Conferences & Events Already Held
For details on forthcoming events click here
Events held in: 2004 2005 2006 2007
Events held in 2008:
Return Migration in Asia : Experiences, Ideologies and Politics
Date: 31/07/2008 - 01/08/2008
Venue: National University of Singapore , Bukit Timah Campus
Organisers: Dr XIANG Biao, Prof YEOH Brenda and Dr TOYOTA Mika
Despite the burgeoning literature on a wide range of transnational migratory flows in Asia , research on “return” remains scarce. Return migration is not just a form of reverse flow; “return” is a highly emotive and contested notion. Why, for example, is the Nikkeijins' journey from Latin America to Japan called “return” although for most of them Japan is but a foreign country? Why are the governments of China , India , the Philippines and Singapore , to name a few, actively encouraging “return” which supposedly becomes less relevant due to globalization and circular migration? How should we understand the recent proliferation of bilateral “readmission agreements” between migrant-sending and migrant-receiving countries aimed at enforcing return?
“Return” is both emotional and political because it is regarded as at once an unquestionable right and an uncontestable duty, and is by definition bound to such primordial notions as “home,” “roots,” and “belonging.” In this workshop, we attempted to problematize these conventional understandings and open up the concept of “return” as a strategic moment of redefining economic, social and political relations in contemporary Asia. Click here to download further details.
IMISCOE/IMI/COMPAS Event - 'Theories of Migration and Social Change' Wednesday 2nd July and Thursday 3rd July 2008, Oxford.
The Conference was organised in response to an IMISCOE call for proposals for conferences on: ‘fundamental and strategic issues in theories, concepts and methodologies for the study of migration and integration’. It took the form of a fairly small ‘expert symposium’ and opened with a keynote address by Professor Alejandro Portes of Princeton University on `Migration and Social Change’. Themes included `theories of global mobility’, `gender in the migratory process’, and `transnationalism and the migratory process’. Click here for more information.
A full conference report will be published in due course.
COMPAS Annual Conference 2008 - 'Theorising Key Migration Debates'Monday 30th June and Tuesday 1st July at St Anne's College, Oxford.
This conference focussed on the implications, as well as applications of theory in relation to contemporary issues of debate. By bringing together theorists from different disciplines, including those not traditionally linked with migration studies, it aimed to evaluate what theory has to offer public discourse. We will take as our starting point three key themes consistently appearing in public debate: illegal migration, integration and migrant workers.
A full conference report and selected papers will be posted here in due course.
Discussion panel - Practices of Citizenship: Migration, Europe and Political Subjectivities
International Conference in Critical Psychology,
Cultural Studies and Social Theory Cardiff School of Social Sciences
27th - 29th June 2008,
Glamorgan Building
This panel invited a discussion on migration as pivotal for the analysis of contemporary social realities and political subjectivities. To this end, the papers examined the link between migration, governmentality and sovereignty; migration and the transformation of labour relations and labour markets (in particular its gendered and racialized arrangements, and the genealogies of workers’ struggles); and, between migration and production of political subjectivities as played out in the production of the labour power on the one hand and the process of subjectivation on the other. Finally, the panel addressed the importance of the above outlined lines of inquiry for a re- conceptualization of citizenship in terms of ‘practices of citizenship’ and hence for a more nuanced understanding of the present configuration of power and its contestations in today’s Europe.
Panel Coordinator: Rutvica Andrijasevic, University of Oxford
Speakers: Bridget Anderson, University of Oxford,
Nicholas de Genova, Columbia University,
Rutvica Andrijasevic, University of Oxford
Discussant: Sandro Mezzadra, University of Bologna
Book Launch: A New Politics of Identity: Political Principles for an Interdependent World, by Bhikhu Parekh
Thursday 29th May 2008, 2-5pm,
Fellows' Dining Room, St Antony’s College,
62 Woodstock Road, Oxford
Professor Lord Bhikhu Parekh introduced his new book A New Politics of Identity: Political Principles for an Interdependent World (Palgrave McMillan). The book was discussed by Professor Sir Adam Roberts (Politics and International Relations), and Dr Ellie Vasta (COMPAS ). Chair: Dr Nicholas Van Hear (COMPAS)
Link to publisher’s abstract: http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?PID=266873
Editorial seminar on ‘Labour Migration in Europe’,
14 April 2008
Oxford Review of Economic Policy and ESRC Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS) Margaret Thatcher Conference Centre,
Somerville College, Oxford. Click here for programme
(Irregular) Transit Migration in Europe: Theory, Politics, Research Methodology and Ethics, 18-20 April 2008, Koc University, Istanbul (Sariyer)
The issue of irregular transit migration is often at the centre of political discussion around the externalisation and internationalisation of EU migration control. However, there is neither a definition in international law nor a commonly agreed scientific definition of transit migration. This conference therefore addressed empirical gaps, problematic methodologies, blurred concepts and missing definitions. By bringing together experts from various disciplines studying this phenomenon from both the sending, transit and receiving countries' perspectives, it aimed to contribute a more appropriate typology, a theory of transit migration, as well as considering ways of improving the reliability of data and methodologies.
