Building Futures: Aspirations of Syrian Youth Refugees and Host Population Responses in Lebanon, Greece & the UK

Lead Research Organisation: University of Glasgow
Department Name: School of Social & Political Sciences

Abstract

This project is an innovative interdisciplinary study of the experiences, skills and aspirations of young Syrian refugees, who have been forcibly displaced by the conflict in their home country, and the corresponding attitudes and belief structures of the host population in three receiving states: Lebanon, Greece and the United Kingdom. We will conduct surveys with these young refugees, exploring their aspirations and giving centre stage to their own perspectives on their needs. We will also survey members of the host populations, some of whom may be analogously disadvantaged, to identify their attitudes to refugee's training needs. We will then compare the responses of both groups to reveal contrasts and points of convergence in the underlying ethical frameworks that shape their understanding of the needs, rights and duties involved in this complex situation.

This research will advance our theoretical understanding, and promote important social and political ends, in a number of ways. First, our data on their aspirations will allow us to formulate policy recommendations to meet the training and skills needs of young refugees, with a view to facilitating either reintegration in Syria or integration in their host nations. Second, our comparative approach will give guidance on how such policy should be framed and advocated in a context of strained public resources and anti-immigration sentiment. By focussing on shared ethical commitments, we will offer ways to develop training and skills policy which builds consensus and cross-community understanding.

We will disseminate this research by producing five academic articles in journals across a number of relevant fields. We will also engage in an ambitious programme of knowledge exchange and public engagement, through concise publications aimed at policymakers and general audiences in all three countries, and through a series of six public events. We will make our data available for sharing through the UK Data Archive at the end of the project, following an embargo period that will allow for publication of key outputs.

By drawing on our research expertise in the social sciences and the arts, we seek to influence both the content of training and skills policy, and also the public discourse surrounding such policy. By focussing on the ethical perspectives of both migrant and host populations, we will promote social cohesion and welfare for both groups: the former can have their training and skills needs met in a more supportive social context, and the latter can be reassured that the principles governing the distribution of scarce resources are ones which resonate with reasons they also share.

Planned Impact

This project will have direct impact for agencies involved in policy and provision of training and skills. Through those agencies, it will have further impact for both migrants, and users of vocational education and training in the host population.

Our research will identify training and skills needs for refugees, through an assessment of their own perspectives on what is required either to integrate into their host countries or to reintegrate on their eventual return to Syria. This will empower such individuals to shape training and skills policy, and allow us to produce a blueprint for policy which can be of use to providers.

Our research will also provide a tool for understanding how these policies can be articulated and defended. In the context of austerity, it is easy for appeals for funding to sound like special pleading on behalf of one group within society to the detriment of others. This has a damaging effect on social cohesion and individual welfare, especially when the groups concerned include migrants perceived by some as intruders in the body politic. By exploring commonalities in ethical frameworks - of refugees themselves, and of the host population - we will identify shared reasons which public authorities can appeal to in presenting policy. One consequence of this will be to make clear training and skills needs currently not being met for members of the host population who are disadvantaged in ways that are relevantly analogous to forced migrants. But, more generally, our research will produce guidelines for articulating policies in ways that emphasise shared needs and aspirations, rather than fomenting disagreement and competition. This will aid in the smooth and consensual delivery of training and skills provision, promote social cohesion, and improve the welfare of both migrant and host populations.

We have a robust and efficient plan for ensuring that our project has sustainable impact for these beneficiaries. Further details are given in the separate Pathways to Impact document. To summarise:

We are devoting half the project time of one of the Co-Is, Colburn, to coordinating and leading on impact. This will make ensure that we are proactively building diverse impact activity into the project right from the first day.

We will produce a green paper, aimed at policymakers and providers of skills and training, detailing in a digestible and non-academic format our policy recommendations. We will also produce a report on policy presentation, giving a robust and practical guide to producing consensus resourcing proposals, which draw upon shared ethical perspectives and avoid framing in terms of perceived conflicts of interests. These will be made freely available through the PI's existing research and knowledge exchange website www.austeritypolitics.net, published on institutional repositories and translated into Greek and Arabic for dissemination through our partners in Greece and Lebanon.

These outputs will also form the basis for a series of events, aiming to engage the public with our research and bring it to a wider audience. They will be run with existing collaborative partners because making use of current structures with a proven track record of successful public and policy engagement is the best way to maximise the likely beneficial impact of the project. To be specific, we have plans (detailed in Pathways to Impact) to run six events: an evening lecture in Glasgow in partnership with the Stevenson Trust for Citizenship; a concurrent photographic exhibition in partnership with the Greek organisation Solidarity Now; two evening workshops for providers and community stakeholders with the Glasgow Human Rights Network and the Glasgow Refugee Asylum and Migration Network; a workshop in Lebanon run through our key user Educart; and a Westminster launch for our policy proposals and impact publications to be run in conjunction with a local MP on the International Development Select Committee.
 
Title The journey and lived experiences of young Syrian refugees in Scotland 
Description A photo exhibition will be hosted at the Lighthouse, a leading city centre gallery in Glasgow, from 5 April - 8 April 2018. The exhibition will feature material, parts of which have been previously presented in our "Young Syrian Refugees in Scotland", preliminary research findings, original artwork by a Syrian artist, and photographs from two exhibitions by our partners: 'The Journey' by Solidarity Now, and 'Starting Again - A New Life in Scotland' by Conor Ashleigh and the British Red Cross.The photo exhibition will be part of a larger dissemination event, in accordance with our project's impact strategy. 
Type Of Art Artistic/Creative Exhibition 
Year Produced 2018 
Impact Hosted at the Lighthouse, a leading city centre gallery in Glasgow, the exhibition attracted attention from the general public, refugee networks, local authorities, and the media. The intended purpose of the exhibition was to provoke reflections on the shared experiences and aspirations between citizens and Syrian refugees. The humbling feedback (recorded in video, guestbook and social media) made this the most exciting and rewarding part of the project and had a transformative effect for both researchers that organised it, as well as the diverse audiences that honored us with their presence. The exhibition, which attracted about 2,000 people, provoked glowing reviews, and covered on the Saturday 6 pm news at STV, had two parts: "The Journey: People on the Move" was an exhibition originally displayed in 2016 at Benaki Museum in Athens, with powerful photographic testimonies from international photographers that aimed to familiarise a larger public with this harsh reality confronted every day by thousands of people seeking to reclaim their right to a life with security for themselves and their families. "The Arrival: Young Syrian Refugees in Britain" presented original research findings from my GCRF project. For the latter, we used a touch screen and a kiosk software, providing visitors a rare chance to engage in an interactive and meaningful way with original research findings, enriching their understanding of refugee politics in Britain, in a comparative context. 
URL http://refugeepolitics.net/photo-exhibition-gallery/4594269828
 
