Urgent Invite - Transitory Lives: An Anthropological Research of the Migration Crisis in the Mediterranean.

Lead Research Organisation: Durham University
Department Name: Anthropology

Abstract

The ongoing migration crisis in the Mediterranean affects all European Countries and is one of the major challenges in European policy making. According to the UN Refugee Agency, 103,000 boat migrants crossed the Mediterranean in the first six months of 2015. 54,000 of them arrived in Italy and 48,000 in Greece. More than 1800 perished, or are missing at sea.
In 2014, Kirtsoglou, Lyon and Knight carried out a Durham University funded pilot study of migrant communities in Greece and established links to an international network of academics, governmental and non-governmental organizations eager to develop new grassroots initiatives and collaborations. We propose to extend and deepen our initial involvement, by investigating in situ the management of migration emergencies in the critically affected regions of south Italy and the eastern Aegean islands. Our aim is to document and understand migrant subjectivities and motives behind high-risk irregular migration, to identify potemtial gaps in reception structures and to assess the effects of migration on receiving communities. We will engage in a programme of rigorous anthropological research that will involve extended interviews with migrants, local communities, NGO staff and policy makers. We will also carry out extensive observational research in a range of settings such as reception centres, migrant support groups and other community-based locations. Working in collaboration with humanitarian organisations and local government authorities, we will use this data to inform migration policies in the region.

Capitalising on our existing links with a network of major stakeholders in two countries and a bottom-up comparative research approach we will pursue the following interconnected questions that demand immediate attention:

1) What are the main drivers of high risk migration journeys and how do migrants calculate and weigh-up risk prior to the journey and in its aftermath?
2) How do migrants negotiate the macro-processes that govern migration including border control and asylum seeking policies, and what are the main deficiencies in governmental structures and local systems of reception, including accommodation and screening infrastructures?
3) What is the role of local communities in managing migration flows and what is the importance of new forms of social interaction and relationships that emerge from emergency migration encounters in building networks of solidarity toward irregular migrants?
4) What can the comparison of Italian and Greek contexts teach policy developers and NGOs as they endeavour to respond to this crisis?

Irregular migration is a complex phenomenon intimately related to different fields such as human rights, national and supranational policies, labour exploitation and economics, lack of sustainable development, international conflict escalation, corruption and security. A fine-grained anthropological account of the social dynamics of emergency migration encounters can provide critical insights on all these different fields. The proposed research aims to go beyond offering a critique to migration policies. By focusing on key actors involved, we lay the basis for comprehensive collaborations between social scientists, humanitarian aid practitioners, governmental and non-governmental authorities. A network of Greek and Italian NGOs support the project, alongside a team with long term involvement and a track record of outstanding research in the critical regions of south and south-eastern Mediterranean. We are uniquely equipped to deliver a wide evidence base of the social, material, legal and political dimensions of migration emergencies and to build new information channels that will help practitioners and authorities exchange knowledge, refine policies and improve the management of future migration crises.

Planned Impact

The present project has been carefully designed to produce research-led impact appropriate for the crisis situations that are currently unfolding. Specifically, it is directed towards the development of new policies that would improve the management of the Mediterranean migration crisis in line with UNHCR initiatives towards preventing deaths at sea. While acknowledging the centrality of South Italy as one of the major Mediterranean migration routes, we also place special emphasis on eastern Mediterranean, in line with UNCHR observations and two stress calls in June 2015 (9/6 & 16/6) for support to Greece that has long reached reception capacity limits. This cross-country, combined focus has multiple benefits including coverage of the affected area and the opportunity to compare migrant experiences, reception structures, acute and more long term problems.

A key pathway to impact will be a large collaborative network of academics, governmental and non-governmental authorities and actors engaged in migration management which will create new information-exchange channels between practitioners on the ground and policy makers at various levels. For this reason we have invited a number of NGOs operating in both countries and internationally to support the project. This research is the first of its kind in that it combines the experience of academics with long-term exposure in the critical regions, with the expertise of stakeholders involved in human rights organisations, humanitarian aid, and international advocacy. Comprehensive attention to the perspective of afflicted persons, the micro-structures of migration and the larger problems related to states, bureaucracies, national and international legislation makes this project at once sensitive to the demands of a social emergency, and capable of generating theoretical advances in the social sciences and policy development recommendations.


The goals of our impact strategy are:

1. To build an international network that will allow practitioners and academics to compare knowledge and data from two different countries currently at the epicenter of the Mediterranean migration crisis.
2. To produce specific, research-led and practice-informed recommendations that will be shared with policy makers locally and across Europe through our network of NGOs and key stakeholders.
3. To bring governmental authorities together with academics, human rights and humanitarian aid practitioners establishing new communication channels between the three sectors in order to address: security, legislative and economic considerations, the improvement of humanitarian-aid and asylum seeking structures, issues related to protection-capacity building and new forms of citizenship that might arise as a result of migration flows.
4. To sensitise the public on reasons behind migration emergencies through publicising the results of our research in accessible print formats, targeted media interventions, public debates and dissemination events organized in the field sites and broadcasted in local media.

Beneficiaries of this research therefore include migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, academic users, NGOs, governmental authorities, policy makers, receiving communities and the general public. By building awareness among key stakeholders and co-producing knowledge will them, this project will build sustainable links between academics, practitioners and policy makers that would result in enhanced future planning capacity, and significant improvements in the management of migration emergency contexts.
 
Title Dramatisation of social media updates 
Description RAs Dr. Tyrikos-Ergas facebook log(followed by 10.5K.) kept to describe the 'refugee crisis' in Lesvos from May 2015 and on was dramatized by Karolos Koun Theatre Group. It was presented as a full theatrical play in Elaionas Festival and Karolos Koun Art Theatre, Athens June 11-17 and attended by refugees, practitioners and the general public. 
Type Of Art Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) 
Year Produced 2016 
Impact The theatrical play was very well received and helped raised general public awareness of the complexities of refugee journeys, reception and aid. Such initiatives have become very important in Greece, were solidarity steadily gives way to xenophobia and radicalisation. 
 