Click here for a the conference abstract
Click here for the conference outline
Click here for the conference presentations
Franco-British Collaborative Workshops
Two models – one integration crisis?
Immigrant/minority conditions and policy options in France and Britain
London – April 2007 & Paris – November 2007
The French riots of 2005 and British riots of 2001 and 2005 exacerbated already heightened public and policy concerns, in each national context, regarding the nature of immigrant and ethnic minority integration. Given what are purported to be two opposing visions of integration – one based on universalism and common citizenship verses one centred on anti-discrimination and multiculturalism – observers of the riots have been struck by what seem to be common outcomes, or failures, of both political models. In each country high levels of discrimination, widespread segregation and social exclusion, insufficient political voice and a range of poor socio-economic conditions have fuelled discontent, community tensions and a lack of hope for the future among ethnic minorities – particularly among youths. By way of political discussions and policy options, in France and Britain responses to these two sets of circumstances since 2005 have included surprising shifts that seem to suggest that the two nation-states are moving toward each other's models.
Under the auspices of the joint Franco-British Research Councils Collaborative scheme, two workshops were organized by COMPAS and the Institut National d'Etudes Démographiques (INED), Paris. The workshops brought together academics, policy-makers and practitioners to explore the models, outcomes, and future policy options surrounding the integration of immigrants and ethnic minorities in the UK, France and Europe more widely. The workshops and their subsequent reports will aim to contribute significantly toward better understanding current conditions and more sharply fashioning integration policy development.
Click here for background paper, available in English and French.
Click here for workshop reports (.pdf).
Metropolis Conference 2007, Melbourne, Australia
Accommodating diversity: do current critiques of multiculturalism miss the point?
Convenor: Ellie Vasta, COMPAS, The University of Oxford
Throughout Europe there appears to be a retreat from the principles and policies of multiculturalism and a shift to approaches labelled as ‘integration' and ‘social cohesion'. These seem often to be euphemisms for a return to the assimilationist principles of the past, which had been largely rejected since the 1960s. There is a widespread view that pluralist or multicultural approaches to immigrant inclusion have failed and that a large part of the blame lies with multiculturalism and immigrants themselves. Similar debates are occurring in Australia whereas in Canada, multiculturalism is more socially entrenched. This workshop explored the ideological, political and socio-economic foundations and changes in immigration discourses (i.e. in policy and in the public discourse) in countries of immigration such as: Europe, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
Click here for programme details and to download presentations
From Multiculturalism to Social Cohesion: What Works?
Convenor: Sarah Spencer, COMPAS, University of Oxford
The workshop compared approaches to immigrant integration in three immigrant-receiving countries, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands. All three countries receive migrants through various channels and must address the challenges of integrating newcomers into mainstream society. Integration issues include addressing the basic settlement needs of newcomers and ensuring their full participation in the receiving society. Immigration also transforms the receiving society by increasing diversity in terms of culture, language and religion. Consequently, integration entails a balance between respecting the cultural heritages of all individuals on the one hand and fostering social cohesion on the other.
Click here for programme details and to download presentations
COMPAS Annual Conference 2007
Between ‘Parallel Lives' and ‘Community Cohesion'
Toward new models of immigration, integration and multiculturalism
5-6 July 2007, St Anne's College, University of Oxford
Click here for programme details and to download presentations and conference reports.
Special seminar-“A Clash of Cultures? What underlies the division between migration studies and race and ethnicity studies?”
