Migration and mobility are age-old phenomena but its nature, volume, direction, causes, and consequence are being radically transformed and shaped by various processes of globalization. As a multi-dimensional phenomenon, migration does not only bring enormous benefits to sending countries in the form of remittances and knowledge and skills transfer, it also benefits receiving countries through the processes of access to cheap labour and exposure to cultural diversity. In recent times, migration has also become more of a security issue especially in advanced industrialized countries in the wake of what is perceived as growing threats of terrorism. In addition, receiving countries now have to confront the challenges of illegal immigration, and growing xenophobic tensions. But there are unique windows of opportunity to make migration a triple win situation for all countries and the migrants themselves. This requires intensification of lesson drawing, knowledge sharing, and purposive interactions among all stakeholders across the global divide.
Against this background, the Centre for Migration Studies, University of Ghana, Legon in collaboration with the MDF Consortium (Radboud University Nijmegen and the International Institute of Social Studies, The Hague) is organizing a high level conference under the theme:
Migration and Development: Opportunities and Challenges in a Globalized World. The conference, which is supported by the Netherlands Programme for the Institutional Strengthening of Post Secondary Education and Training Capacity (NUFFIC), is aimed at providing a platform for the exchange of ideas, insights and experiences between researchers, scholars, practitioners and policy makers in the field of migration.
The Center for Migration Studies and its collaborating partners are currently seeking abstracts for paper presentations at the 2012 Centre for Migration Studies International Conference. Participants from any migration related discipline, faculty or those affiliated with a recognized research institution, migration practitioners and graduate students are highly encouraged to submit abstracts to participate in the conference.
Abstracts on topics related to, but not limited to the following sub-themes should serve as a guide for researchers, scholars and practitioners submitting papers for consideration.
All abstracts must be sent to
cms@ug.edu.gh by
May 15, 2012.
- Migration and Socio-economic Development
- Migration, Remittances and Brain Drain Migration and Social Protection
- Return migration, Re-integration and Socio-economic transformation
- Migration and poverty
- Labour Migration
- Migration and Gender
- Migration and the left behind
- Migration and Environmental Change
- Climate change and migration
- Climate change, food security and migration
- Environmental change and migration drivers and outcomes
- Internal Migration
- Internal migration and livelihoods
- Internal migration and poverty interactions
- Gendered migration processes
- Policy and Legal Dimensions of Migration
- Engaging Diasporas
- Migration and citizenship
- Defining the legal parameters of migration
- Migrant Rights
- Migration and Population Dynamics
- Migration and population change
- Changing fertility levels and preferences among migrants
- Impact of migration on age structure of a population
- Migration and Security
- Migrants and national politics in Africa
- Migrants and conflicts
- Migrants and national, international security
Papers of high quality will be selected for publication either as an edited volume or in a special issue of a journal. Limited travel grants will be provided to some graduate students and persons from African countries whose abstracts are accepted for presentation in the conference.
All abstracts must be sent to cms@ug.edu.gh. Further enquiries about the conference can be sent to any of the following members of the organizing committee:
Prof. Peter Quartey:
pquartey@ug.edu.gh;
Dr. Joseph Teye:
jteye@ug.edu.gh and
Dr. Michael Kpessa:
mkpessa@ug.edu.gh