Title Transitory Lives - Documentary (trailer) 
Description Additionally to other outputs expected from this project, we are preparing a documentary film that follows the lives of several refugees who were trapped in Greece following the border closures in March 2016. The film records the living conditions in makeshift camps, and the process of relocation to other European countries. We have currently produced the trailer of this documentary. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2017 
Impact The documentary will be released in 2017. Impact will be recorded into Researchfish accordingly. 
URL https://transitorylives.net/media-2/media/
 
Description KEY FINDINGS - SUMMARY
1. MIGRATION DECISIONS: The vast majority of our respondents (83% in Italy and 90% in Greece) stated that the prime motive behind their decision to flee was related to violence, war, persecution, torture, fear of torture, death-threats and/or lack of safety for themselves and their families. Economic motives (often phrased as 'hope for a better life') -when mentioned- were frequently found to be directly related to failed states, civil unrest, prolonged conditions of war, or conflict.
2. 'PULL FACTORS': The vast majority of our respondents (over 80% in both countries) were not specifically aware of particular systems of asylum, or social welfare provisions in different European countries. When they stated a preference towards a specific country, their preference was related to existing networks of support (close or more distant kin, neighbours and people from the same village or region). Refugees/migrants were envisaging these networks (rather than social welfare provisions) as their future key aids in socialisation and integration. All (literally almost without exception) stated their plans to work as part of a more general desire to offer in their countries of future resettlement. A good proportion of our respondents (43% in Italy and 32% in Greece) also mentioned remittances to families back home. In the case of Italy (where respondents originated mainly from African countries), remittances were seen as means to alleviate natal households from extreme poverty conditions. The same was true for Afghans in Greece. Syrians also mentioned helping parts of their families back in Syria, or in other countries (most notably Turkey) to survive temporarily until the war ended. Well over 90% of our respondents in both countries (92% in Italy, 95% in Greece) valued greatly a state of social existence that was productive and independent from social welfare. Almost without exception, those travelling with children stated that they were determined to send their children to school in the country of resettlement. A high proportion of Afghan subjects in Greece who travelled as families (74%) mentioned their children's (male and female) safety, education and 'future' as important motives behind their decisions to migrate. The same was true for Syrian families (at a staggering 92%). Pull factors were NOT found to be an important drive of migration.
3. MIGRATION 'JOURNEYS': Migration journeys are not linear and straightforward. They typically start in search of safe spaces within one's own country, and then involve a series of failed attempts to establish oneself in various third countries. Libya and Turkey are points where journeys typically converge. For many of our respondents they were also countries of attempted settlement. Failure to settle in Libya and Turkey, further violence, economic and sexual exploitation finally drove subjects to the Central and Eastern Mediterranean passages respectively. Our findings suggest that single, young men are a category of vulnerability that is currently overlooked in standard vulnerability assessment toolkits. Single young men often fall victims of both economic and sexual exploitation in different countries, including designated 'safe third countries' such as Libya and Turkey, but also Italy and Greece. Young daughters (especially Syrian) who fled as part of larger families are often particularly at risk in Turkey where they may become trapped in 'second wife' arrangements that afford them no civil status or rights. Neither Libya nor Turkey were found to fulfil the criteria of safe third countries that prioritised refugee protection and integration.
4. RECEPTION STRUCTURES: Reception structures are different in Greece and Italy, but suffer equally from shortcomings that endanger the human rights and dignity of refugees/migrants. In Italy, refugees/migrants are intercepted at sea and then enter a multi-layered system of reception involving emergency and longer term reception. The lack of longer-term governmental planning and high rates of asylum rejection in combination with the lack of means to return to countries of origin, result in the 'production' of a category of irregular migrants who are exposed to different forms of exploitation. In Greece, the slow rate of relocation in combination with temporary accommodation exposes refugees/migrants to multiple risks (most notably health and exploitation-related risks). In 2016, the humanitarian landscape in Greece was particularly complex and suffered from lack of central co-ordination. The 'outsourcing' of humanitarian care to NGOs, INGOs, volunteers and the local community created conditions of reduced transparency and accountability, as well as stark differentiations between provisions in different parts of the country (varying from extremely un-sanitised, inhumane and unsafe, to relatively acceptable - given high number of arrivals in short period of time). Currently, the most urgent issue in Greece is the conditions in hot-spots (especially the hot-spot of Moria in Lesvos). The refugees/migrants detained in hot-spots are exposed to multiple risks, social and sexual violence, extreme unhealthy living conditions and inadequate winterisation processes. Asylum and relocation provisions in Greece in 2016 were far from adequate and the remote systems of contact (Skype) with asylum authorities were mostly inaccessible. At present, both in Greece and Italy the outcome of asylum applications depends heavily on country of origin and does not truly reflect personal circumstances of the applicant (who might have been tortured or persecuted, most notably for political or gender-related issues, irrespectively of the status of their country of origin). The manner in which local governments are asked to implement EU-level decisions leaves refugees/migrants exposed to multiple risks and daily violations of their human rights.
5. LOCAL COMMUNITIES: Local communities in Greece proved of paramount importance in the search/rescue and reception of refugees at the critical period of increased arrivals (2015-2016). The strong ethos of solidarity and support has gradually eroded, partly as a result of high-level policies that re-introduced the category 'migrant' post March 2016 (as a result of the EU-Turkey deal). Our research evidence suggests that public opinion and representations of refugees/migrants are greatly affected by top-down policy narratives and the status ascribed on transitory subjects. Importantly, this is also true for civil servants and police officers who come in direct contact with asylum seekers. Both in Italy and in Greece we observed that public attitudes towards refugees/migrants were rooted in highly racialised hierarchies of subjects perceived to be either 'worthy' or 'unworthy' of protection. The financial crisis that affected both countries (Greece to a greater extent) created feelings of 'competition' between local and refugee/migrant communities for EU resources.
6. SECURITY AND RISK: Although our project was not designed to assess European security issues, we gathered a fair amount of evidence about smuggling and irregular journeys. The evidence suggests that the lack of legal and safe routes poses security threats as it leads to the proliferation of criminal networks that specialise in new irregular routes to conventional points of arrival (Greece, Italy), but also to secondary migration from these points to central European countries. The absence of legal and safe ways of reaching Europe is a major route-cause of deaths at sea, sexual and economic exploitation in third countries, the creation of conditions for major violations of human rights, and the production of new categories of vulnerability (young men, accompanied female minors) and illegality.
MOST SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS
1. Recording and publicising (through dissemination of key findings for academic and non-academic audiences):
a) the views and stories of 'hard to reach' transitory subjects, their perilous journeys and the obstacles they faced in accessing structures of care and legal protection.
b) the major gaps in reception and protection structures and most importantly the significant problems that arise in the processes of implementing high-level policy at local level.
c) the importance of local communities in coping with migration emergencies, and the complex relationship between policy and the formation of public opinions on refugees and migrants.
2. The creation of new spaces for the exchange of information between NGOs, policy makers, refugees/migrants, academics and the general public through a series of participatory workshops held locally (Italy, Greece) and internationally (London, Brussels).
3. The production of original social scientific insights on emergency migration as a complex and contested field of national and supranational policies and frameworks, human experience and political action. The rich evidence produced, contradict a number of commonly held assumptions about migration decisions, motives and routes.
4. A series of academic outputs, submitted, in press, or in preparation, and a documentary film (60 mins) that will reach wide audiences through participation in key European film festivals. MOST SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS: 1. New and significant knowledge has been generated that challenges a number of commonly held assumptions including but not exhausted to: migration decisions, journeys, access to protection, categories of vulnerable subjects, the role of local communities, the relationship between policy and public opinion, relationships between governmental and non-governmental actors, security concerns, the role and (un)suitability of the hot-spot approach as a key feature in the management of migration.
2. Improved research methods and skills regarding the ethnographic approach (currently used by a variety of disciplines in the social sciences). We tried and tested the ethnography of participatory workshops which directly involved research subjects (refugees/migrants). These workshops (held at local level) became spaces for the fruitful exchange of views between refugees/migrants, academics, NGOs and policy makers. We also treated them as 'social situations' in themselves and carried out participant observation of the manner in which the meetings empowered refugees/migrants and eventually became exercises of accountability and transparency on behalf of NGOs and local authorities. In academic and non-academic outputs we propose that refugee/migrant participation in workshops alongside NGOs, volunteers, local authorities and academics is an important research and impact resource for future projects.
3. Our findings call for further research: the current EU approach to migration and refugee protection; the (un)suitability of the hot-spot approach to refugee management; the concept of 'safety' (in special relation to safe, third countries); understandings of European security and securitisation; the radical distinction between economic and non-economic drives of migration.
4. The grant supported the production of a visual output that expected to positively impact on the sensitisation of non-academic publics.
5. Supported by the grant, we have created a small scale network of refugees who have been currently relocated to different European countries (Germany, Portugal, France, Belgium). This is an important 'resource' that will aid future comparative research on refugee integration in Europe.
Exploitation Route Our findings can be taken forward by several categories of stakeholders including governmental authorities, NGOs, members of civil society, academics and the general public. Representatives of our project already participated in high-level decision-making meetings in Greece and we have secured policy channels for sharing our final report. We have established a network of NGOs with whom we discussed results and recommendations. Our findings comprise an evidence base for future academic research on migration, and in particular on the need to change the current model of reception, asylum, humanitarian care and management of refugee/migrant arrivals. They also provide future academic research with useful starting points on issues of refugee integration and international security. In terms of non-academic audiences, our findings will be communicated to policy-makers at governmental and EU levels. Policy makers need to consider carefully the findings in relation to a series of commonly held assumptions about what drives migration. Our findings also contribute to a better understanding of relations between governmental and third-sector actors as they reveal major issues of accountability and transparency that emerge out of the complexity of humanitarian landscapes. Policy-makers will find our conclusions on the effects of the absence of safe and legal routes on the proliferation of criminal networks worth considering. Our findings suggest that policy categories are not neutral and have the power to shape local understandings of the position of refugees/migrants in European societies. This is an important point to consider when designing future policies, especially as local communities are both actors and stakeholders in the management of migration. Our findings have been and will be further shared with NGOs in order to improve the current model of humanitarian care provision which tends to transform refugees/migrants into passive recipients of humanitarian assistance. Last, but not least, our findings can be taken forward by volunteers and members of the general public as evidence that can inform public opinion on refugee issues and promote safer and more tolerant societies.
Sectors Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Government, Democracy and Justice,Security and Diplomacy
URL http://transitorylives.net/
 