Title Young Syrian Refugees in Scotland 
Description An Exhibition was held in Glasgow, 6-10 November 2017, as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Sciences. The Exhibition "Young Syrian Refugees in Scotland" featured images of our team in the field by Magdalena Grochal, preliminary research findings, and photographs from two exhibitions by our partners: 'The Journey' by Solidarity Now and 'Starting Again - A New Life in Scotland' by Conor Ashleigh and the British Red Cross. 
Type Of Art Artistic/Creative Exhibition 
Year Produced 2017 
Impact Hosted in a prominent part of the St Andrews Building at the University of Glasgow main campus, the photographic Exhibition attracted attention from students, refugee networks and local authorities. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, for provoking reflections on the shared experiences and aspirations between citizens and Syrian refugees, who are rebuilding their lives in Scotland. The exhibition also served as a teaser for a bigger event to be hosted at the Lighthouse, a leading city centre gallery in Glasgow, in April 2018. 
URL http://www.RefugeePolitics.net/events
 
Description The project is consisted of two main sets of evidence, one deriving from face-to-face interviews with 1500 young Syrian refugees and the second involving representative surveys of the host populations in the UK, Greece and Lebanon. The analysis of the first part is completed and findings are listed below. The analysis of the citizens survey data is ongoing - an indication of first findings is listed below and will be updated upon the publication of our second policy report. Results from both sets of data will be presented at Westminster All Parliamentary groups on 19 March 2019.

Key Findings from Surveys with Young Syrian Refugees:
• Young Syrian refugees in the UK have the highest levels of skills and training, and are most eager to remain and contribute to the host country, compared with those in Greece and Lebanon.
• Young Syrian refugees are faced with higher levels of unemployment in the UK than citizens, while many of them who are in employment are doing jobs for which they are over-qualified.
• Refugees in the UK receive better support and have an overall more positive experience and evaluation of actors compared to those in Greece and Lebanon, but access to key provisions designed to enhance labour market participation remains patchy.
• Syrian refugees who have been resettled to the UK report overall more positive experiences than those coming through the asylum route, despite higher levels of employment among the latter and the government supposedly taking the more vulnerable among the former.
• Young Syrians in Scotland are better supported, and more positive about their engagement with people and institutions, although they are currently more distanced from re-integration into the labour market compared to those settled in England.
Our key policy recommendations, derived from these findings, are:
A. Policy makers and influencers should communicate much clearer to the general public both why refugees flee their country, as well as what contributions they are able and eager to make once they reach the United Kingdom.
B. The UK government should invest in the education and training of young refugees, prioritising access to entry-level ESOL courses. Assistance in reconstructing people's educational records, or in providing recognition of previous qualifications/accreditation, would help remove a key factor explaining the significant under-utilisation of high skills in the refugee workforce.
C. There is a need for authorities at all levels to concentrate time and resources to encourage, facilitate and coordinate the provision of services designed to improve refugees' understanding of how the labour market and job application process work in the UK. The private sector should engage with this population as a potential workforce, recognising and utilising their skills.
D. The existing two-tier refugee support system, based on the mode of entry to the UK, produces inequalities in the experiences of and support for young Syrians. All refugees should have the same social provisions to support their integration, based on the refugee resettlement model.
E. If the aim of refugee policy is to facilitate settlement, rather than forced self-reliance, then the support offered to refugees in Scotland should be emulated across the UK, to confront the inequalities of the current system. Alternatively, providing the Scottish Parliament with greater jurisdiction concerning the welfare and settlement of those forcibly displaced would bring clear benefits for those settled in Scotland.

The UK is signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, which commits its parties to granting international protection to persons with well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. While it is clear from our findings that Syrian refugees are both well-educated and skilled, it is not these characteristics, but the conditions that force people flee, that make a refugee a refugee. A system that creates multiple and arbitrary tiers of support to vulnerable and equally deserving populations does not only undermine its effectiveness but also potentially clashes with the country's international legal obligations.

Key Findings from Citizens Surveys
In addition to the refugee surveys, we also conducted interviews with representative samples of citizens in the UK, Greece and Lebanon. The analysis of these data is still on-going, with a number of academic papers and a citizens' report currently in preparation for dissemination. The preliminary picture, in line with our objectives, leaves much room for optimism. Citizens in the UK overall have balanced and nuanced attitudes towards refugees, and considerably more favorable ones than those of citizens in Lebanon and Greece across many dimensions. British citizens believe that there are too many migrants in the UK but recognise the positive impact that they can make to the host society. Contextual factors influence attitudes towards refugees, with utalitarian evaluations (about costs and benefits) providing the dominant frame through which most UK citizens think about the matter. This is reflected in an experiment we conducted, which shows the British citizens have a strong preference for high skilled migrants (6 times more 'desirable' than low/semi-skilled migrants) and for single migrants, rather than those who are married with children (presumably seen as an economic burden). Normative influences are the other main driver of attitudes (preference for forcibly displaced over economic migrants), an influence that is particularly pronounced in Scotland.

The citizens' perspectives, drawing on representative surveys of the host populations in Lebanon, Greece and the UK, are the focus of our second, forthcoming report. Synthesising evidence from the refugees and citizens surveys offers the exciting opportunity to steer public discourse in a way that promotes social cohesion and welfare for both groups. As discussed here, many of the obstacles to labour market participation faced by refugees are shared with citizens. Findings also dispel many of the persistent myths among British citizens about why refugees flee their country and what contributions they are able and eager to make in the UK. Indeed, as noted, our evidence from the citizens survey suggest that British people have a strong preference for highly skilled migrants and this preference is broadly met by the characteristics of Syrian refugees in the UK. Similarly, we find that there is common ground between Syrian refugees and UK citizens concerning what matters for a good life, which counters myths about 'incompatible values' between the two populations. A central challenge is to communicate this alignment, a key focus of our next report. Refugees' training and skills needs can and should be met, and met in a more supportive social context. And members of host populations can be reassured that the principles governing the distribution of scarce resources are ones which resonate with underlying preferences, needs and ethical perspectives that both groups share.
Exploitation Route The evidence and first policy report has already been circulated to all Members of the Scottish Parliament, ahead of a key Parliamentary debate, which echoed much of our findings. It has also been discussed and presented in multiple other policy meetings, formal and informal. On 19 March 2019, evidence from both sets of surveys, citizens and refugees, will be presented at All Parliamentary Groups, at Westminster. There are clear and strong indications that policy makers are taken notice of these findings and we will continue to advocate and monitor their impact on policy outcomes.