Liza Schuster, Department of Sociology, City University, London spoke on 19 April 2007, 2-3.30pm at the Pauling Centre, 58a Banbury Road, Oxford
SEESOX/COMPAS Seminar
"Migration to the EU: Challenges, Rights and Opportunities"
A GLOMIG project (EU 6th Global Migration Network), located at METU University, Ankara Turkey. Co-organisers: Dr Othon Anastasakis (SEESOX) and Dr Ellie Vasta (COMPAS)
22nd February 2007, 17:00-19:00, European Studies Centre, University of Oxford (Open seminar)
"Migration and the dual crisis of national identity and the welfare state: a European dilemma"
WELCOME: Professor Steven Vertovec, COMPAS, and Dr Kalypso Nicolaidis, SEESOX
PANEL: Professor Carl-Ulrik Schierup and Professor Stephen Castles
DISCUSSANT: Professor Linda McDowell
CHAIR: Dr Othon Anastasakis
European societies are experiencing a dual crisis of national identity and of the welfare state. Both are closely connected with globalisation: increased migration and ethnic diversity are a result of growing cross-border flows of all kinds which are an integral part of global integration; national welfare states are being undermined by the mobility of capital and its ability to move rapidly to countries with low wages and little social protection. This seminar links two discourses that are normally separate: immigration and ethnic relations research on the one hand, and the political economy of the welfare state on the other. It will highlight the major moral-political dilemma emerging across the EU out of the discord between declared ideals of citizenship and actual exclusion of minorities from civil, political, and social rights. Drawing on case-study analysis of migration, the changing welfare state, and labour markets in the UK , Germany , Italy , and Sweden , the seminar will chart the variety of Europe 's social and political landscape. Trends of divergence and convergence between single countries are related to the European Union's emerging policies for diversity and social inclusion.
23rd February 2007, 09:00 – 17:00 (By invitation)
WORKSHOP SESSIONS - designed around two specially commissioned papers.
Events held in 2006
COMPAS Discussion
Wednesday, 20 December 2006, 2-4pm
"From multiculturalism to national integration policies: convergence and divergence in North West European approaches to immigration"
A discussion led by Adrian Favell, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, UCLA, and author on integration and multicultural issues
If you are interested in attending please let Daisy Quinn know via email, daisy.quinn@compas.ox.ac.uk.
CEEM/COMPAS Seminar
Wednesday, 13 December 2006, 5.15-6.30pm
COMPAS Boardroom, 58 Banbury Rd
"Migration situation in Moldova: Overview, recent trends and policy implications"
Eugene Burdelnii, Senior Advisor to the Parliament of Moldova
(CEEM-Central and Eastern European Migration Working Group)
Annual International Metropolis Conference
Lisbon, 2-6 October 2006
The theme of this year's conference is “Paths & Crossroads: Moving People, Changing Places”. People on the move grow increasingly diverse, and so do the routes, processes and places involved. For this reason, the 11th International Metropolis Conference intends to provide a forum to foster the exchange of knowledge and encourage dialogue among specialists and decision-makers from places that send and receive migrants.
Steven Vertovec will be convening the workshop 'Shaping Research-Policy Strategies: National Experiences' on the migration research-policy nexus. Hein de Haas and Oliver Bakewell from IMI will hold a workshop on 'Migration Reshaping the Landscape of Development: Bridging the Theory-Practice Gap'.
Please click here for general conference information.
Please click here for workshop descriptions.
COMPAS roundtable discussion: 'New Zealand and International Migration: Current Issues and Policy Debates'
Oxford, 28 September 2006, 1pm-3pm
Roundtable discussion with Prof. Paul Spoonley, Prof. Richard Bedford, and officials from the New Zealand Dept. of Labour. Open to all at no cost. Email for bookings and venue information before 12 noon 26 September: alan.gamlen@ouce.ox.ac.uk.
9th European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA) Biennial Conference
Bristol, 18-21 September 2006
The conference theme involves the global dimensions of particular ethnographic encounters. Steven Vertovec will be co-chairing a plenary panel on multiculturalism and transnationalism, and Susanne Wessendorf & Kristine Krause will run a workshop on Super-diversity.
For more details about the programme and registration please click here.
The Third Annual IMISCOE Conference
Vienna, 4-6 September 2006
This conference will be hosted by IMISCOE partner the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria. The conference includes a workshop for B6 Cluster on "Cultural, religious and linguistic diversity in Europe," led by Professor Steven Vertovec.
The conference is intended for IMISCOE members only. For more details, please click here.
COMPAS Annual Conference 2006 - 'International Labour Migration: In Whose Interests?'
5th and 6th July, Oxford, Centre for Advanced Study in the Social Sciences
The conference focussed on four aspects of international labour migration: the processes driving and shaping international labour migration flows; the impacts of international migration on receiving countries, migrants and their countries of origin; the desirable objectives of labour migration policies; and the policies and governance arrangements that are best suited to effectively manage international labour migration.
