Migration, together with ‘inequality’ and ‘health’, is a prioritised theme in the University of Bergen’s strategic area on Global Challenges. On the 9th of March, an important event will take place for everybody who is interested in this topic. This symposium will profile UiB’s migration research, and explore future possibilities for collaboration across faculties and disciplines.

About the symposium

Migrants and migration are not only part of our lives, but also important drivers of change. Migration transforms the features of states and societies. It changes the lives of migrants, and the lives of people in countries of departure, transit and arrival.

One of the most dramatic transformations we observe today is happening in political systems: migration now shapes the political cleavages on which countries’ political party systems are built.

To some, the changes introduced by migration are not entirely desirable. To others, such changes are welcome. No matter how we conceive it in normative terms, migration is a fact. It is a consequence of changing economic, social, political and environmental conditions.

Cross-disciplinary perspectives
This symposium brings together the latest research on migration conducted by researchers at different faculties of our university to address these issues. We will explore the different visions for research about the transformative consequences of migration.

The symposium is divided into six sections; on politics, gender, culture, inequality, public spheres, and global health. The symposium ends with a roundtable discussion about how to organise migration research as a transdisciplinary research field at UiB. There will be a 10 minute Q&A at the end of each section.

The symposium is organised by UiB Research Unit on International Migration and Ethnic Relations (IMER Bergen), in collaboration with Global Challenges. For questions about the acacemic content of the symposium, pease contact prof. Hakan Sicakkan at the Department for Comparative Politics: Hakan.Sicakkan@uib.no. For practical and logistical questions, please contact adviser Tord Rø at the Department of Global Public Health: tord.ro@uib.no.

The full program, with online registration, is available here. We hope you will join us for this exciting event!