Rethinking FRONTEX

The Europnean Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (FRONTEX) has gone through significant changes since its establishment in October 2004. An important indicator of this transformation is  the variation in FRONTEX’s budget that has steadily increased: from € 6.3 million in 2005, to nearly €42 million in 2007 and topping € 87 million by 2010. The Mediterranean Sea is currently the theatre of two major joint operations (Hermes and Rabit) from which limited information is publically available raising important concerns regarding the accountability of the Agency despite its obligation to respect fundamental rights. The Agency is currently undergoing a revision of its mandate, Migreurop has produced an interesting report which hopefully will contribute to make this process more transparent and open to public debate.

Read full report: http://www.migreurop.org/IMG/pdf/Frontex-PE-Mig-ENG.pdf

Migraton and Social Cohesion @ London Met

The Institute for the Study of European Transformations (ISET) launches its new MA course in Migration and Social Cohesion. The MA focuses on the interplay between migration and social cohesion in contemporary societies. It explores the current transformation of global and local contexts coinciding with an intensification of migration and an increased awareness of the diversity of societies across the globe. More info on the MA in Migration and Social Cohesion can be found on ISET website.

Ethnography, diversity and urban space – Call for papers

Call for papers (see full text)

Deadline 6 June 2011

The intensification of global flows in the current period has led scholars to describe cities like London as ‘super-diverse’: a ‘diversification of diversity’, with a population characterised by multiple ethnicities, countries of origin, immigration statuses, and age profiles (Vertovec 2007).

The aims of this conference to be held at COMPAS (University of Oxford) on 22-23 September 2011 are: to address the missing dimension of migration and mobility in the literature on urban space, and the missing dimension of spatiality in the literature on diversity; and to develop new modes of inquiry appropriate to the contemporary challenge of super-diversity.

We invite proposals for papers which investigate aspects related to the conference themes and we welcome in particular proposals that focus on the following areas:

• Understanding belonging and diversity in complex urban spaces
• Changing practices of fieldwork and new and old modes of ethnographic investigation

Abstracts from early career researchers are especially welcome.

Interview on public policy and irregular child migration

For a more in-depth discussion of the issues raised in the video interview, see:

- Irregular migrant children and public policy - Policy primer published by The Migration Observatory

- Being children and undocumented: background paper, COMPAS WP n.78

- Irregular Voices, blog on the Undocumented migrant children