Click here for programme and presentations from the conference.
Click here for the conference report.
Integration of Migrants: Engaging Employers, Unions and the Voluntary Sector
4th July 2006, Central London
This event was led by COMPAS and co-sponsored by Barrow Cadbury Trust and Cameron McKenna. It provided an opportunity to investigate ways in which the non governmental sector could be given greater support for the important function that they provide in supporting the economic, social, cultural and political integration of migrants. The speakers included Joan Ryan MP, Under Secretary of State for nationality, citizenship and immigration, Chris Melvin, Managing Director, Reed in Partnership, Jack Dromey, Deputy General Secretary, TGWU, Trevor Phillips, Chair of the Commission for Racial Equality and Maeve Sherlock, CEO Refugee Council. For a detailed programme and presentations click here.
Click here for a background paper for the event.
Click here for the conference report.
Click here to view a related report, commissioned by The Barrow Cadbury Trust and King Badouin Foundation, entitled "The Contribution of the Voluntary Sector to Migrant Integration in Europe"
IMISCOE B6 Workshop on ‘Reassessing Multiculturalism in Europe'
30th June and 1st July, Oxford, St. Hilda's College
This event is being led by Cluster B6 of the European Network of Excellence on Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion in Europe (IMISCOE) and is open to members of cluster B6 and IMISCOE members from outside the cluster who are accepted for a paper. The aim of the workshop is to reflect upon and assess the ways in which ‘multiculturalism' or immigrant/ethnic minority-related cultural diversity is currently envisioned and engaged in public debates and policy developments around Europe. IMISCOE members who work on topics relevant to the theme of the workshop are invited to submit proposals for papers (50-100 words) by the 10th of March to: susanne.wessendorf@anthro.ox.ac.uk
For further information on the Workshop click here to download a .pdf file. Click here for the full conference programme (Word doc.).
Researching Migration and Mental Health: Challenging Concepts, Methods and Representations
27th June 2006, COMPAS, 58 Banbury Road, Oxford
This workshop engaged critically with the mental health of migrants and with representations of mental health and migration in dynamic contexts of mobility and transnationalism. The participants interrogated existing concepts, methods and representations and historically situate the supposedly inevitable lines of influence between migration, stress and mental health, through specific ethnographic case studies.
Click here for the conference programme.
Paper tigers or tiger papers: The paper regime of modern societies
16th June 2006, 11am – 5.30pm, Seminar Room 2, Department for International Development (QEH), 3 Mansfield Road, OX1 3TB
The modern society seems unthinkable without the papers, such as identity cards, passports, driving licences, visas, etc., that govern our lives. The relevance of papers varies enormously for different people in different situations, but nowhere is their importance more clear than when one is migrating across borders or living as a migrant. This interdisciplinary workshop explored the history, production, use, meaning and value of such documents. It particularly focussed on the relationship between paper regimes and population mobility. The workshop brought together researchers interested in these issues to exchange ideas and identify areas for further research. It was organized as an open forum where a number of brief presentations were followed by open discussion.
For further details please click on the following links: briefing paper and draft programme (Word docs.).
For copies of presentations at the workshop, please click here.
Central and Eastern Migrations: Research and Networking Meeting
The Eastern European Migration Initiative (EEIM) At COMPAS, Oxford University
9th June 2006, 9.00-2.30 pm at the The Oxford Institute of Ageing, Manor Road Building, Manor Road, Oxford
This meeting was organised by the Eastern European Migrations Initiative (EEMI) in cooperation with COMPAS, Oxford University, and the Oxford Aging Institute (OIA), Oxford University. Young and senior scholars were invited to present and discuss their research results or research projects on Central and Eastern European (CEE) Migrations. This provided a forum for a cross disciplinary dialogue about recent migration trends in the enlarging European space. The aim was to take an integrated approach in studying migrations between East, South and West whereby all types and directions of migrations are considered and the traditional focus on East-West and South-North movements is supplemented with documentation and analysis of West-East, East-East, East South and South-East movements. We also invited research that focuses not only on Eastern European workers but also on asylum seekers in CEE countries, highly skilled westerners and western students responding to new opportunities in the East and entrepreneurial actors engaged in cross-border trade.
Click here to download the event programme. Conference proceedings will be published shortly.
COMPAS Workshop on: Social Security Networks
Date: 6th February 2006
Chair: Dr. Nicholas Van Hear
This workshop aimed to provide an opportunity for researchers and students to share and exchange research findings on social security networks and to discuss theoretical and methodological questions. Participants gave 15-20 min presentations focussing on questions and work in progress.