We are also preparing an updated website that will make the data available to all users, in an accessible format, and with innovative, custom-made visualisations. This is expected to serve as an example of best practice on how to connect with multiple audiences, hence facilitating a greater policy and societal impact of this research.
Sectors Communities and Social Services/Policy,Creative Economy,Education,Government, Democracy and Justice
URL http://refugeepolitics.net/
 
Description Our original impact plans with this project involved three elements: a photographic exhibition to raise awareness in conjunction with our Greek partners Solidarity Now, a policy report in which we distilled our recommendations for a governmental and third-sector audience, and a parliamentary launch event with associated media coverage where we would launch the report and engage with politicians and senior decision-makers, with a view to this shaping our further impact work for the legacy of the project. We have met and exceeded all these objectives. We ended up holding two photographic exhibitions. In both exhibitions we presented images of Syrian refugees in their journey across Europe and in Scotland, and also preliminary findings from our research (including statistics and testimony from interviewees). The first was in conjunction with the British Red Cross, who came on board as project collaborators quite late in the process. This exhibition was held in the St Andrew's Building of Glasgow University from 6 - 11 November 2017, and engaged a large number of trainee teachers who use the building regularly. The aim of the exhibition was to raise awareness of issues for resettled refugees in Scotland. Visitor comments included 'That is the way to make others hear voices of suffering', 'It is refreshing to finally see something that actually reflects what the people of Syria actually went through!' and 'What I have found most striking is the gap between the perceptions and reality of the refugee 'crisis' in the UK'. The second exhibition was held in conjunction with the British Red Cross and with Solidarity Now, in the prestigious central Glasgow venue The Lighthouse, 5 - 8 April 2018. This exhibition saw very substantive footfall from a wide cross section of the public, engaging several hundred people, and sparked significant media interest (including prime time news items and interviews with the PI), to the extent that the venue requested that we extend the exhibition to 10 April due to volume of visitors. We have so far produced one policy report, with at least one more on the way; our findings were rich enough that we made the decision to increase this element of our impact engagement. The first policy report, concerning the skills and aspirations of Syrian refugees in the UK, gathered a lot of press attention and raised consciousness (and generated debate) around what Syrian refugees might be able to offer to UK society and the economy. The report has been requested and passed on to a number of individuals in Scottish and UK government. We launched our first policy report at a day-long parliamentary event at Holyrood, Edinburgh. The event was sold out and had 100 attendees from UK and European universities, from government (including senior civil servants and 4 MSPs), from NGOs (based in the UK and abroad, and from refugee support organisations. The highlight of the event was a concluding round table discussion in a prestigious Holyrood committee room which included direct contributions from refugees and asylum seekers about their experiences, putting our research into powerful context. We have since held a second parliamentary event, at the Palace of Westminster, working with three All Party Parliamentary Groups, on a) Refugees, b) Migration, and c) Skills and Employment: our research findings were presented and discussed with a number of MPs, Lords and other interested parties. It was clear that we have produced data which is unusual and extremely timely for public decision-making about these topics. We continue to seek opportunities to bring these findings to key decision-makers, through further outreach events. Through these events we are seeking to impact decision making about policy and provision for refugees and citizens. Our strategy is threefold: to raise awareness of the key issues, including by correcting common misconceptions; to use our data to ensure that policy-makers can made decisions based on the most recent and comprehensive evidence on this topic; and to create channels of direct communication with key individual decision-makers so that they can shape how we interrogate our data and make sure that the next phase of research outputs is impact-ready from the start.
Sector Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections
Impact Types Societal,Policy & public services
 
Description Georgios Karyotis appointed co-convenor of Evidence Group on Asylum - Scottish Government
Geographic Reach Europe 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact Georgios Karyotis and Gareth Mulvey were invited to join the New Scots Evidence Group of the Scottish Government. From January 2019, Karyotis was appointed co-convenor of the Evidence Group. There are three strands to this role: • To support New Scots theme groups and the Core Group by making them aware of available evidence covering their areas of interest. • To recognise gaps in evidence, informed by the New Scots theme groups, and work to set a research agenda to help fill gaps where possible • To act as a fair and transparent conduit for research to inform New Scots, actively encouraging researchers and evidence generators (including community groups and non-academic projects) to share knowledge. The Building Futures project findings have been presented in a number of policy meetings, recognised as the most pertinent and complete datasets in relation to refugee policies and politics in the UK. The evidence based produced is not only influencing policy debates and communicated to the general public through multiple engagement activities, but is now also recognised as a model of best practice in the generation and analysis of reliable evidence, or in other words of impactful research. It is for these reasons, that Karyotis and Mulvey were asked to join the Evidence Group, whith Karyotis later appointed Co-Convenor, ensuring that the impact of this project will have far reaching implications beyond its end data.
 
Description Presentations at Westminster - All Parliamentary Groups (Migration; Asylum; Skills and Employment)
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
 
Description Symposium at Scottish Parliament
Geographic Reach Europe 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
Impact The Building Futures team organised an all-day symposium on 'Refugee Politics: Dilemmas and Trade-Offs', which took place at the Scottish Parliament on 15 June 2018. A project policy report was circulated to the 100 participants, which was also distributed to all members of the Scottish Parliament ahead of a crucial Parliamentary debate on the topic. Many of the key themes from our project and from the Symposium were directly echoed and reflected in this policy debate, one of several early indications of the likely policy impact of our efforts, which are still ongoing. Tangible evidence of these impacts are being monitored and will be included here in due course. Three broad themes emerged during the symposium. First, any coherent and positive refugee policy must include support for integration from day one. Second, the agency of refugees must be recognised. It does not serve the interests of either refugees or host states to frame the former as recipients of generosity, welfare burden on the state, or as victims of misfortune. They are individuals with hopes, needs, and aspirations, and refugee policies need to be able to address this diversity. Third, migration needs to be studied in the context of (and also often as a proxy for) broader social issues and inequalities rather than being understood as an isolated issue. A round table discussion concluded the symposium, with input from stakeholders across government, refugee, and civil society organisations. The discussants shared their experiences and put forward solid policy recommendations, seeking to identify the priorities of Scottish refugee policy: from rights to work and social integration, to the removal of multi-tier systems of refugee protection. This discussion will hopefully serve as the first step towards consistently fair refugee policies, not only in Scotland, but across the UK and Europe. Findings were also published in a Symposium report (see link) at the UK's Political Studies Association (PSA) Newsletter.
URL http://refugeepolitics.net/parliament-symposium/4594381305
 
Description 2018 PSA Specialist Group Pushing the Boundaries funding competition for event on Refugee Politics at the Scottish Parliament (15 June 2018)
Amount £2,000 (GBP)
Organisation Political Studies Association 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2018 
End 06/2018
 
Description Finding Common Ground: Policy Implications of new evidence about Syrian refugees and citizens in the UK, Lebanon and Greece
Amount £4,960 (GBP)
Funding ID IAA project 305904 
Organisation University of Glasgow 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 11/2018 
End 03/2019
 
Title Novel Questionnaire for Citizens 
Description A questionnaire was designed by the research team and administered to representative samples of the adult populations in Lebanon, Greece and the UK. The questionnaire draws but also goes beyond previous research, with the inclusion, among others, of two experiments, one on the impact of framing on public attitudes towards migration and a second, conjoined analysis experiment on attributes that migrants should have, according to the general public, in order to be admitted in the UK. 
Type Of Material Improvements to research infrastructure 
Year Produced 2017 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact The questionnaire, particularly its experimental elements, have attracted attention from researchers that wish to collaborate. These are likely to result in joined publications in due course. 
URL http://refugeepolitics.net/download/i/mark_dl/u/4013513758/4633407699/Final%20UK%20Citizens%20questi...
 
