refuting a standardized and static post-communist xenophobia – one that is shown to be produced relationally and in opposition to an imagined, tolerant European civility as the self-image of the west.

In June 2021 the MIGREC project held its second Publishing Seminar on the theme ‘Publish or Perish: publishing internationally’. The seminar was led by ELIAMEP team members of MIGREC, Dr. Ioannis Armakolas and Dr. Julianne Funk, who are also editors of the journal “Southeast European and Black Sea Studies” (SEEBSS). The three sessions of the seminar were held online and attended mostly by University of Belgrade MA students, PhD candidates and professors, but also other MIGREC team members from ELIAMEP and SEERC. The goal of the seminar was to grow participants’ capacities to produce more appealing research outputs for prominent international scientific journals.

Guest speaker at the first session was Giulia Guariento, Portfolio Manager – Area Studies, Taylor & Francis Group, who focused on journal ranking and impact factor. Guariento elaborated on two main topics: the relevancy of the impact factor and journal ranking and the benefits and disadvantages of the metric and exploring alternatives. The session aimed at helping early career researchers to avoid common pitfalls during the publication process. It covered basic dos and don’ts and publication best practice checklists.

The second session featured Dr. Sabine Rutar, an Editor-in-Chief of “Comparative Southeast European Studies” and concentrated around open access (OA). The session was devoted to the discussion of the pros and cons of open access publishing. Dr. Rutar shared her experience and advice as an editor of international open access journal where participants may want to publish in future.

The third session of the seminar featured Madeleine Hatfield, Founder and Editor of Yellowback with the presentation “Being peer reviewed and becoming a peer reviewer”. This session considered how the journal peer review process works what to expect and do when you receive peer reviews on your work, why you would want to do a peer review yourself and how to become a peer reviewer.

Members of the MIGREC team Danica Šantić and Milica Todorović participated at the conference “Strengthening of Cooperation with Business Diaspora in Austria, Switzerland and Germany” organized by the Link Up! Serbia II Project, financed by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), through funds of the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC), and implemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD). The conference was held from June 16 to 18, 2021.

The conference was aimed at presenting results of the first year of the Link Up! Serbia II Project implementation, discussion of new modes of cooperation being developed between business diaspora and local self-governments and MFA in Serbia and the new Diaspora Business Hub, online platform – Business Atlas for Diaspora and Serbia. The discussion also included other topics related to enhancing cooperation with diaspora in the German-speaking countries. The list of participants included representatives of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, several embassies in Belgrade, higher educational institutions, media, local self-governments and business diaspora.

Prof. Danica Šantić participated as a moderator, whereas Milica Todorović, MA, was one of the panellist at the session devoted to steps for improving grants for successful realization of diaspora potentials. Participants at the session discussed projects and grant support schemes in the context of successful realization of diaspora potential, limits or challenges to its achievement and possibilities to overcome them. One of the session’s topic was how to lay the foundation or, if such foundation already exists, how to “scale up” the cooperation for yielding significant changes in broader eco-system in Serbia.

Prof. Danica Šantić also participated in the session dealing with business and research as developmental format of Diaspora Days. Within this session, the participants discussed important topics of cooperation with diaspora and challenges and obstacles at local and regional levels. The significance of the Diaspora Days was stressed as an opportunity and occasion for professional and academic communities from Serbia and diaspora to gather at an academic conference in order to offer ideas and solutions for all challenges accompanying local development.

Members of the MIGREC team, Natalija Perišić and Danijela Pavlović, participated on June 17, 2021 at the conference „Innovation and Resilience: Preparedness of Social Work Education in Uncertain Times“ organized by the European Association of Schools of Social Work and the University of Tallinn with presentation „The Creation of Understanding of Migration-related Developments in Social Work and Social Policy Education in Serbia“.