Tamils in Britain : achievements and challenges
Research on Sri Lankan Tamils in the UK
13 January 2006, COMPAS
Convenor: Nicholas Van Hear
Link to the Somali and Tamil diaspora project
A one day workshop on research on Sri Lankan Tamils in the UK was held at COMPAS on January 13 2006. The workshop brought together around 20 researchers and practitioners working on aspects of the Sri Lankan Tamil community in the UK to allow an exchange of information about work in progress. The objective was to take stock of state of the Tamil community in Britain, and its influence on the homeland as Sri Lanka hovered between peace and war.
Topics included the achievements and challenges of the Tamil community in the UK; issues around integration (social, cultural, economic and political); relations within the community (generation, cohort of arrival, gender, political divisions, the role of temples and churches); the community's connections and relations with Sri Lanka; the extent of engagement in the peace/reconstruction process; and the community's connections with the wider diaspora in Europe, North America, Australia, south India, and elsewhere.
Presentations included:
Nick Van Hear (COMPAS): Introduction -- Tamils in the UK : what we know and what we need to know
Yuvi Thangarajah (Sussex): Transformations of the Tamil Refugee revisited
Shanthini Cowley-Sathiakumar (Leeds): Second generation Tamils in the UK and Sri Lanka
Paul Sathianesan (Labour councillor, East Ham): The Tamil community in London: achievements, challenges and research needs
Jill Rutter (London Metropolitan University): Tamils in South East London/Educational issues
Ann David (London): Dance practices in the UK Tamil community: are they markers to sustain national, cultural and ethnic identity?
Harinda Vidanage (Edinburgh): Cyber cafes in Sri Lanka : Tamil virtual communities
Cathrine Brun (NTNU, Trondheim) and Nick Van Hear (COMPAS): Tamils in the UK : ‘no war, no peace', the tsunami and transnational engagement
Camilla Orjuela (Goteborg): Long distance reconciliation? nationalism and peace building in Sri Lanka
‘International Migration: Global Perspectives and Implications for Britain'
The Report of the Global Commission on International Migration UK Launch Event, One Great George St, London, 9th December 2005
This event marked the UK launch of the Report of the Global Commission on International Migration (GCIM), established by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. The GCIM Report – one of the most comprehensive undertakings to date concerning the state of migration in the world – examines causes, impacts, problems and potential solutions in both migrant sending and receiving areas across the globe. At this event academic experts and policy-makers discussed the Report's overall findings and its specific relevance to British immigration policy, foreign affairs and international development strategies.
For further details and an event report please click here.
'Muslims in Europe: The EU's new agenda on integration and radicalisation'
Residence Palace, Brussels, 6th December 2005
The integration of Muslims in Europe is essential – not an option – insisted speakers at a Policy Dialogue organised by the EPC together with the King Baudouin Foundation and COMPAS, Oxford University. Security concerns following the terrorist attacks on Madrid and London have led to increased harassment of young Muslims, fuelling anger and frustration in Muslim communities and risking, in turn, radicalisation. But integration and security issues must be decoupled. The European Commission's recent communications on this issue have helped draw attention to the challenges facing European governments as they struggle to build communities where diversity is viewed as an asset and a source of strength, rather than a weakness.
Click here to link to the EPC's website for a full report
Migration and Development Within and Across Borders - Concepts, Methods and Policy Considerations in International and Internal Migration
New York, November 17-19, 2005
The realization that the amount remitted by migrants to developing countries far exceeds foreign assistance has fueled growing interest in the relationship between migration and development among both scholars and policy makers. To explore the many overlapping questions and concerns surrounding the relationship of international and internal migration and development, this workshop brought together scholars from both domains and also from development studies to examine the linkages between them and consider what we can learn from comparing the two processes in terms of their relationship to development.
This event was co-sponsored by COMPAS, SSRC, ESRC and IOM. Click here to link to the SSRC website for a full report.
Workshop on the: ‘New Asylum Paradigm: views from the global south'
To be held at the Pauling Centre 58a Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 6QS
November 23 2005, 1400-1700
Until now, the debate on the ‘new' European approaches to the externalisation of asylum policy has taken a mainly European perspective. But since southern states, particularly those in Africa, are being solicited by European states as potential ‘partners' in this project, a number of significant questions arise about the response of the global south in the context of the so-called ‘New Asylum Paradigm'. The workshop will be based around a paper presented by Alexander Betts and James Milner on ‘ The Externalisation of EU Asylum Policy: The Response of African States'.