Description The impact work for the project Transitory Lives is on-going and exceeds the time-frame of the project itself.Thus far, our research findings have informed: 1. SYRIZA (Greek political party in office) strategy in the European Parliament. (through participation in High Level meetings (2015 - 2017) and through participatory workshop organised and held in Brussels in 2017 - see engagement activities' section) 2. Greek government's strategy in handling the refugee crisis, and subsequent refugee education and integration issues (participation in high level meetings (2015 - 2017) and through participatory workshop held in Brussels in 2017 - see Influence on Policy and Engagement Activities' sections) 3. Local (regional) British Debate on the refugee crisis (North East - Suderland) (see Awards' section) 4. Local (national) Greek Debates on the refugee crisis (through a variety of engagements - see Engagement Activities' section) 5. Improvement of practices and policies regarding unaccompanied minors in Messina, Italy (participation in task force - see Influence on Policy section). 6. European Strategy on children migrants (participation in high-level conference - see Engagement Activities section). 7. Public opinion in Greece, Italy and Europe more generally through web-site, social media, press releases, radio and TV (see Engagement Activities' section). 8. A variety of practitioners and other audiences (law and medical students, NGOs, municipalities, schools - see Engagement Activities' section)
First Year Of Impact 2016
Sector Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Government, Democracy and Justice,Security and Diplomacy
Impact Types Cultural,Societal,Policy & public services
 
Description High Level Conference on the rights of Children
Geographic Reach Europe 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
Impact RA, Dr. Tyrikos-Ergas participated in high level policy conference to launch the Strategy for the rights of the Child 2016-2021, Sofia, Bulgaria. Speaker on the Panel "Upholding the Rights of Children on the Move : Learning from the 'Refugee Crisis' ". 5-6 April 2016. Council of Europe
URL http://www.coe.int/en/web/children/sofia2016
 
Description High Level meeting to adjust national (Greek) strategy on refugee crisis
Geographic Reach Europe 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
Impact Through this high-level meeting, Greek policy-makers and politicians were informed by research carried out by the Transitory Lives project. More specifically, information included current problems and shortcomings of humanitarian aid provisions, an update on the perspective of refugees and their patterns of movement, an update on child migrants and on the role of local communities in the provision of humanitarian aid.
 
Description Influence on Practice
Geographic Reach Local/Municipal/Regional 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
Impact RA, Dr. Giuliana Sano participating in the training of social workers in the University of Messina. She informed practitioners of current problems with the system of reception for asylum seekers. Her session was titled: "Il sistema di accoglienza dei richiedenti e titolari di protezione internazionale a Messina/ The system of reception for asylum seekers in Messina",
 
Description MSNA (Unaccompanied minors) technical task force
Geographic Reach Local/Municipal/Regional 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
Impact 2016, February 23: participation of Transitory Lives through Reserarch Assistant Giuliana Sano in the technical task force with the Social Work Office of Messina, aimed to improve the practices and to enhance the observance of policies and rights provided for the unaccompanied foreign minors (MSNA) in Sicily.
 
Description Participation in high-level consultation on migration and integration in Greece
Geographic Reach Europe 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
Impact Co-I Prof. Giorgos Tsimouris participated in a Greek national policy consultation meeting on refugee education and integration (December 2017). The meeting involved representatives of the Greek ministries of education and migration. Co-I Tsimouris shared the key findings of the Transitory Lives project and offered an evidence-based consultation on the most pressing policy issues relating to asylum, education and services access.
 