Title Novel Questionnaire for Refugees 
Description A new questionnaire was developed and administered to 1500 young Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Greece and the UK. The questionnaire is novel in that it focusses on the skills and aspirations of participants, as well as their ethical perspectives, adding substantial new evidence to our understanding of refugee politics. The administration was also ingenious, in that it involved the training of fieldworks in the three countries, using the offline feature of a survey platform, called Qualtrics, which enabled the collection and real-time monitoring of research data. 
Type Of Material Improvements to research infrastructure 
Year Produced 2017 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact A research consortium expressed an interest in the content of the questionnaire and its design, resulting in an invitation to join in a Horizon2020 bid, submitted in March 2018. Karyotis and Hermannsson are participating in the consortium and have overall responsibility for designing the survey elements of the proposed project, drawing on the knowledge and experience gained from the existing research. 
URL http://www.refugeepolitics.net/research-news
 
Title Comparative Citizens Survey on Migration Attitudes 
Description A new dataset is being created, based on representative surveys of citizens in Lebanon, Greece and the UK. The content of the questionnaire, as well as the ability to compare attitudes across different countries is likely to make a significant contribution to academic knowledge, once the database becomes available following an embargo period. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2018 
Provided To Others? No  
Impact Currently, the dataset is being cleaned and analysed. It is envisaged that it will be made available through the UK Data Archives in due course. 
 
Title Comparative Syrian Refugees Survey 
Description A new dataset has been created, based on face-to-face surveys of 500 young Syrians in each of the following three countries: Lebanon, Greece and the UK. In total, approximately 1,500 interviews were conducted, each lasting about 40 minutes. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2017 
Provided To Others? No  
Impact The rich content of the questionnaire, as well as the ability to compare attitudes, experiences and evaluation across different host countries is likely to make a significant contribution to academic knowledge, once the dataset becomes available, following an embargo period. 
 
Description Appointed Co-Convenors of Glasgow Refugee, Asylum and Migration Network (GRAMNet) 
Organisation University of Glasgow
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution In January 2022, Karyotis (PI) and Mulvey (Co-I) were appointed Co-Convenors of a major research network, the Glasgow Refugee, Asylum and Migration Network (GRAMNet). GRAMNet conducts research and qualitative evaluation on migration, refugees and the asylum process. As a network, we consult on migration-related policy in the UK and internationally.? We bring together researchers and practitioners, NGOs and policy makers working with migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Scotland. The network is currently funded by The University of Glasgow, whose academic community has a wide range of expertise in relation to these areas.
Collaborator Contribution As an established leading network, GRAMNet facilitates the promotion of impact and knowledge exchange activities designed to overcome the perceived antagonism between migrants and citizens, which is a key objective of the 'Building Futures' project.
Impact This is a multi-disciplinary collaboration, with active participation from researchers from across the University of Glasgow, especially colleagues in Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences. This includes co-organising a film series, supporting activities during the Refugee Festival in the summer of 2022, and organising academic workshops and events with participation of policy-makers, civil society, migrants and researchers.
Start Year 2022
 
Description New Research Consortium for Horizon2020 Funding 
Organisation Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Country Greece 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution The PI (Karyotis) and Co-I (Hermannsson) have joined a Consortium in response to the European Union Horizon2020 programme and the call ICT : Addressing the challenge of migrant integration through Information Communication Technology (ICT)-enabled solutions (http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/opportunities/h2020/topics/dt-migration-06-2018-2019.html). This proposal is jointly developed by the Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen, together with colleagues at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University of the Aegean, University of Cambridge, Politecnico di Milano, the Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (Austria), University of Glasgow, University of Leeds and non academic partners in Belgium, Greece, Spain and Portugal (including two NGOs supporting refugees: the Office of Displaced Designers and Euro Relief, as well as ICT companies). The Glasgow team is the lead in the questionnaire design and engagement with local authorities in Glasgow, as well as contributing to all other objectives. The bid, with an approximate value of 3 million Euros, was submitted on 12 March 2018 and we are awaiting a decision.
Collaborator Contribution This is a large consortium, where each individual member and institution have shared responsibility across the project's objectives. The partnership was facilitated by interest generated in our current ESRC/AHRC funded project and the submitted bid is a natural and ambitious extension of our current research. The proposed project will involve the use of ICT technologies (including smart phone applications) to support refugees and to explore the potential for their integration in different cities and regions of Europe (including an analysis of labour and housing markets), under alternative scenarios. In particular, the project aims to provide ICT-enabled solutions and toolkits to identify how and where refugees could be resettled and integrated across Europe.
Impact Horizon2020 Bid Submitted on 12 March 2018. Call: H2020-SC6-MIGRATION-2018-2019-2020 (MIGRATION ). Topic: DT-MIGRATION-06-2018-2019 Proposal number: SEP-210506850 Proposal title: ICTs for Migrants: Addressing the Challenge of integration. This is a multi-disciplinary consortium, comprised of 16 partners, representing 8 different European countries with diverse attributes.
Start Year 2018
 
Description New Research Consortium for Horizon2020 Funding 
Organisation Polytechnic University of Milan
Country Italy 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution The PI (Karyotis) and Co-I (Hermannsson) have joined a Consortium in response to the European Union Horizon2020 programme and the call ICT : Addressing the challenge of migrant integration through Information Communication Technology (ICT)-enabled solutions (http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/opportunities/h2020/topics/dt-migration-06-2018-2019.html). This proposal is jointly developed by the Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen, together with colleagues at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University of the Aegean, University of Cambridge, Politecnico di Milano, the Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (Austria), University of Glasgow, University of Leeds and non academic partners in Belgium, Greece, Spain and Portugal (including two NGOs supporting refugees: the Office of Displaced Designers and Euro Relief, as well as ICT companies). The Glasgow team is the lead in the questionnaire design and engagement with local authorities in Glasgow, as well as contributing to all other objectives. The bid, with an approximate value of 3 million Euros, was submitted on 12 March 2018 and we are awaiting a decision.
Collaborator Contribution This is a large consortium, where each individual member and institution have shared responsibility across the project's objectives. The partnership was facilitated by interest generated in our current ESRC/AHRC funded project and the submitted bid is a natural and ambitious extension of our current research. The proposed project will involve the use of ICT technologies (including smart phone applications) to support refugees and to explore the potential for their integration in different cities and regions of Europe (including an analysis of labour and housing markets), under alternative scenarios. In particular, the project aims to provide ICT-enabled solutions and toolkits to identify how and where refugees could be resettled and integrated across Europe.
Impact Horizon2020 Bid Submitted on 12 March 2018. Call: H2020-SC6-MIGRATION-2018-2019-2020 (MIGRATION ). Topic: DT-MIGRATION-06-2018-2019 Proposal number: SEP-210506850 Proposal title: ICTs for Migrants: Addressing the Challenge of integration. This is a multi-disciplinary consortium, comprised of 16 partners, representing 8 different European countries with diverse attributes.
Start Year 2018
 