All are welcome but attendance must be confiemdat the workshop, and to receive a workshop programme and abstract of the paper by Betts and Milner, please contact
Alex Betts: alexander.betts@st-antonys.oxford.ac.uk or
Nick Van Hear: nicholas.vanhear@compas.ox.ac.uk
Workshop on Gender and Remittances, Friday 4th November
Organised by Anna Lindey and chaired by Dr. Nicholas Van Hear
This workshop was organised to give an informal opportunity to researchers studying economic, political and social transfers of migrants to share and discuss the gender dimensions of their findings. Each participant gave a 20 minute presentation summarizing the key findings, issues and questions arising from their research with regard to gender and remittances.
Kristine Krause, a DPhil student in Anthropology at COMPAS, opened the day with a presentation on the conceptual and theoretical issues involved in studying gender and remittances. Dr. Cathie Lloyd spoke about her research on Solidarity and social remittances in the case of Algerian migrants in France . Dr. Katherine Charsley presented on the Gender aspects of the domestic politics of remittances for British Pakistanis. Dr. Betta Zontini talked about Remitting care in transnational families. Moroccan and Filipino women in Southern Europe . Barbara Jettinger gave a presentation about the Process of feminization of Senegalese migrant institutions in France . Dr. Nicholas Van Hear spoke on Economic and political remittances of Sri Lankan Tamils. Edwina Thompson gave a presentation about Women and remittances in Afghanistan . Anna Lindley gave a presentation entitled ‘The women are the biggest senders': Testing a common assumption using evidence on remittance transfers between the UK and Somalia
Topics covered included notions of ‘kin work' and styles of caring, family and marriage relations and expectations, the importance of intersections of gender issues with age, family position, class and other attributes, and the ways that economic remittances intersect with political and social ‘remittances' or transfers.
'How welcoming does Ireland want to be? A debate on achieving an effective and sustainable labour immigration policy in Ireland'
An ESRC Public Debate at the BA Festival of Science,
Wednesday 7th September, 6pm-8pm, National College of Ireland, Dublin
The above debate was led by Martin Ruhs, Senior Labour Market Economist at COMPAS and author of ‘Managing the immigration and employment of non-EU nationals in Ireland'- link. The panel was made up of representatives from trade unions, employers, government and NGOs.
For more information on the BA Festival of Science - link
The second annual IMISCOE Conference
9th September 2005
Osnabreuck, Germany
The Second Annual IMISCOE Conference is hosted by IMIS. This event is only open to IMISCOE members. However, more information on IMISCOE can be found here: http://www.imiscoe.org/default.aspx
7th and 8th July 2005 - COMPAS Annual Conference in Oxford
Irregular Migration: Research, Policy and Practice
This year’s COMPAS Annual International Conference brought together a range of leading academics, policy makers and practitioners to explore and debate together the nature, dynamics and challenges of irregular migration.
11th/12th May & 23rd/24th June 2005 - ICAR (Information Centre on Asylum and Refugees), King's College London and COMPAS
Researching migrant populations: training workshops for postgraduates
The workshops aimed to encourage the exchange of information and ideas between expert academics, policymakers, practitioners and students. The linked events will were held around four topics:
11th & 12th May 2005 (Oxford) -
Workshop One: Migration, postgraduate research and evidence-based policy Workshop Two: Using interview methods with migrant populations
23rd & 24th June 2005 (London) -
Workshop Three: Ethics and access in researching migrant populations
Workshop four: Navigating migration statistics
Organised by Emma Newcombe and Esme Peach (ICAR) and funded by an ESRC Training and Development Award.
Click here to download a detailed report on the series (.pdf)
14th June 2005 - COMPAS, Oxfam and Refugee Studies Centre
A New Asylum Paradigm?
COMPAS, Oxfam and the RSC are bringing together an expert group of scholars, NGOs and policy-makers to consider recent and proposed changes to the global refugee regime. Is a new asylum paradigm emerging? What do the range of proposals and initiatives amount to in practice, and what are their political, legal and human implications?
Organised by Liza Schuster and Nick Van Hear
Click here for further information and reports on the event.
9th June 2005 - COMPAS Workshop - Oxford
Do informal insurance arrangements work in a transnational context? A study
People in developing countries often rely on
6th May 2005 - Balliol College, Modern History Faculty and COMPAS, University of Oxford
"Making a new homeland: South Asians in Great Britain
This event brought togther academics from various disciplines from Geography, Public Health, Religious Studies and History to discuss methods of making domestic, social and sacred space.