Description Training Ethiopian Government officials on durable solutions to migration and displacement.
Geographic Reach Africa 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
Impact Invited by IOM/UNHCR I delivered (with two other Durham colleagues) training to Ethiopian Government officials on durable solutions to migration and displacement with special emphasis on IDPs (internally displaced persons). This was a three-day intensive training event for officials who participate and deliver migration and displacement policies. Good practice and know-how gained through the 'Transitory Lives' project was shared with participants who reported a change of views on how they intend to design migration policies in the future.
 
Description Institute of Advanced Study Durham University, Major Project Scheme, "The Politics of Credibility: A scoping research on UK and EU asylum determination systems."
Amount £19,500 (GBP)
Organisation Durham University 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 09/2022 
End 12/2022
 
Title Data-base Refugee Crisis - Greece & Italy 
Description Transitory Lives project is currently building a data-base of research interviews with refugees, local community members, authorities, humanitarian aid providers and policy makers across two countries (Greece and Italy). The construction of this data-base is on-going. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Provided To Others? No  
Impact The data base will inform future research, but is also forming the basis of a comprehensive and comparative policy-making recommendations' report that will be ready by the end of June 2016 (9 months into the project and according to schedule). The report will be shared with policy-makers and governmental authorities in Greece, Italy, and key stakeholders in Europe. 
 
Description ARCI 
Organisation ARCI Sicilia
Country Italy 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Dr. Giuliana Sano, Research Assistant to the project Transitory Lives became a member of the legal team of the NGO ARCI Sicilia. Through the project the NGO will become part of a wider network of academics, NGOs and policy makers across 2 countries (Italy and Greece).
Collaborator Contribution ARCI is facilitating our research providing us with access to refugee associations and respondents.
Impact Giuliana Sanò (Research Assistant - Transitory Lives) became member of the legal team of the NGO Arci Association and of the Sprar project (System of Reception for Asylum Seekers and Refugees) managed by the Municipality of Messina. 20 of Jenuary 2016 Press Conference addressed to the promotion of the public awareness campaign "One guardian for each unaccompanied foreign minor", promoted by the NGO Arci Association, S. Egidio Community, the Diocesan Caritas of Messina and the Diocesan Office Migrantes of Messina. 10 February 2016, Transitory Lives is participating through Giuliana Sano (research assistant) in the project "Inside" promoted by the Italian Minister of Labour and of the Social Policies, and aimed to the working and social inclusion of the beneficiaries of the international and subsidiary protection who are accommodated into the SPRAR system of reception. Inside provides a six-month period of education and training internship supported by the operators of the NGO ARCI. Policy Recommendations' Report (to be finalised by end of June 2016) Participatory Network: A network of academics, policy-makers and NGOs (including ARCI) is currently being established at cross-country level (Greece and Italy). The aim of this network is to exchange good practice and to influence policy at national and European levels.
Start Year 2015
 
Description Collaboration with "Rethinking Modern Greek Studies in the 21st Century: A Cultural Analysis Network" 
Organisation University of Oxford
Department The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities TORCH
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution I have joined the Rethinking Modern Greek Studies in the 21st Century: A Cultural Analysis Network and contributed research experitse on migration, the Mediterranean migration crisis, borders, asylum and Islamophobia in Greece.
Collaborator Contribution The Network provides a space for disseminating research results to academic and non-academic audiences.
Impact This collaboration is interdisciplinary (with the chair of Modern Greek Studies in Oxford, and the Laskaridis Chair of Modern Greek Studies in Amsterdam). Main outputs: 2 public lectures that reached wider academic and non academic audiences in the UK and Continental Europe.
Start Year 2020
 
Description Collaborations with Greek NGOs - Agkalia (Embrace) 
Organisation Greek Forum of Refugees
Department Agkalia
Country Greece 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Agkalia (Embrace) is a local NGO that provides humanitarian aid to refugees in Lesbos, Greece. Through participating in our research Embrace has the opportunity of engaging in the network that Transitory Lives is establishing other local and international NGOs, academics and policy-makers across two countries (Greece and Italy).
Collaborator Contribution Embrace is offering our project access to the field and respondents.
Impact Embrace will participate in the workshop to be held in June 3-5 2016 where our network of academics, practitioners and policy-makers will set the basis for the production of a policy recommendations' report. Policy Recommendations' Report (to be finalised by end of June 2016) Participatory Network: A network of academics, policy-makers and NGOs (including Agkalia) is currently being established at cross-country level (Greece and Italy). The aim of this network is to exchange good practice and to influence policy at national and European levels.
Start Year 2015
 
Description Collaborations with Greek NGOs - MetAction 
Organisation Greek Forum of Refugees
Country Greece 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution One of the aims of the research is to bring together academics, NGOs and policy makers. MetAction is a registed Greek NGO. We are offering to the NGO the opportunity to inform our research and the research outcomes and to participate in a cross-country network of academics, NGOs and policy makers that aims to influence and inform policy on refugee issues.
Collaborator Contribution MetAction is informing our research and offers us access to respondents.
Impact Collaborative Workshop, 3-5 June (Panteion University Athens). The workshop will be attended by academics, third sector organisations and policy makers and it will establish the basis for a policy-recommendations' report. Policy Recommendations' Report (to be finalised by end of June 2016) Participatory Network: A network of academics, policy-makers and NGOs (including MetAction) is currently being established at cross-country level (Greece and Italy). The aim of this network is to exchange good practice and to influence policy at national and European levels.
Start Year 2015
 
Description Collaborations with Greek NGOs - Praksis 
Organisation Praksis
Country Greece 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution Part of Transitory Lives research project is to bring together NGOs, academics and policy makers. Our collaboration with Praksis is providing this NGO with an opportunity to inform the outputs of our research and to participate in common activities. We are offering to the NGO the opportunity to inform our research and the research outcomes and to participate in a cross-country network of academics, NGOs and policy makers that aims to influence and inform policy on refugee issues.
Collaborator Contribution Praksis is informing our research and provides assistance with access to respondents.
Impact Collaborative workshop 3-5 June (Panteion University Athens). The workshop will be attended by academics, third sector organisations and policy makers and it will establish the basis for a policy-recommendations' report. Policy Recommendations' Report (to be finalised by end of June 2016) Participatory Network: A network of academics, policy-makers and NGOs (including Praksis) is currently being established at cross-country level (Greece and Italy). The aim of this network is to exchange good practice and to influence policy at national and European levels.
Start Year 2015
 
Description Membership in Network (IMISCOE) 
Organisation International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion in Europe (IMISCOE)
Country Netherlands 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution The PI of this project contributed to two IMISCOE events (conference and workshop).
Collaborator Contribution IMISCOE offers our research a platform for dissemination of results
Impact Two engagement and dissemination activities: a) Paper presented in IMISCOE Spring Conference (Copenhagen) b) Country report presented in Workshop, March 3-5 (University of Amsterdam)
Start Year 2015
 