Description New Research Consortium for Horizon2020 Funding 
Organisation University Applied Sciences Austria
Country Austria 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution The PI (Karyotis) and Co-I (Hermannsson) have joined a Consortium in response to the European Union Horizon2020 programme and the call ICT : Addressing the challenge of migrant integration through Information Communication Technology (ICT)-enabled solutions (http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/opportunities/h2020/topics/dt-migration-06-2018-2019.html). This proposal is jointly developed by the Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen, together with colleagues at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University of the Aegean, University of Cambridge, Politecnico di Milano, the Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (Austria), University of Glasgow, University of Leeds and non academic partners in Belgium, Greece, Spain and Portugal (including two NGOs supporting refugees: the Office of Displaced Designers and Euro Relief, as well as ICT companies). The Glasgow team is the lead in the questionnaire design and engagement with local authorities in Glasgow, as well as contributing to all other objectives. The bid, with an approximate value of 3 million Euros, was submitted on 12 March 2018 and we are awaiting a decision.
Collaborator Contribution This is a large consortium, where each individual member and institution have shared responsibility across the project's objectives. The partnership was facilitated by interest generated in our current ESRC/AHRC funded project and the submitted bid is a natural and ambitious extension of our current research. The proposed project will involve the use of ICT technologies (including smart phone applications) to support refugees and to explore the potential for their integration in different cities and regions of Europe (including an analysis of labour and housing markets), under alternative scenarios. In particular, the project aims to provide ICT-enabled solutions and toolkits to identify how and where refugees could be resettled and integrated across Europe.
Impact Horizon2020 Bid Submitted on 12 March 2018. Call: H2020-SC6-MIGRATION-2018-2019-2020 (MIGRATION ). Topic: DT-MIGRATION-06-2018-2019 Proposal number: SEP-210506850 Proposal title: ICTs for Migrants: Addressing the Challenge of integration. This is a multi-disciplinary consortium, comprised of 16 partners, representing 8 different European countries with diverse attributes.
Start Year 2018
 
Description New Research Consortium for Horizon2020 Funding 
Organisation University of Cambridge
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution The PI (Karyotis) and Co-I (Hermannsson) have joined a Consortium in response to the European Union Horizon2020 programme and the call ICT : Addressing the challenge of migrant integration through Information Communication Technology (ICT)-enabled solutions (http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/opportunities/h2020/topics/dt-migration-06-2018-2019.html). This proposal is jointly developed by the Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen, together with colleagues at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University of the Aegean, University of Cambridge, Politecnico di Milano, the Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (Austria), University of Glasgow, University of Leeds and non academic partners in Belgium, Greece, Spain and Portugal (including two NGOs supporting refugees: the Office of Displaced Designers and Euro Relief, as well as ICT companies). The Glasgow team is the lead in the questionnaire design and engagement with local authorities in Glasgow, as well as contributing to all other objectives. The bid, with an approximate value of 3 million Euros, was submitted on 12 March 2018 and we are awaiting a decision.
Collaborator Contribution This is a large consortium, where each individual member and institution have shared responsibility across the project's objectives. The partnership was facilitated by interest generated in our current ESRC/AHRC funded project and the submitted bid is a natural and ambitious extension of our current research. The proposed project will involve the use of ICT technologies (including smart phone applications) to support refugees and to explore the potential for their integration in different cities and regions of Europe (including an analysis of labour and housing markets), under alternative scenarios. In particular, the project aims to provide ICT-enabled solutions and toolkits to identify how and where refugees could be resettled and integrated across Europe.
Impact Horizon2020 Bid Submitted on 12 March 2018. Call: H2020-SC6-MIGRATION-2018-2019-2020 (MIGRATION ). Topic: DT-MIGRATION-06-2018-2019 Proposal number: SEP-210506850 Proposal title: ICTs for Migrants: Addressing the Challenge of integration. This is a multi-disciplinary consortium, comprised of 16 partners, representing 8 different European countries with diverse attributes.
Start Year 2018
 
Description New Research Consortium for Horizon2020 Funding 
Organisation University of Groningen
Country Netherlands 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution The PI (Karyotis) and Co-I (Hermannsson) have joined a Consortium in response to the European Union Horizon2020 programme and the call ICT : Addressing the challenge of migrant integration through Information Communication Technology (ICT)-enabled solutions (http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/opportunities/h2020/topics/dt-migration-06-2018-2019.html). This proposal is jointly developed by the Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen, together with colleagues at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University of the Aegean, University of Cambridge, Politecnico di Milano, the Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (Austria), University of Glasgow, University of Leeds and non academic partners in Belgium, Greece, Spain and Portugal (including two NGOs supporting refugees: the Office of Displaced Designers and Euro Relief, as well as ICT companies). The Glasgow team is the lead in the questionnaire design and engagement with local authorities in Glasgow, as well as contributing to all other objectives. The bid, with an approximate value of 3 million Euros, was submitted on 12 March 2018 and we are awaiting a decision.
Collaborator Contribution This is a large consortium, where each individual member and institution have shared responsibility across the project's objectives. The partnership was facilitated by interest generated in our current ESRC/AHRC funded project and the submitted bid is a natural and ambitious extension of our current research. The proposed project will involve the use of ICT technologies (including smart phone applications) to support refugees and to explore the potential for their integration in different cities and regions of Europe (including an analysis of labour and housing markets), under alternative scenarios. In particular, the project aims to provide ICT-enabled solutions and toolkits to identify how and where refugees could be resettled and integrated across Europe.
Impact Horizon2020 Bid Submitted on 12 March 2018. Call: H2020-SC6-MIGRATION-2018-2019-2020 (MIGRATION ). Topic: DT-MIGRATION-06-2018-2019 Proposal number: SEP-210506850 Proposal title: ICTs for Migrants: Addressing the Challenge of integration. This is a multi-disciplinary consortium, comprised of 16 partners, representing 8 different European countries with diverse attributes.
Start Year 2018
 