6th and 7th March 2005 - ISIM (Institute for the Study of International Migration), Georgetown University and COMPAS
The International Mobility of Healthcare workers: Causes, Consequences and Policy Responses
This roundtable addressed the globalization of healthcare and the mobility of healthcare workers from less to more developed nations. Immigrants provide healthcare services at both the highly skilled (physicians, nurses, researchers) and lower skilled levels (health aides, orderlies, home health workers). As the populations in Europe and North America age, the demand for health professionals and workers is likely to grow. The goal of the workshop was to reach an improved understanding of the causes and consequences of the demand for all types of healthcare workers. Policies were identified that facilitate the mobility of healthcare workers, safeguard both foreign and domestic workers, and best meet the health needs of source and host countries.
This event was by invitation only. Click here for a full report on the event. This is soon to be published in 'International Migration' - Link
1st February 2005 - COMPAS Public Lecture - Dr Mamphela Ramphele
'Disparities, development and international Migration'
Dr Mamphela Ramphele, Global Commission on International Migration and World Bank.
The speech covered questions such as what impact has the globalization process had on the socio-economic disparities that exist within and between different regions of the world? How are these disparities influencing current patterns of international migration? And how can states and other stakeholders ensure that international migration contributes to the goals of poverty reduction and development in the world’s least prosperous regions?
Click here to download the full presentation.
January 2005 - COMPAS Panels at the 9th International Association for the study of Forced Migration (IASFM) Biennial Conference
The migration-asylum nexus: definitions and dimensions
Organisers: Nick Van Hear, Liza Schuster and Stephen Castles
Two linked panels investigated the migration/asylum nexus by analysing connected concepts, practises and implications. The first panel provided a working definition and an outline to the phenomenon, followed by examples of groups such as Tamils in Norway and Somlian families in the UK who are affecting and affected by the implications of such conceptual definitions. The second panel focussed on the raft of new proposals which reflect new approaches to asylum, refugee and protection issues.
Click here to link to conference detail.
December 2004 - COMPAS in association with GCIM, RSC and CSGR
GCIM Migration Futures Workshop
Organisers:Steven Vertovec, Stephen Castles, Robin Cohen and Jeff Crisp
The Global Commission on International Migration (GCIM) asked COMPAS and Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation (CSGR) alongside the Refugee Studies Centre (RSC), Oxford to co-convene an expert workshop to consider future prospects for a range of migration issues.
This event was invitation only, but a report on the day’s conversation was prepared for GCIM towards inclusion in its final report to Kofi Annan in mid-2005.
Click here to download the workshop report.
September 2004 - COMPAS Panels at the Metropolis Annual Conference
‘Co-operative Migration Management: International, National and Local Answers ’
Impact of EU Accession – What do we know so far?
Organiser: Martin Ruhs
Focusing on Western European receiving countries, this workshop assessed “what we know so far” about the legal, political and socio-economic impacts of EU enlargement on two countries that granted accession state nationals immediate free access to their labor markets (the UK and Ireland), and on two countries that continue to restrict the employment of accession state nationals (Germany and Spain).
Remittances and Development: Beyond Increasing Incomes
Organiser: Steve Vertovec
Recently there has been a great resurgence of interest in the development potential of migrant remittances. This workshop looked at ways to enhance the impacts of remittances for whole communities, in both peaceful and conflict-ridden societies, looking at collective activities such as hometown associations involved in community development and diaspora associations supporting post-conflict reconstruction.
The following papers were given:
- Jorgen Carling, Policy options for increasing benefits of remittances - Click here to download presentation and working paper.
- Cindy Horst, Transnational Livelihoods: Remittance Sending amongst Somalis - Click here to download presentation (.pdf)
- Lindsay Lowell, Latin American Immigrants' remitting behaviour: International links and financial institutions - Click here to download presentation (.pdf)
September 2004 - COMPAS Panel at the EASA Annual Conference
‘Face to Face: Connecting Distance to Proximity ’
Travelling Regions: Circuits of Gendered Moralities
Organiser: Steven Vertovec and Gertrud Hüwelmeier, Free University of Berlin
Transmigrants transport religious ideas, practices and sacred objects from one place to another, while simultaneously changing or redefining ideas about belief, ritual, gender roles, religious authorities or sacred places. Focusing on transnational religious networks, we explored the ('real', 'virtual' or 'imaginary') connections/disconnections between sacred centres, religious leaders and dispersed moral communities.