Description Panteion University 
Organisation Panteion University, Athens
Country Greece 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Panteion University, Athens (Anthropology Department) is participating via Prof. Tsimouris (Co-I) in the ESRC project Transitory Lives. A wider collaboration has been established on the basis of this and members of the Panteion department join the Durham Anthropology department for short periods of research time where they are granted access to the library and relevant facilities.
Collaborator Contribution The Panteion Anthopology Department is hosting one of the workshops of the Transitory Lives project in June 2016. The workshop will be attended by academics, third sector organisations and policy makers and it will establish the basis for a policy-recommendations' report. It is also expected to host a public debate in the summer of 2016 (part of the same Transitory Lives project).
Impact Kirtsoglou, E. & Tsimouris, G. 2016. "Il etait un petiti navire": The refugee crisis, neo-orientalism and the production of radical alterity. e-JMGS Occasional Paper 9 https://www.press.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_modern_greek_studies/CrisisAlterityKirtsoglouTsimouris.pdf accessed 03/03/2016. Public Talk on Refugee Crisis and the Transitory Lives project, 2 March 2016. Anthropology Department, Panteion University. Project workshop (to be held 3-5 June 2016 - Scheduled and advertised) Public debate on refugee crisis (to be held in July 2016 - Scheduled)
Start Year 2015
 
Description St. Andrews University 
Organisation University of St Andrews
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution The Anthropology Department at St. Andrews University is participating via Dr. Pipyrou (Co-I) in the ESRC/DFID project Transitory Lives. Wider collaborative links are being currently built (see outputs section)
Collaborator Contribution The Anthropology Department at St. Andrews University is participating via Dr. Pipyrou (Co-I) in the ESRC/DFID project Transitory Lives. Wider collaborative links are being currently built (see outputs section)
Impact 2015, December 3: Participation and Presentation in Making and Sharing Knowledge workshop, Cosmopolitanism Studies Centre, University of St. Andrews. Presentation Title: We are all immigrants: Cosmopolitanism as a moral project. Delivered by Dr. Kirtsoglou and Prof. Tsimouris. 2016, September (date to be confirmed). Cosmopolitanism as a moral and political project workshop, Anthropology Department, Durham University. This workshop will share research conducted as part of the Transitory Lives project with St. Andrews staff members and students. The workshop will be open to the public.
Start Year 2015
 
Description University of Messina 
Organisation University of Messina
Country Italy 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Via the Transitory Lives project, two members of staff from the University of Messina will be invited to speak in a conference in London in December 2016 where the result of the Transitory Lives project will be shared with academics and policy makers.
Collaborator Contribution The University of Messina has hosted a project meeting in Italy (September 2015) and it will be hosting a workshop in June 2016. The workshop will be attended by academics, third sector organisations and policy makers and it will establish the basis for a policy-recommendations' report. (A similar workshop will be held in Athens 3-5 June).
Impact 2015, September 24. Workshop and Project Meeting, University of Messina, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences. Title: "The Mediterranean as an area of political, social and cultural crises". 2016, June (date to be confirmed). Workshop to share preliminary results of the project and establish the basis for a policy recommendations' document.
Start Year 2015
 
Description 17th Annual Cambridge Heritage Research Seminar 14 May 2016 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presented in the 17th Annual Cambridge Heritage Research Seminar, The Heritage of Displacement: Forced Migration in the Mediterranean through History.
Saturday, 14 May 2016 McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research
University of Cambridge

Paper presentation: We are all Refugees: An Ethnographic Discussion of the Narrative and Material Politics of Displacement in Modern Greece

Museum, heritage professionals, and third sector NGOs also attended and participated in this event.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL http://www.arch.cam.ac.uk/about-us/heritage/17th_AnnualCambridgeHeritageResearchSeminar_22April2016....
 
Description AAA Conferece, 2016 Minneapolis 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact PI Kirtsoglou presented in the Panel "Displacement in Real Time: Contemporary Archaeologies of Forced and Undocumented Migration". The paper, titled: "Undocumented: The Ethical and Political Dimensions of Migration Heritage in Modern Greece" was attended by Anthropologists and Archaeologists. AAA is the biggest annual gathering of Anthropologists and Archaeologists. AAA conferences are attended by more than 5.000 delegates. Our Session was an 'invited one' placed centrally in the programme and very well attended. Participation in this panel was triggered by the presentation given in the Cambridge Heritage event earlier in 2016.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL https://aaa.confex.com/aaa/2016/webprogram/Session16540.html
 
Description ASA Panel on Borders and Security, 4 July 2016 
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 Co-I Tsimouris organised a panel on borders and security at the aftermath of the Paris 2016 attacks in the international Anthropological Association Conference 2016. The panel invited papers on the lives and rights of refugees in Europe and anthropological investigations of securitisation, border intensification and the proliferation of states of exception with regards to human rights and refugee protection. It provided a space for discussion and exchange between Transitory Lives and the EU BorderCare ERC project (European University Institute). http://eubordercare.eu/annual-asa-meeting-2016-in-durham/

The two teams are currently preparing new dissemination and policy-influencing activities to take place in 2017.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL http://www.nomadit.co.uk/asa/asa2016/panels.php5?PanelID=4444
 
Description Amsterdam IMISCOE Research Initiative Workshop on Refugees in European Localities: Reception, Perceptions and Policies March 3rd - March 5th 2016 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact IMISCOE Research Initiative Workshop on Refugees in European Localities: Reception, Perceptions and Policies, Amsterdam, March 3rd - March 5th 2016
A working group of migration experts across Europe provided country reports followed by intensive joint discussions and focused comments on asylum processes, levels of governance, role of different actors and stakeholders, reception and security. The country reports are being organised in an edited volume that will be published in the IMISCOE research series, operated by Springer publishers.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
 
Description Article - Magazine Unfollow 
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 Second extensive (1500w) article in national, wide circulation magazine Unfollow on the major challenges in humanitarian aid and protection of refugees in Greece.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL http://unfollow.com.gr/print-edition/milia-gi-aftous%e2%80%a2-mon-koita-tous-kai-perna-skepseis-gia-...
 
Description Bologna Seminar 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact 2016 April, 22. Giuliana Sano (Research Assistant) will deliver seminar and update on Transitory Lives in University of Bologna, Department of Education Sciences, Anthropology of Migrations course. The seminar is open to the General Public, Third Sector Organisations, School Teachers and Education-related practitioners.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
 
Description Budapest Workshop 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact 2016, February, 26-27. Budapest. Co-I Tsimouris presented research conducted in the framework of Transitory Lives project to the workshop: CRISES AND VICTIMS A WORKSHOP ON REFUGEES, MIGRANTS AND ANTI- REFUGEE DISCOURSES IN A NEW WAY. Presentation title: "Reactions of locals on the extensive arrivals of refugees in the Greek island of Lesbos: Tensions between solidarity, philanthropy and the protection of the borders".