The conference was structures around six topics:

1. Lifespan and Social Work in an Era of Innovation
2. Social Work Education for Sceneries of Exception (Crises, Disasters and Unexpected Events)
3. Post-Traumatic Approaches in Social Work
4. Innovative Social Work Teaching Practices Involving Service Users
5. Innovative Skills for Social Work Practice with Distressed Groups: Migrants, Refugees, War and Conflict Victims and Health Crises Victims
6. Social Work Ethics in Times of Uncertainty: Balancing Innovation and Tradition

Professor Perišić showed that the influence of various kinds of migration on Serbian society was deep. She pointed out that the migration trends were diverse: forced and voluntary, regular and irregular, internal and external. It is reasonable to expect that all this will be enhanced in near future. As the result, she mentioned the necessity for stronger support to vulnerable population and the need for reshaping the developmental concept of the society. Her presentation focused on the impact of the MIGREC project on emerging understanding of migration-related developments in education for social work and social policy in Serbia.

In addition, the presentation contained the thematic fields of the project: integration of migrants, migration governance, development and migration nexus, theories and methods in migration studies and knowledge, discourses and representation of migrants. Prof. Perišić pointed out that researching each of the thematic fields and putting them within the research centre to be developed within the project would lead to development of theoretical, practical and political knowledge and understanding of importance for education in social work and social policy at the doctoral studies level.

The Faculty of Political Science, University of Belgrade, in cooperation with the UNICEF Serbia and with financial support of the U.S. government, presented a new course – Protection of Children Affected by Mixed Migration.

The course was developed in accordance with global standards and knowledge developed in response to refugee and migrant crisis and is based on experiences of national stakeholders. It is aimed at further enhancement of child protection system in Serbia in order to address vulnerabilities emerging in the context of migration.

Professors Nevenka Žegarac and Natalija Perišić, Assistant Professors Anita Burgund Isakov and Katarina Lončarević and Associate Violeta Marković all participate in drafting and carrying out of the course.

On 3/11/2020, the course was launched at the webinar with following speakers: Prof. Dragan R. Simić, Dean of the Faculty of Political Science, Deyana Kostadinova, UNICEF Representative in Serbia, Ivan Gerginov, Assistant Commissioner in the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration of the Republic of Serbia, Slađana Čabrić, Assistant Minister for labor, employment, veteran and social issues and Prof. Nevenka Žegarac.

Protection of Children Affected by Mixed Migration is a multidisciplinary course aimed at enhancing capacities of students and professionals working with children affected by migration. It will be piloted during the winter semester of the academic year 2020/ 2021, with the vision to become accredited and remain a permanent course in the academic offer of the Faculty of Political Science, for students of social work, political science, communication studies, gender and cultural studies in the coming years.

The contents of the course encompasses eight topics: rights-based approach in work with migrant children and child protection framework; main principles in protection of children affected by mixed migration; identification of children affected by mixed migration and organization of initial response; gender and vulnerability; gender-based violence and migration; guidelines for case management in protection of migrant children; unaccompanied children and separated children; alternative care and sustainable solutions.

The announcement of the course at the TV RTS 1 morning programme can be seen here:

http://streaming.ninamedia.rs/uploads/dtmp4.php?src=/2020/11/05/6E3CCD9C-915C-4644-A41A-B5D895FCEF5C

Due to COVID-19, Workshop on Migrant Integration will be convened online from September 10th to 16th 2020.

• ELIAMEP- September Planning of_seminars for WP4

Danijela Pavlović, a member of the MIGREC team and a junior researcher at the Faculty of Political Science, spoke about human trafficking at a local television. She presented the concept of human trafficking and its development throughout the history. She also pointed out to all its forms existing nowadays and highlighted that we meet some of them every day. That is why it is important to open our eyes wide and react to suspicious situations. As the most endangered groups and potential victims, she mentioned young people, victims of domestic violence, socially endangered persons, as well as uneducated persons. In addition to these groups, she pointed out that anyone can be a victim, so it is especially important to be careful when looking for a job.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoR3NQ7rvm8&t=226s

Serbia based MIGREC team organized Workshop on MIGREC’s mission, vision and research strategy on 2/7/2020. The workshop built upon two online brainstorming sessions in which MIGREC members from Serbia were joined by MIGREC members from USFD, ELIAMEP and SEERC in April and May this year. Online discussions on the mission, vision and research strategy were held also with the MIGREC’s Task Force and Advisory Board in June this year. Today’s workshop led by Prof. Dr Nevenka Žegarac made new insights and additional refinement of MIGREC’s mission, vision and core values.