Click here to link to conference detail.
2nd -5th September 2004 - Panel at the World Congress on Human Movements and Immigration
Transnational Communitities and Diaspora: New Dimensions
Organiser: Eva Ostergaard. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and Steven Vertovec.
This workshop explored what kind of changes migrant transnationalism signifies and stimulates in three key areas of migrants’ lives: a) transnational households and parenthood, b) cross border political engagement, and c) remittances and economic support for local development projects. The invited speakers identified and illustrated the scope, day-to-day reality, and consequences of these different dimensions of migrant transnational communities and diasporas. Based on this, the workshop questioned how migrant transnationalism challenges existing migration and integration policies. And it sought to identify with which policies we may harness the potential of migrant transnational practices in order to promote democratization, development and improved migrant livelihood.
Click here to link to conference detail.
6th September 2004 - Barcelona
'Workshop on Migration and International Relations between Spain and Asia'
This event was jointly organised by CIDOB Foundation, Spain; Asia Pacific Migration Research Network (APMRN), Australia; Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS), University of Oxford, UK. Bringing together scholars working on Asian migrations to Europe and on international relations, this one day workshop aimed at examining the linkage between Spain and Asia through migration movements and the consequences of these dynamics in terms of foreign policy, economic links and culture/education exchange.
Click here for further information
Organiser: Xiang Biao
7th-8th July 2004 - Sending Contexts Workshop, Beijing
'Promoting Knowledge Exchange through Diaspora Networks'
This workshop was organised as part of the project on “Promoting Technology Transfer through Diaspora Networks” sponsored by Asian Development Bank, COMPAS and its government counterpart for the project, the Policy Research Department of the State Council Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, People’s Republic of China, with assistance from the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Beijing Municipal Government.
Click here for the conference report (.pdf)
Organiser: Xiang Biao
5th-6th July 2004 - COMPAS First Annual Conference
‘The Changing Contexts of Migration’
The conference theme refers to a number of recent shifts affecting migration studies and policy, including: changing flows and dynamics of migration, new government initiatives to manage migration and its effects and heightened public concerns particularly surrounding social integration, economic impacts and national identity. The audience was comprised of prominent academics, senior civil servants, and representatives of major non-government organizations.
The initial keynote speech was made by the Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, Secretary of State for International Development. Click here for a copy of the speech (.pdf)
Another session was led by Jeff Crisp (Global Commission on International Migration) called 'The International Politics of Asylum'. Click here for a copy of the powerpoint presentation (.pdf)
Organisers: Steve Vertovec and Emma Newcombe
23rd June 2004, 6.30pm - Open Discussion Event
'Diversity in the Classroom'
Chaired by Kim Catcheside, BBC Correspondent for Education
The debate focussed on the impacts of migration on local education systems, especially in terms of the challenges and opportunities posed by large numbers of non-English speaking children entering schools.
Organisers: Bridget Anderson and Emma Newcombe
This event was held as part of ESRC Social
Sciences Week.
Click here for the discussion paper that formed the basis of the event (.pdf)
Click here for the conference report (.pdf)
10th June, 6pm- COMPAS First Public Lecture
‘Controlling 'Unwanted' Immigration: Lessons from the US ’
Professor Wayne Cornelius, Director of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies, San Diego
This event focussed on what has been done to control immigration by way of a decade of experimentation (1993-2004). Policies and their social and economic consequences (intended and unintended) will be evaluated. Questions and answers after the lecture gave participants the opportunity to explore potential policy lessons for the UK.
Organisers: Sarah Spencer, Martin Ruhs and Emma Newcombe
Click here for a copy of the speech (.pdf). Click here for the powerpoint presentation (.pdf).
29th January 2004 - Roundtable Meeting
COMPAS Policy Day: Addressing the Policy Gap
A roundtable discussion was held on the 29th January 2004 bringing together colleagues from across government, trade unions and NGOs to identify key migration-related issues which policy-makers and practitioners consider to be in need of research.
Reflecting the priorities of the ESRC itself, COMPAS is determined to ensure that its research is relevant to the needs of a range of policy-makers and practitioners. It is widely acknowledged that there are significant issues around migration for which little policy-relevant data and analysis exists. One of our Centre’s objectives is to help close that gap.
Organisers: Sarah Spencer, Marting Ruhs and Emma Newcombe
Click here for a summary of the discussion (.pdf)