The workshop was organized by Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, Karl Polányi Center for Global Social Studies and Eszmélet, Quarterly Journal for Social Critique.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL http://polanyiresearchcen.wix.com/polanyi#!crisis-and-victims/c1w9c
 
Description Christopoulos 9.84 Radio 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact 17 February 2016. Prof. Christopoulos is an academic collaborator to our research. He appeared on Greek national radio (9.84) and commented on the closing down of the Macedonian border as a humanitarian challenge.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
 
Description Column in National Magazine Unfollow 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Column in National Magazine Unfollow on migration reception policies in Greece (October 2017). The article discussed the effects of Greek and EU policies on migration reception structures, but also on the development and circulation of xenophobic narratives among certain sections of the Greek (and European) publics. The article was received particularly well and sparked discussions on the relationship between policy-making and public attitudes towards migrants and refugees in Greece.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL http://unfollow.com.gr/print-edition/i-algevra-tis-fisis-i-geometria-tis-exousias-kai-to-fainomeno-t...
 
Description Column in national media 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Column in Greek national magazine "Unfollow" on Roma communities and migrants in Greece (July 2017). The article was very well received and sparked further discussions on current policies regarding mobility, migration and integration.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL http://unfollow.com.gr/print-edition/ti-xeroun-oi-roma-pou-emeis-agnooume-anipakoua-ipokeimena-kai-o...
 
Description Conference Panel 
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 ASA panel (A 10): The Radical Politics of Alterity: towards a unified analysis of 'crisis', migration and the workings of power (Norwich 3 - 6 September 2019). Organisers: Dr. Elisabeth Kirtsoglou & Dr. Olga Demetriou.
This is the international conference of the Association of Social Anthropologists, UK and Commonwealth. It is attended by professional anthropologists from UK, Europe, US and Commonwealth Countries. The panel was received and attended particularly well. Further plans for publication of material are under way.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.theasa.org/conferences/asa19/panels#8018
 
Description Conference Panel 
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 A Panel on "Infrastructures: Anthrogeographies of the State as an absent presence", was organised as part of "Anthropology and Geography: Dialogues Past, Present and Future" conference, organised by the Royal Anthropological Institute, the RGS and the British Academy. Panel . The panel was co-organised with Antonis Vradis, another PI from the same 'urgent invite' ESRC funding scheme. It was received extremely well and attracted a large audience.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://nomadit.co.uk/conference/rai2020/p/8351
 
Description Conference Paper - "Debating solidarity in emergency contexts: Crisis and exclusion in EU Migration and Asylum policies during the Covid 19 pandemic" 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact I was invited speaker in the international Conference "EU Values, Diversity and Intercultural Dialogue: Enhancing the debate", 21-23 April, 2021, organised by Jean Monnet Project EU-VADIS and Hellenic Association of European Law. My paper was titled "Debating solidarity in emergency contexts: Crisis and exclusion in EU Migration and Asylum policies during the Covid 19 pandemic". My paper discussed how scholars, civil society and political actors employ the narrative of solidarity in order to stress the need for sharing responsibilities at national and international levels. The paper claimed that the notion of solidarity has been transformed from its original inception into a multitude of different frameworks that mostly serve to mystify and mask institutionalised socio-political inequalities, supporting the radical depoliticisation of rights and reducing them to moral contingencies. Through a discussion of the intense nationalisation of responses to the pandemic, the symbolic role of national and supra-national borders, and a brief overview of the historical transformations in the concept of solidarity, I argued in favour of more inclusive notions of citizenship and for the conceptualisation of rights as political duties and obligations. Upholding equality, instituting and following equitable political processes and doing away with states of exception of all kinds, is a democratic duty, rather than a matter of exhibiting 'solidarity' as a moral desirable. The paper was very well received and attracted the attention of policymakers who attended the coference (and the specific panel I contributed to).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.coe.int/en/web/freedom-expression/-/e-conference-eu-values-diversity-and-intercultural-d...
 
Description Council of Europe - High Level Conference 
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 2016, April 5-6. Through our Research Assistant, George Tyrikos Ergas, Transitory Lives will participate and share research insights in a High Level Conference on Children's rights organised by the Council of Europe. The conference will launch the new council of Europe Strategy for children. The aim of the Conference is to identify how all actors in Council of Europe member States can work together to realise the objectives of the Strategy over the years to come. The Conference will gather around 180 participants, including Ministers from Council of Europe member States and other high level guests, representatives from national and local governments, parliaments and civil society, the Council of Europe and other international organisations, professional and academic networks, ombudspersons for children, as well as children themselves.
Participation in the Conference is by invitation only.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL http://www.coe.int/en/web/children/sofia2016
 
Description Dissemination Paper 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Kirtsoglou, E. and Tsimouris, G. 2016. "Il était un petit navire" : The refugee crisis, neo-orientalism, and the production of radical alterity". Occasional Paper 9, Journal of Modern Greek Studies
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL https://www.press.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_modern_greek_studies/crisis.html
 
Description Dissemination article 
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 PI Kirtsoglou's article in Greek national, wide circulation magazine Unfollow. The article discussed humanitarian aid during the refugee crisis in Greece, the role of the state and non-state actors.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL http://unfollow.com.gr/print-edition/diakopes-meriki-dimokratia-to-kratos-etaireia-kai-i-viopolitiki...
 
Description EU Agency Conference 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Speech delivered by RA, Dr. Tyrikos Ergas. 21-24 June 2016. EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) Conference in Vienna.Panel, "Local Communities and migration hotspots : taking a fundaments rights perspective".
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL http://fra.europa.eu/en/news-and-events
 
Description Expert academic Workshop in European Institute 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact In 14-15 December, the projects 'Transitory Lives' (ESRC/DFID) and EU Border Care (ERC) organised a collaborative workshop titled "(Un)Making Lives at the Border: Precarity, Mobility and Permanence in the Mediterranean Migration Encounter". The workshop brings together researchers from two different funded research projects on migration in European borderlands. Building on existing scholarship and new findings, it initiate an interdisciplinary dialogue between scholars in the field of anthropology, sociology, and border and migration studies on relatively understudied themes and to highlight the narrative and material continuities between the social, moral and legal dimensions of forced displacement. Focusing on the Mediterranean, the work presented negotiated, in diverse ways, three key concepts - mobility, precarity, and permanence - that best unlock the intricacies of the mobility nexus along these highly mediatised international migration routes. Transitory Lives presented two papers: 1) by Kirtsoglou (PI) and Tsimouris (Co-I) titled: "Distributed Sovereignty: The Management of Forced Displacement in Conditions of Partial Democracy"; 2) by Maria Kenti-Kranidioti (part-time research assistant) titled: Making Politics, Making Home: Refugee Politicisation in Piraeus, Greece. The workshop initiated a new informal working group (research network) between the two projects. Organisers Vanessa Grotti, Elisabeth Kirtsoglou alongside Marc Brightman (ERC PI - UCL, UK) are currently preparing the publication of the workshop papers. The workshop included participants from different European Universities.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL https://www.eui.eu/events/detail?eventid=137293
 