Description New Research Consortium for Horizon2020 Funding 
Organisation University of Leeds
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution The PI (Karyotis) and Co-I (Hermannsson) have joined a Consortium in response to the European Union Horizon2020 programme and the call ICT : Addressing the challenge of migrant integration through Information Communication Technology (ICT)-enabled solutions (http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/opportunities/h2020/topics/dt-migration-06-2018-2019.html). This proposal is jointly developed by the Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen, together with colleagues at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University of the Aegean, University of Cambridge, Politecnico di Milano, the Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (Austria), University of Glasgow, University of Leeds and non academic partners in Belgium, Greece, Spain and Portugal (including two NGOs supporting refugees: the Office of Displaced Designers and Euro Relief, as well as ICT companies). The Glasgow team is the lead in the questionnaire design and engagement with local authorities in Glasgow, as well as contributing to all other objectives. The bid, with an approximate value of 3 million Euros, was submitted on 12 March 2018 and we are awaiting a decision.
Collaborator Contribution This is a large consortium, where each individual member and institution have shared responsibility across the project's objectives. The partnership was facilitated by interest generated in our current ESRC/AHRC funded project and the submitted bid is a natural and ambitious extension of our current research. The proposed project will involve the use of ICT technologies (including smart phone applications) to support refugees and to explore the potential for their integration in different cities and regions of Europe (including an analysis of labour and housing markets), under alternative scenarios. In particular, the project aims to provide ICT-enabled solutions and toolkits to identify how and where refugees could be resettled and integrated across Europe.
Impact Horizon2020 Bid Submitted on 12 March 2018. Call: H2020-SC6-MIGRATION-2018-2019-2020 (MIGRATION ). Topic: DT-MIGRATION-06-2018-2019 Proposal number: SEP-210506850 Proposal title: ICTs for Migrants: Addressing the Challenge of integration. This is a multi-disciplinary consortium, comprised of 16 partners, representing 8 different European countries with diverse attributes.
Start Year 2018
 
Description New Research Consortium for Horizon2020 Funding 
Organisation University of the Aegean
Country Greece 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution The PI (Karyotis) and Co-I (Hermannsson) have joined a Consortium in response to the European Union Horizon2020 programme and the call ICT : Addressing the challenge of migrant integration through Information Communication Technology (ICT)-enabled solutions (http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/opportunities/h2020/topics/dt-migration-06-2018-2019.html). This proposal is jointly developed by the Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen, together with colleagues at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University of the Aegean, University of Cambridge, Politecnico di Milano, the Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (Austria), University of Glasgow, University of Leeds and non academic partners in Belgium, Greece, Spain and Portugal (including two NGOs supporting refugees: the Office of Displaced Designers and Euro Relief, as well as ICT companies). The Glasgow team is the lead in the questionnaire design and engagement with local authorities in Glasgow, as well as contributing to all other objectives. The bid, with an approximate value of 3 million Euros, was submitted on 12 March 2018 and we are awaiting a decision.
Collaborator Contribution This is a large consortium, where each individual member and institution have shared responsibility across the project's objectives. The partnership was facilitated by interest generated in our current ESRC/AHRC funded project and the submitted bid is a natural and ambitious extension of our current research. The proposed project will involve the use of ICT technologies (including smart phone applications) to support refugees and to explore the potential for their integration in different cities and regions of Europe (including an analysis of labour and housing markets), under alternative scenarios. In particular, the project aims to provide ICT-enabled solutions and toolkits to identify how and where refugees could be resettled and integrated across Europe.
Impact Horizon2020 Bid Submitted on 12 March 2018. Call: H2020-SC6-MIGRATION-2018-2019-2020 (MIGRATION ). Topic: DT-MIGRATION-06-2018-2019 Proposal number: SEP-210506850 Proposal title: ICTs for Migrants: Addressing the Challenge of integration. This is a multi-disciplinary consortium, comprised of 16 partners, representing 8 different European countries with diverse attributes.
Start Year 2018
 
Description Partnership with British Red Cross 
Organisation British Red Cross
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution The British Red Cross is part of a global voluntary network, responding to conflicts, natural disasters and individual emergencies. It helps vulnerable people in the UK and abroad prepare for, withstand and recover from emergencies in their own communities. Our research directly contributes to the objectives of the British Red Cross. Our project offered the opportunity to increase the visibility of the highly successful 'Starting Again- A New Life in Scotland' photo exhibition through its incorporation into two photo exhibitions organised by the 'Building Futures' research team in Glasgow in November 2017 and April 2018. The photographic material of the British Red Cross was complemented by our own featured images of our team in the field, our preliminary research findings, and photographs from another photo exhibition, 'The Journey', organised by our partner organisation in Greece, Solidarity Now.
Collaborator Contribution Photographer Conor Ashleigh and the British Red Cross kindly contributed a set of 50 photographs from their 'Starting Again- A New Life in Scotland' photo exhibition, which were incorporated into our photo exhibition titled "Young Syrian Refugees in Scotland", which was held in Glasgow, 6-10 November 2017, as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Sciences. The same material will also feature in a bigger event to be hosted at the Lighthouse, a leading city centre gallery in Glasgow, in April 2018.
Impact Hosted in a prominent part of the St Andrews Building at the University of Glasgow main campus, the photographic exhibition attracted attention from students, refugee networks and local authorities. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, for provoking reflections on the shared experiences and aspirations between citizens and Syrian refugees, who are rebuilding their lives in Scotland. The exhibition also served as a teaser for a bigger event to be hosted at the Lighthouse, a leading city centre gallery in Glasgow, in April 2018.
Start Year 2017
 
Description Partnership with Educart (Middle East, Lebanon) 
Organisation Educart
Country Lebanon 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Educart (Middle East), or the Center for Educational Consultation and Research, is a Lebanese based teacher training, curriculum development center, publishing house and center for educational consultation and research. As a local research center that seeks to innovate, Educart shares the goals of the research team of seeking to alleviate pressing societal issues in Lebanon. Educart has also stated that the project fits very well with its mission statement that strives to develop young minds and teaches them to become independent thinkers capable of taking their futures into their own hands. Dissemination of project findings will also attract publicity to the activities and objectives of Educart.
Collaborator Contribution Educart acts as our local partner in Lebanon. It helped gather and evaluate quotes for the fieldwork, coordinate and supervise fieldwork activities and advise on local particularities. This involved continues contact with the PI and generous (in kind) contribution of Educart's Deputy Director, who acts as the research team's eyes in Lebanon, based on a strong relationship of personal trust.
Impact Two datasets have been produced from this collaboration: a refugee survey with 530 face-to-face interviews with young Syrians; a representative citizens survey. Impact activities are underway.
Start Year 2016
 
