MAGYC Kick-Off Meeting

22-23 November 2018 -Liège (Belgium)

On 22 and 23 November 2018, the 12 project partners met in Liège to kick-start their collaboration over the next four years.

The objectives of the meeting were threefold:

1. Allowing partners to meet and shape a common vision for this four-year project
2. Discussing the administrative and operational aspects of the projects
3. Hearing from the experiences of academics and policy makers on the issue of migration and the research-policy nexus

It was stressed during the opening remarks that the MAGYC project was more topical than ever in light of the adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and of the political divisions that have arisen as a result of the recent “migration crisis”. It was further noted that each study produced in the framework of the project would have a strong and lasting impact on the European continent at large, as project findings will be shared with governments and CSOs in order to inspire sound and evidence-based migration governance policies and practices.

Through an informative presentation on key aspects of grant implementation – which called for synergies with other migration-related projects – as well as productive break-out sessions aimed at organizing and planning for each Work Package, the participants built a common understanding of the project and set the tone for a fruitful collaboration. 

Following these practical sessions, a discussion panel on “Challenges Ahead: Expectations and Stakeholder Engagement” took place, in which Ms. Anna Kadar (European Commission DG HOME, Asylum Unit), first presented how the European Commission’s adheres to evidence-based policy-making in the field of asylum and migration. Prof. Emeritus Roger Zetter (University of Oxford) then shared his experience working with policy makers in this crucial domain. 

After an engaging Q&A session which focused on the state of play of the reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), the participants headed to Le Bocholtz, a historic building located in Liège City centre to attend a lecture from Prof. Roger Zetter (as part of a series of lectures organized in the framework of the EDGE project) entitled “From Humanitarianism to Development: The Political Economy of the “New” Refugee Regime”. This lecture sought to explain the ways in which the international refugee regime had shifted from a purely humanitarian approach towards a more development-oriented approach. It thus exposed new development approaches, structures, actors, funding mechanisms and instruments that are shaping “the humanitarian-development nexus”. Through a political economy perspective, this lecture presented the impacts of this new paradigm on economic, socio-economic, as well as political agendas.

The lecture was followed by a roundtable on “Migration Governance in the European Union” chaired by Dr. Caroline Zickgraf (Deputy Head of The Hugo Observatory). Panellists included Dr. Katarina Cséfalvayová (Chair of Slovakia’s Foreign Affairs Commission), Dr. Fiona Adamson (Associate Professor at SOAS) and Dr. Christiane Fröhlich (Research Associate at GIGA – German Institute of Global and Area Studies) and offered an opportunity to delve deeper into the questions raised in the previous talk.

The evening ended with a lively cocktail reception to celebrate Professor Zetter’s appointment as EDGE Chair, the launch of the MAGYC project, as well as the Hugo Observatory’s second anniversary.