Description Forced Migration Symposium Athens 3-5 June 2016, Panteion University 
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 Transitory Lives shared preliminary results in a participatory workshop in Panteion University Athens. Participants co-created a space for dialogue and exchange between academics, volunteers, non-governmental organisations, refugees and journalists on journeys, experiences, shortcomings, reception structures, humanitarian aid, solidarity and the European agenda on migration. Refugees had the opportunity to discuss their problems with representatives from the UNHCR, policy makers and practitioners.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL https://transitorylives.net/events-2/events/
 
Description Forced Migration Symposium Messina - Italy, 13-14 May 2016 
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 Transitory Lives presented preliminary results, discussed current issues and strengthened the network of academics, refugees and NGOs in Sicily in a participatory workshop organised in the University of Messina. The workshop was attended by academics, NGOs, policymakers refugees and members of the general public.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL https://transitorylives.net/events-2/forced-migration-symposium-messina-italy/
 
Description Foreign Citizens Network 
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 2016, January (11, 14, 29): Transitory Lives participated through Research Assistant Giuliana Sano in the technical task forces "Foreign Citizens and Immigration Policies" held within the project "Arrival Cities". A project promoted by the Municipality of Amadora (Portugal) the Lead Partner, together with the Cities of Messina, Thessaloniki, Riga, Roquetas de Mar and Vantaa, and mainly aimed to the creation of a network of European stakeholders, able to face the main issues linked to the reception of migrants and to the multicultural integration into the EU countries.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
 
Description Goethe Workshop 
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 2016, February 26-27. Through our research assistant George Tyrikos Ergas, the project Transitory Lives participated in a forum alongside local and international solidarity organisations. The purpose of the forums was to share good practice and to inform the public on solidarity initiatives and the refugee issue. The forum was part of the "Dome Project", a cross-Mediterranean umbrella project, whose aim is to bring together solidarity organisations in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
https://www.goethe.de/resources/files/pdf75/_.pdf
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL https://www.goethe.de/ins/gr/el/sta/ath/ver.cfm?fuseaction=events.detail&event_id=20699279
 
Description Greek National Radio Interview 
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 Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Greek National Radio Intreview (16 June 2017), radio-station 9,84. Interview broadcasted live on migration and integration issues. The interview focused on issues of refugee education and integration and the rising xenophobic attitudes of certain sections of the Greek public.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Greek National Radio Interview 
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 on Green National Radio station 9,84 on migration issues and the Transitory Lives Participatory Workshop held in Brussels (29-30 May 2017). The interview was broadcasted live on the 30th of May 2017. Themes discussed involved European response to migration emergencies, Greek migration reception shortcomings and the 'hot-spot approach'.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description High Level Meeting in Italian Embassy, Athens. 
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 2016, February 12. Transitory Lives Research Assistant, George Tyrikos Ergas shared preliminary insights of our research project with members of the Italian parliament in a close meeting in the Italian Embassy - Athens.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
 
Description Humanitarian Policy Group 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact 2015. December 9: Participation in Roundtable meeting organised by the Humanitrian Policy Group ODI (held in ODI - London). Attended by Dr. Kirtsoglou and Dr. Tsimouris. The meeting resulted in a REPORT published on the Humanitarian Network Site (HPN). The REPORT can be accessed here: http://odihpn.org/resource/humanitarian-europe-responses-to-the-2015-refugee-and-migrant-movements-through-lesvos-greece/
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
URL http://odihpn.org/resource/humanitarian-europe-responses-to-the-2015-refugee-and-migrant-movements-t...
 
Description IMISCOE Spring Conference 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact 2016. February 18-19: Presentation in conference organised by IMISCOE [International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion Network] and the Centre for Advanced Migration Studies (university of Copenhagen). Conference Title: Measures of Control: Managing Migration in the 21st Century. Presentation title: Monitoring, Controlling, Producing Subjectivities: Lessons learnt from current research on the Mediterranean Migration Crisis. Presented by: Dr. Kirtsgolou and Prof. Kofman.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL https://www.imiscoe.org/news/network-news/468-measures-of-control-managing-migration-in-the-21st-cen...
 
Description INNOVATHENS 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Co-I Tsimouris, delivered public talk in INNOVATHENS, an open lab that brings together, researchers, professionals, practitioners, media, policy-makers and the general public. Title of the talk: "Intercultural education in Greece: From the teachers' point of view". The event referred to the recent developments in refugee children's education in Greece.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL https://www.innovathens.gr/innovathens-winter-labs-2017
 
Description International Border-Crossings Summer School (3-6 August, Konitsa - Greece) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Tsimouris and Kirtsoglou led a course in the International Border Crossings Summer School (Konitsa, Greece) titled: Approaches of the "Migration Crisis" in the Mediterranean:
Imaging the Present as Future. The summer school is addressed to research students, many of whom are also professionals/practitioners, members of policy-making teams, or third sector organisations related to the refugee and migration issues.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL https://www.border-crossings.eu/the-programme
 
Description Interview in Hungarian Channel 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact 2016, February 29. Co-Investigator Prof. Tsimouris shared insights of our Transitory Lives Research with Hungarian Public in an interview in ATV-Live channel.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_O3bF-Yc-N-anpzVFh0YjdGRVU/view?pref=2&pli=1
 
Description Keynote "Thalassopolitics of alterity: Interconnectivity, discontinuities and the Mediterranean as a hotspot of colonial nostalgia" 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Keynote speech in the EASA Mediterraneanist Network workshop Mediterranean Interconnectivity: Mobility of persons goods and ideas across (and beyond) the Mediterranean Sea. 10-13 November 2021, British School Athens. EASA stands for the European Association of Social Anthropologists. The lecture was delivered in a hybrid format (in person and via zoom). It was very well attended by a large mixed audience of academics, policy-maker and Greek politicians. The lectured discussed border politics and migration flows in the Mediterranean. It offered a synthetic perspective of the Mediterranean as a highly politicised space/place and concept. In my keynote I argued that for much of its modern history the sea has been a hotspot for the enactment of colonial relations and colonial nostalgia, supported by and produced within a particular thalassopolitic of alterity. Alterity in turn, I claimed, is a deeply orientalist technology developed some times in visions of connectivity and at other times established through enforced discontinuities.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.easaonline.org/networks/mednet/events
 
