Imiscoe Annual Conference: Call for participants

Launched in July 2008, the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) is an inter-governmental organisation that brings together all 28 countries of the European Union and 15 countries of the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean, with the aim of enhancing regional cooperation and dialogue in the Euro-Mediterranean region in order to collectively address three interrelated priorities: regional stability, human development, and integration.

The UfM Roadmap for Action, approved by its 43 Member States in January 2017, recognized that the Mediterranean has always been an area of mobility and migration. As the current refugee and irregular migration crisis clearly show, addressing their root causes is essential to regional stability. It is also of paramount importance to confirm the need for a global and balanced approach to the issue of mobility, migration and development, building on existing international instruments.

In this spirit, the UfM contributes to the implementation of the 2017 Valletta Declaration on Strengthening Euro-Mediterranean Cooperation through Research and Innovation by supporting regional cooperation on research aimed at understanding and addressing the root causes of migrations.

The Union for the Mediterranean is a partner of Pompeu Fabra University, through the GRITIM-UPF research group, in the organisation of the 15^th IMISCOE Annual Conference (International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion), the biggest network of researchers in Europe in the field of migration and integration. Under the title “Europe, migrations and the Mediterranean: human mobilities and intercultural challenges”, it will be held from 2nd to 4th July 2018 on the Ciutadella campus in Barcelona, Spain.

The aim of the Conference, already open for registrations, is to create synergies between the experts that facilitate the development of public research programmes and policies on migration in the Mediterranean. It also aims to highlight the geographical dimension of migration and approach human mobilities as a reality, a resource and an opportunity to connect societies and cities in this area.

Aiming to put forwards young views on migration and to bring together perspectives from all of the Mediterranean, the Union for the Mediterranean is sponsoring the participation of highly skilled PhD Students and/or junior researchers to the Conference, offering them the opportunity to attend the three-day conference and to promote knowledge exchanges and networking opportunities.

• The Union for the Mediterranean is offering to sponsor the participation to the IMISCOE Conference of up to five Doctorate students and/or Post-Doctorate junior researchers developing their work in a University or Research Centre from Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Countries.
• Postdocs must have defended their doctorate no earlier than 2014.
• Sponsored participants shall be offered by the UfM:
  • An Invitation letter;
  • A Round trip to Barcelona, Spain; and
  • Accommodation for three nights in Barcelona, Spain.

1) Applicants must be PhD candidates or Post-doc researchers having started their researches no earlier than 2014 in one University or Research Centre from Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Countries (non-EU UfM Member States).[1]

2) Individuals interested to apply are required to send the following information (in English or French):

a. A one-page document with picture, names, contact address, e-mail, phone and University/Research Centre.

b. A motivation letter explaining how the attendance will improve his/her current research and how regional exchange of knowledge on migration may contribute to it (max. 1000 words).

c. A brief outline of the PhD project or the post-doc research mentioning the stage of the research (between 1500-2000 words).

d. CV.

e. Endorsement Letter (preferably PhD director or in case of post-docs, a letter of the main research authority where the candidate develops the research).

f. A schedule of planned activities for the IMISCOE Congress, such as, for instance: a list of panels and Workshops the candidate would like to attend (the programme is available on the IMISCOE website at: https://www.imiscoe.org/2018-imiscoe-annual-conference/program) with a brief description of the criteria followed for the selection.

[1] Albania • Algeria • Bosnia and Herzegovina • Egypt • Israel • Jordan • Lebanon • Mauritania • Montenegro • Morocco • Palestine • Tunisia • Turkey

An Evaluation Committee will be composed by three members: one from the UfMS, one from GRITIM-UPF, one from the Euro-Mediterranean Research Network on Migration (EuroMedMig-ReNet).

Evaluation criteria will also include: academic excellence, quality of the research project and its link with theme of the Annual IMISCOE Conference, the Motivation and Endorsement letters, as well as the coherence of the Scheduled Activities.