PhD candidate Nataša Milošević from the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Political Science, participated in a two-week study visit in Thessaloniki, Greece from March 12 to 26, 2023.

As part of the study visit, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the oldest Archaeological Museum in Greece, she visited an exhibition dedicated to the history of Thessaloniki as a city with the epithet “mother of migration” due to intensive centuries of immigration. Through the exhibition, elements of Greek, Jewish and Oriental culture were presented, which strongly influenced the socio-cultural and spatial identity of the city.

As part of her research work on the topic of her doctoral dissertation “The policy of integration of forced migrants into the labour market from 2015 to 2022 in the Republic of Greece”, Nataša Milošević visited York City University Campus, where a summer school on migration is organized every year. In the university library, she collected useful data for the needs of her research.

As a part of the dissertation research, she conducted interviews with experts in the field of migrant employment and migration management, representatives of the Red Cross in Greece, Caritas, Ecopolis and the organization Pervolarides from Thessaloniki.

Also, the researcher visited the Social club, the oldest non-governmental organization in Greece “Ecopolis”, which provides help and support to refugees, and the Multifunctional Center of the Red Cross in Greece, where counseling services are provided for refugees and asylum seekers.

This study visit enabled Nataša Milošević to complete part of the research within the doctoral dissertation, which involved conducting semi-structured interviews with interested parties on the subject of the policies of integration of forced migrants in the Republic of Greece.

The international conference “Migration in the Western Balkans – rethinking crisis narratives”, within the Migration, Integration and Governance Research Center project (MIGREC), was held at the Faculty of Political Science in Belgrade, from February 2 to 3, 2023.

The conference was opened by the Dean of the Faculty of Political Science of the University of Belgrade, Prof. Dragan R. Simić and Vice Dean for the 1st Cycle Studies and coordinator of the MIGREC project, Prof. Natalija Perišić.

Among the moderators, presenters and participants at the Conference were the leading academics, experts and researchers in the field of migration from all countries of the Western Balkans region, i.e. from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo*, North Macedonia and Croatia, as well as from other countries, United Kingdom, Greece, Poland, Italy and Turkey.

The field of ​​migration in the Western Balkan region is most often examined in the context of negative demographic changes, and the region itself is usually narrowly seen as a transit zone, a “sending” region and a region that represents migrants as a security threat. Contrary to this dominant perspective, the conference aimed at a different point of view on migration in the region. Conference participants presented the results of their scientific works and discussed how migration flows, processes, relationships and practices contribute to political, economic and social development within the region. Plenary speaker Prof. Russell King focused on the issues of the position of migration studies in contemporary conditions, while the second plenary speaker, Angeliki Dimitriadi, problematized the consequences of the New Act on Migration and Asylum for the countries of the Western Balkans.

The conference is organized around a panel on perspectives regarding migration in the Western Balkan countries, crisis framing of migration, violence and migration in post-conflict societies, transitions from regularity to irregularity in the field of migration, critical narratives and discourses about migrants, and re-examination of the concept of integration from experiences children and families of migrants.

Participants were able to exchange knowledge and experience, to network and discuss opportunities and challenges for improving research, policy and practice.

Agenda MIGREC, 2_3 Feb 2023

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.