Interview with Lara Vadacchino, Italian Stakeholder
GLIMER's Italian team interviewed one of their stakeholders, Lara Vadacchino, about her experience as a project coordinator for a reception programme for migrants in San Pietro in Amantea, Italy. Watch the video to learn more.
Time for Action: Integration Policies in Scotland post COVID-19
GLIMER's Tim Peace participated in the webinar, 'Time for action: integration policies in Scotland post COVID-19' on 11 June 2021. This event explored the potential for inclusive employment, entrepreneurship and innovation that can be generated both for and by new arrivals in Scotland.
In Tim's presentation, he explored issues around the employability of refugees and asylum seekers in Scotland. The fragmentation of employability programmes and related funding, alongside the lack of specific enterprise and entrepreneurship services for the support of refugees, were discussed. Some of the policy recommendations presented were the development of a national approach towards labour market access for refugees, the increased resourcing for employability services, the improvement of financing options for refugees entrepreneurs and the wider dissemination of best practices such as the “Bute approach”.
Is Migrant Health Racialised?
GLIMER’s Research Fellow, Emma Hill, took part in the UCL Centre for Gender and Global Health webinar, 'Is Migrant Health Racialised?' on 26 November 2020 to discuss race, migration, gender and health as part of the 'Borderings: Migration, Gender and Health' series.
In a collaboration between the UCL Centre for Gender and Global Health; the UCL Migration Research Unit; Lancet Migration: global collaboration to advance migration health; and Race & Health, this 'Borderings: Migration, Gender and Health' series seeks to promote, enhance and connect dialogues of migration, gender and health.
Cities of Fears, Cities of Hope
GLIMER’s Principal Investigator, Professor Nasar Meer, spoke at the ‘Cities of Fears, Cities of Hopes’ webinar organised by the University of Birmingham’s Institute for Research into Superdiversity (IRiS) on 21 September 2020, exploring the need to re-think the rediscovery of the ‘local’ and the city, and an understanding of the experience of displaced migration in Europe. Nasar discussed the challenge of housing and accommodation in how local and city level approaches may reproduce, negotiate and sometimes significantly diverge from national level policy and rhetoric, and what these mean for our understanding of cities and displaced migration today.
Cities and the Governance of Accommodation for Asylum Seekers and Refugees
Professor Nasar Meer, Principal Investigator of GLIMER, presented on the GLIMER project at JPI Urban's Urban Lunch Talk #13, 'Taking action on the resilience-robustness dilemma', held 5 June 2020.
In his talk, 'Cities and the Governance of Accommodation for Asylum Seekers and Refugees', Professor Meer presented GLIMER's key findings in relation to housing for displaced migrants and refugees in the cities of Glasgow, Malmö, Nicosia and Cosenza.
'Race Equality in Scotland'
Professor Nasar Meer, Principal Investigator of GLIMER, addressed the Equality and Human Rights Committee in the Scottish Parliament on 28 November 2019.
Professor Meer, along with colleagues from the University of Edinburgh and Heriot Watt University, presented evidence on the topic of race equality in Scotland.
Discussing race equality in Scotland, Professor Meer notes that there’s been a process of policy literacy under way [during the period from the 1980s to present], but the outcomes haven’t radically altered. Whilst there is a greater willingness to tackle the issue to put in place policies and processes to address race equality in Scotland, there's still a long way to go.
'Cities of Fears, Cities of Hope, and the 'Refugee Crisis'
Our Principal Investigator, Professor Nasar Meer, gave a keynote lecture at the 14th Conference of the European Sociological Association in Manchester in August 2019.
Professor Meer highlights our case study into Riace in Italy as an example of cities working successfully. Housing is the oldest study of cities, states Professor Meer, so our research into housing for asylum seekers and refugees is a good example.
Language Provision for Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Europe
On 13 September 2019, we held an event at Glasgow City Chambers evaluating how language training facilitates entry and integration in educational systems and/or employment services for asylum seekers and refugees in Europe.
Our project team presented their findings from across our four European sites on language provision for asylum seekers and refugees.
GLIMER Principal Investigator, Professor Nasar Meer, discusses findings from our research into language provision for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Calabria/Italy, Nicosia/Cyprus, Scotland/UK and Skane/Sweden.
Professor Meer argues that language acquisition along with housing and labour market involvement, is the cornerstone for integration of these groups. One of the overarching themes discussed is the role of national and local actors and how their relationship help, or hinder, language provision.
GLIMER Research Fellow, Dr Emma Hill, presents findings from research into language provision for asylum seekers and refugees in Scotland.
Dr Hill outlines the barriers stakeholders identified for asylum seekers and refugees to access language education, providing research based recommendations to alleviate these barriers and improve language provision in Scotland.
GLIMER Co-Investigator, Maria Angeli, presents findings from research into language provision for asylum seekers and refugees in Cyprus.
Maria presents the challenges these groups face when accessing language training (including location, funding and gender dynamics) and provides several recommendations to alleviate these challenges.
GLIMER Research Fellow, Claudio Di Maio, presents findings from research into language provision for asylum seekers and refugees in Italy.
Claudio highlights the problems raised by stakeholders relating to language training in Italy and provides recommendations on how these could be resolved.
GLIMER Research Fellow, Dr Henrik Emilsson, presents findings from research into language provision for asylum seekers and refugees in Sweden.
Dr Emilsson argues that policy and provision for language training in Sweden is very different to our other country cases, as there is no problem with funding or organisation. But there does remain challenges, which Dr Emilsson discusses.
Stakeholder Opinions
In March 2019, we held our second stakeholder meeting in Malmo, Sweden. This was an opportunity for researchers and practitioners involved in the project to come together to discuss the project; our research and gain insight from our stakeholders working on the ground.
We asked our stakeholders what they thought were the challenges involved in language provision for asylum seekers and refugees in Europe, and how they would approach these challenges.
Video Credit: Emma Hill and Ellen Cummings
During our stakeholder roundtable in September 2018, we asked those who attended what they thought was the biggest challenge for the integration of refugees in Europe, and how they would approach that challenge.
Video Credit: Emma Hill
Refugee Festival Scotland
Principal Investigator, Professor Nasar Meer, discusses findings from our research into accommodation provision for refugees and asylum seekers in Calabria/Italy, Nicosia/Cyprus, Scotland/UK and Skane/Sweden.
This was filmed during our Refugee Festival Scotland event 'Housing for asylum seekers and refugees in Europe'.
Video Credit: Ellen Cummings
Our Research Fellow, Dr Emma Hill, provides an overview of accommodation provision for asylum seekers and refugees in Scotland and discusses the work GLIMER has been doing on this.
This was filmed during our Refugee Festival Scotland event 'Housing for asylum seekers and refugees in Europe'.
Video Credit: Ellen Cummings
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Over the next four years we will be running a series of ongoing engagement events and range of activities.
The current ‘migration crisis’ presents openings as well as challenges.
The aim of GLIMER is to generate research that will help European cities and regions facilitate the long term inclusion of displaced people in a way that remakes local spaces.