Description Partnership with Major Civil Society Organisation in Greece 
Organisation SolidarityNow
Country Greece 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution Solidarity Now (SN) is a major civil society organisation in Greece, which has supported, through re-granting, the implementation of 68 programmes run by Greek and international NGOs, out of which 25 regard the migration/refugee crisis. Our research directly contributes to its objectives and responds to needs that SN had identified. First, SN had noted a lack of research on the experiences and aspirations of refugees, which our project is addressing, with the view, among others, to help SN enhance the quality of provisions offered to refugees, in line with their needs. Second, our project has helped build capacity within SN, by providing training to fieldworkers who carried out face-to-face interviews with 500 Syrian refugees in Greece. Third, our project offered the opportunity to export its successful Exhibition 'The Journey" to Glasgow, thus reaching an international audience. Overall, a very strong partnership and relationship has been cultivated, which is certain to outlive the duration of the project.
Collaborator Contribution SN provided meeting and interview facilities in Greece. Throughout the project, SN contributed,in an advisory capacity, to the design of questionnaires, participating in meetings, and dedicating over 20 staff hours in kind (estimated 640 Euros). SN played an essential role in facilitating access to Syrian refugees, in the recruitment of fieldworkers and interpreters, and the overall oversight of the fieldwork in Greece in Spring/Summer 2016, providing also (in kind) a supervisor dedicating over 80 hours of staff time (estimated value 2,560 Euros). Last, but not least, SN is providing (in kind) audiovisual and photographic material, as well as the fee of a curator, for the provision of two Public Exhibition relevant to the project (November 2017; April 2018).
Impact 1. Press Release, produced in Greek and English in October 2017 and circulated in the ReliefWeb network, the leading humanitarian information source on global crises and disasters. See: https://reliefweb.int/report/greece/studies-abandonment-due-war-and-insufficient-knowledge-greek-language-main-obstacles. 2. Exhibition, "Young Syrians in Scotland", November 2017, Glasgow; the echibition included material provided by SN. 3. Photographic Exhibition, to be held at the Lighthouse Gallery in Glasgow, in April 2018, is drawn primarily on SN material and is curated by SN's Dora Komninou.
Start Year 2016
 
Description Partnership with Scottish Refugee Council 
Organisation Scottish Refugee Council
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution The Scottish Refugee Council (SRC) is the largest charity in Scotland providing advice to people seeking asylum and support in the provision of services. The project contributes to the SRC's principal objectives of a) improving public understanding of refugees in Scotland through the media and arts (e.g our exhibitions); and b) advocating for refugees' rights the implementation of these rights.
Collaborator Contribution The SRC is acting in an advisory capacity about the design and implementation of this project (in-kind support, estimated value 5% FTE Head of Policy and Communications for the duration of the project, amounting to £2,700). Among others, it has facilitated access to research respondents in the UK, helped with identifying Syrian refugees that were trained as fieldworkers, provided advice on translation of findings, as well as expertise and networks on how to engage with appropriate government audiences (UK and Scottish) and parliamentary targets.
Impact Not available yet
Start Year 2016
 
Description A Website with rich Knowledge Exchange elements (reports, data, testimonials) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact A website has been set-up, and recently relaunched, to present research findings, policy reports, visualisations of primary data from surveys with 1,500 young Syrian refugees, and blog posts relevant to refugee politics. The website is linked to other research projects on crisis politics (pandemic politics; austerity politics; culture wars), which share an emancipatory ambition of understanding how antagonisms between groups ('Us' vs 'Them') are constructed, and how we may be best able to overcome them.

The website also includes powerful testimonials from visitors in our project's Exhibition, as well as from young Syrian refugees in the UK and our 13 Syrian fieldworkers.

https://www.crisispolitics.net/refugee-politics
http://www.RefugeePolitics.net
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018,2019,2020,2021,2022,2023
URL http://www.RefugeePolitics.net
 
Description Engagement with Policy-Makers and Practitioners (Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact The intended purpose of the talk titled "Greece's Response to the 'European Refugee Crisis': Two Years Later" was to familiarise an international audience of policy-makers and practitioners with the governmental and non-governmental responses and their legal ramifications that took place in Greece amid and in the aftermath of the 'migration crisis'. The talk was delivered within the context of the "European and Regional Legal Responses to the Refugee 'Crisis' in Global Context" workshop, co-organised by Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in Jerusalem on 19 June 2017.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL http://www.kas.de/wf/en/33.49590/
 
Description Engagement with Policy-Makers and Practitioners (UNESCO Chair on International Migration, Yasar University and Istanbul University) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact The intended purpose of the talk titled 'Management of Migration Flows: Policy responses from Greece' was to familiarise an international audience of policy-makers and practitioners with the governmental and non-governmental responses that took place in Greece amid and in the aftermath of the 'migration crisis'. Emerging research findings pertaining to the demographic profile of the Syrian refugee population in Greece were also presented and discussed. The talk was delivered within the context of the "Migration Trends in the Mediterranean and Regional Policy Responses" workshop, co-organised by the UNESCO Chair on International Migration, Yasar University and Istanbul University, in Istanbul on 20 November 2017.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL https://unescochair.yasar.edu.tr/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Programme-UNESCO-Istanbul-meeting.docx
 
Description Engagement with Professional Practitioners (Worcester College, University of Oxford) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact The presentation titled 'Vocational Training Aspirations and Opportunities for Syrian Refugee Youth in a Comparative Context' put forward emerging research findings from face-to-face interviews with 500 Syrian refugees aged 18-32 years in Lebanon, Greece, and the UK. The intended purpose of the presentation was to fill a gap in existing knowledge and focus attention on a demographic whose skills are key to economic prosperity. Additionally, the intended purpose of the comparative approach was to explore whether the currently observed limited impact of Syrian refugees on the labour market can be explained by their lack of required skills that would be suited to the opportunities that exist in host countries or by constraints and barriers they face when they get there. The presentation was delivered within the context of the Journal of Vocational Education and Training 12th International Conference, at Worcester College, University of Oxford, on 9 July 2017.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL http://easychair.org/smart-program/JVET2017/
 
Description Engagement with Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact The PI (Karyotis) and Co-I (Mulvey) gave a presentation about the project in a meeting of The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) on 12 May 2017. About 25 of the 32 Local Authorities in Scotland were represented in the meeting, with others also joining via video link. Representatives of the Scottish Government and Police were also present. The follow-up discussion solidified the interest and support of the local authorities in our research, facilitated access to young Syrian refugees for fieldwork purposes and established strong pathways for impact, firming up plans for the dissemination of empirical findings. An invitation has been issued to return to COSLA to discuss implications and recommendations deriving from the project.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description GRAMNet celebrates Refugee Week 2022 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact GM and GK, Co-Convenors of GRAMNet, contributed to the organisation of a workshop to celebrate Refugee Week, with a panel discussion and reception involving practitioners, civil society and researchers.
The aim of this panel discussion was to outline what the UK government is seeking to do with its new immigration practices but also to crucially point to the ways that national policy can be resisted.

Speakers came from a range of academic and non-academic perspectives:

Graham O'Neil has a wealth of experience in working around refugee policy at the UK and Scottish levels of Government. Graham has written a multitude of papers that analyse policy and its effects and here will be discussing new immigration legislation and its likely impacts.
Professor Georgios Karyotis is an expert in the ways that states have constructed migration as a security issue. Here Georgios discussed the impacts of the two-tiered refugee policy that the UK government have long created on Syrian refugees in the UK in the past 5-10-years, drawing on the 'Building Futures' project.
Dr Teresa Piacentini has considerable expertise in understanding the various ways that immigration policy has been resisted in the Glasgow context. Drawing on some of that long history Teresa discussed how this led to the celebrated acts of resistance in Kenmure Street in 2021.
Pinar Aksu is a community activist and a well know figure in community resistance in Glasgow. Pinar discussed not only the battle of Kenmure street, but also what this might tell us about resistance moving into the future.

