Xth Migration Summer School conducted by Migration Policy Centre, Florence
Published Date: Monday, Jul 07, 2014
The 10th Migration Summer School organised by the MPC in Florence from Monday 23 June until Friday 4 July 2014. 23 participants selected from India, China, Turkey, Israel, Palestine, USA, Germany, Sweden, Bahrain, Lebanon, Italy, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and other parts of the worlds participated in the programme. The participants include doctoral and post-doctoral researchers, as well as civil servants and professionals participated in the programme.
The summer school critically questions some of the assumptions underlying much of the contemporary academic, political and media debate surrounding migration. This includes, above all, the notion that migration is a fundamental problem that needs to be managed, contained and regulated. Some of the important issues discussed during summer school are; Migration Theories, Methodologies, International Statistics on Migration, Legal Aspects of the External Dimension of European Migration Policy, Diasporas and Development along with many other contemporary dimensions.
Re-framing how we view migration can shift the discourse of migration from purely security and integration concerns to start thinking about migration as a creative asset. Migration gives migrant-receiving countries a fundamental competitive edge over non-migrant receiving countries, and it helps open doors for migrant-sending countries. This re-framing will take place from a number of different disciplinary perspectives, including law, economics, demography and sociology. While each discipline approaches the study of migration differently, we will see how these approaches are ultimately complementary and necessary for a comprehensive academic understanding of a complex phenomenon.
Report by Rakesh Ranjan from Florence