The event and reception was followed by a screening of Wissam Tanios' stunning feature movie "We Are From There", which documents the journey of two Syrian brothers, as they take a leap of faith and decide to start their lives from scratch in new cities.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/university-of-glasgow-gramnet-celebrates-refugee-week-2022-tickets-36...
 
Description Interview for international news 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Study participants or study members
Results and Impact Interview for international news and information website (InfoMigrants) in order to communicate research findings to study participants (i.e. refugees and migrants), the general public and media.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/15016/how-are-syrian-refugees-finding-life-in-three-different-h...
 
Description Interview for international news 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Interview for international news (Agence France-Presse) to communicate research findings to the general public, which was published in several national (e.g. The Daily Mail) and international (e.g. The Bangkok Post, Asia Pacific Daily) media.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-6659969/Refugees-struggle-work-amid-Greek-jobs-drought...
 
Description Interview for national news 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Interview for national news (The Independent) in order to communicate research findings to the general public
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.independent.co.uk/news/syria-refugees-crisis-uk-immigration-work-studying-research-lates...
 
Description Invited Keynote Speaker on Refugee Politics 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Third sector organisations
Results and Impact The PI (Karyotis) was invited to act as Keynote Speaker on the International Conference "Gender, refugees and security", held at Gothenburg, Sweden in November 2016. This was a first opportunity to introduce the project to a wide audience. The conference attracted civil society organisations in Sweden, as the primary audience, as well as PGR students, representatives from the Swedish government and a Member of the European Parliament (also a keynote speaker). About 100 people participated in the workshop and a report has been produced, summarising the content of the talk, which was disseminated widely to civil society and academic networks, hence maximising the impact of this activity. Participants found the talk and subsequent debate "inspiring" and "thought-provoking", with further requests for information about our project, as well as invitations to collaborate and consult PGR students and networks in Sweden.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL https://globalstudies.gu.se/digitalAssets/1613/1613872_gadip_rapport_20170201_webb.pdf
 
Description Media engagement 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact We have engaged in a number of media engagement activities. We put out a press release to publicise the photographic exhibition in April 2018; this led to a number of print media stories, a radio interview, and a detailed television interview.

We also published our first policy report on an open access platform and put out an associated press release. This led to twelve stories in the print and online media, two stories in online-online media, and three radio reports (including one interview).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Panelist and Presenter at Strategic Research Event (Jordan) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact The PI (Karyotis) presented project findings in Amman, Jordan in a high profile GCRF event, supported by UNESCO: The event "Evidence for Education in Conflict and Crisis: Setting a Strategic Research Agenda", took place on 19-20 February 2019. This was incredibly beneficial, both in terms of empowering key stakeholders in the Middle East region dealing with refugee issues to utilise pertinent evidence that can help manage forced displacement and in terms of opening new avenues for future collaboration and funding. The response to our findings was overwhelmingly positive, which in itself inspires the research team to intensify our efforts.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://en.unesco.org/gem-report/events/2019/evidence-education-conflict-and-crisis-setting-strategi...
 
Description Parliamentary launch of policy report 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact We launched our first policy report at a day-long parliamentary event at Holyrood, Edinburgh. The event was sold out and had 100 attendees from UK and European universities, from government (including senior civil servants and 4 MSPs), from NGOs (based in the UK and abroad, and from refugee support organisations. The highlight of the event was a concluding round table discussion in a prestigious Holyrood committee room which included direct contributions from refugees and asylum seekers about their experiences, putting our research into powerful context. It led to several requests for our report to feed into policymaking, and suggestions for further lines of inquiry.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Presentation at the 'Resilience and Informality: the case of Syrian refugees in Lebanon and beyond' workshop 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation of findings about access to work and education for refugees in the UK, Lebanon and Greece
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Presentation at the 68th Political Studies Association (PSA) Annual Conference 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation of research findings about the training needs, aspirations and opportunities for young Syrian refugees in the UK, Lebanon and Greece.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.psa.ac.uk/sites/default/files/PSA%20Annual%20Conference%202018_FINAL%20PROOF.pdf
 
Description Presentation at the British Sociological Association (BSA) Annual Conference 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation of research findings about access to work for refugees in the UK
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.britsoc.co.uk/media/24572/ac2018_oral_abstracts.pdf
 
Description Presentation at the First UNESCO Spring School - The Arts of Integrating 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation of research findings about access to education and work for resettled refugees in Scotland and England.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/unesco/newsevents/eventsarchive/headline_575123_en.html
 
Description Presentations at All-Parliamentary Groups at Westminster 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact On 19 March 2019, Karyotis, Doyle and Hermannsson gave two presentations at Westminster, jointly organised by the All Party Parliamentary Group [APPG] on Refugees and the APPG on Migration, with participation of MPs, Lords, practitioners and invited postgraduate students, which was very well received. Participants included MPs Thangam Debbonaire [chair of the Refugees' APPG], Kate Green [chair of the Migration APPG], Steve Double, Sandy Martin, Khalid Mahmood and Stuart C. McDonald, and Lord Alf Dubs and Baroness Sally Hamwee. We also received interest and collaboration from the Skills and Employment APPG led by Nic Dakin, and have been invited to return and present a second policy report in the near future. The APPGs received and circulated among their members our policy report and reccomendations, as well as some of our unpublished findings included in the two presentations.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description Press Release 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Press release with the British Sociological Association in order to communicate research findings to fellow academic colleagues, postgraduate students, policymakers and practitioners, as well as the general public.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.britsoc.co.uk/media-centre/press-releases/2018/april/most-young-syrian-refugees-are-in-w...
 
Description Workshop with critical friends and stakeholders: Initial findings from surveys of refugees and host populations in Lebanon, Greece and the UK 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact 14 people attended a by invitation workshop in the Lighthouse in Central Glasgow, where we presented initial findings from the project and sought feedback from the audience as to priorities for subsequent analysis of the data. Participants included representatives from COSLA (the association of local authorities in Scotland), the Scottish Refugee Council and the Liberal Democrats, in addition to selected critical friends from academia, whose scrutiny was sought to reinforce the credibility of the work.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description presentation at Nordic Migration Conference 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation of findings about access to work for refugees in the UK
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description presentation at convention of scottish local authorities 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Meeting of all resettlement officers of local councils in Scotland where we presented findings from our refugee work.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description presentation to New Scots core group 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact The Scottish Governments New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy core group heard some of our findings about what is working in relation to refugee settlement and where the gaps are
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018