Description Law School 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Public talk to undergraduate and postgraduate students of the Law School in Athens, open to members of the general public. The talk shared research and insights from the Transitory Lives project and was delivered by co-investigator Prof. Tsimouris.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
 
Description Media Interview by Greek Radio Station 9.84 
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 I was interviewed by Greek National Radio Station 9.84 on migration, asylum and the impact of Covid-19 on hotspots and migrant detention structures. According to the broadcast host, the station received many requests for more information by members of the general public.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
 
Description Medical School of Athens 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact 2016, January 26. Co-Investigator Prof. Tsimouris was invited to share insights from Transitory Lives research on displacement and trauma. Audience included doctors and postgraduate students of the Medical School of Athens who attend the programme: International medicine and Health Crises.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
 
Description Mental Health and Migration Meetings 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Through Research Assistant Giuliana Sano, the Transitory Lives project participated and shared preliminary results in a series of training meetings on "Mental Health and Migration", addressed to the SPRAR's operator, in Messina, Italy. (SPRAR= Protection System for Refugees and Asylum Seekers). The schedule of the meetings can be found below:

2015, November 26: focused on the reception system, led by Santino Tornesi operator of the Diocesan Office Migrantes

2015 December 11: focused on tortures and psychological consequences, led by Aldo Virgilio, Phsychiatrist.

2016 January 22: focused on the social and political situations of the countries of origin, led by Mourad Boudhil, Linguistic and Cultural Mediator

2016 February 19: focused on the phenomena of stress and burnout among the operators, led by Giovanna Gioffrè, Phsycologist
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015,2016
 
Description Migration & the City: 14th IMISCOE Annual conference (Rotterdam 2017) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Invited paper presentation in the IMISCOE Conference 2017 (held in Rotterdam) - Part of the Panel "Beyond Refugee Reception: A Multi-Level Perspective on Practices of Inclusion and Exclusion of Asylum-Seekers in Europe". The panel was organised by Prof. Birgit Glorius (TU Chemnitz, Germany) and Prof. Jeroen Doomernik (University of Amsterdam, IMES, The Netherlands). The paper was titled: 'When solidarity turns to xenophobia: the post-crisis politics of refugee inclusion and exclusion in Modern Greek society' and discussed the politics of refugee education in post-crisis conditions in Greece. Exposing dramatic narratives of xenophobia the paper examined two major emerging issues. First, it concentrated on the role of health and well-being as metaphors of exclusion. On the basis of evidence the paper demonstrated that the pathologization of refugees is (similar to their criminalization) a master narrative that serves to create exclusions within Greek society. The creation of states of exception and spheres of illegitimacy by ordinary citizens demonstrates how the biopolitical management of life is not the privilege of state power but can also be seen and analysed as a bottom-up process. The paper also focused on demonstrations of solidarity and inclusion towards refugee children and young adults that were important and widespread. Given the ambivalent attitudes of Greek society to 2015-2016 refugees, the presentation located the sources of support or resistance to refugee education and analyse it in terms of socio-economic, educational and political criteria. Evidence collected during the Transitory Lives project indicated that post-crisis educational politics in Greece point to the existence of two contested and competing narratives of citizenship paradigmatic of political developments in other European states. Through a careful examination of the Greek case, the paper concluded that public sentiment is formed in direct and intimate connection to the ways in which high-level politicians perceive and choose to handle 'political risk' locally.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL https://www.imiscoe.org/what-imiscoe-does/events/619-14th-imiscoe-annual-conference-rotterdam-june-2...
 
Description National Radio Interview 
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 Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Interview broadcasted live in National Radio station 9.84 (2 November 2017) on refugee education and integration issues.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Netherlands Institute - Athens 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact 2016, January 9-19. Co-Intestigator Prof. Tsimouris presented our research program, "Transitory Lives: Update on an Anthropological investigation of the 'Migration Crisis' in the Mediterranean", at the Netherlands Institute in Athens. The audience included general public and postgraduate students in Social Sciences. Details of the course can be found here:
http://www.nit-istanbul.org/message/migration-in-the-margins-of-europe-from-istanbul-to-athens
Details about the institute can be found here:
http://www.nia.gr/nl/
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
 
Description Open Lecture, Socology Seminar Series, Newcastle University, March 4-5 2016 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Open Seminar in the University of Newcastle, as part of the Sociology Seminar Series.
Title: We are all Immigrants: Humanity and the Politics of Empathy in Modern Greece.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
 
Description Organisation of American Anthropological Association Conference Panel on Solidarity 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Expert panel in American Anthropological Association Annual Conference in Washington DC on "Displaced Solidarities: Empathy, Resistance, Compromise". The panel was co-organised with Dr. Heath Cabot, Associate Professor in the University of Pittsburgh. (29 November - 03 December 2017) The panel assessed transforming notions of solidarity in Greece vis-a-vis the 2015-2016 migration 'crisis'. Kirtsoglou also presented a paper titled "Empathy - Emotion - Resistance: an ethnographic understanding of spontaneous solidarity in Greece". The paper re-assess the analytical potential of the concept of 'empathy' and in particular the concept's relevance to grassroots political action expressed as spontaneous solidarity towards refugees.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL https://www.eventscribe.net/2017/AAA/assets/pdf/AAA2017_Program_BOOK_v2.pdf
 
Description Panel Organisation in International Conference 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact A panel was organised in the international IASFM conference in Thessaloniki. The panel included presentations from researchers in the project (Transitory Lives - Output Identified), one of the co-Is and an activist in the field of refugee reception. The panel was extremely well attended (more than 120 people) and sparked a lively Q&A session between academics, practitioners and policy makers. The panel was titled: "Regimes of care, spaces of resistance: Contesting the humanitarian anti-politics 'from below'" [Session II, July 26, 2018 @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm http://iasfm.org/iasfm17/event/session-ii-2/]
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL http://iasfm.org/iasfm17/theme-two-civil-society-new-humanitarianism-citizens-mobilization/#_Toc5197...
 
Description Panel Organisation in International Conference 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact A Panel was organised in the American Anthropological Association Annual Conference in San Jose, CA (November 14-18). The panel was titled 'Legacies of Conflict in Crisis' and was co-organised with Dr. Olga Demetriou (Durham University). The panel discussed forced displacement in relation to war, conflict and crises and brought together academics from two continents and 5 different universities. The panel was extremely well attended by professional academics, postgraduate researchers, practitioners and policy makers. There was a lively Q&A session and papers are currently being prepared for a future publication [Saturday, 17 November, 10.15-12.00 https://www.eventscribe.com/2018/AAA-Annual/agenda.asp?day=11/17/2018&theday=Saturday&h=Saturday%20%20November%2017&BCFO=P%7CG]
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.eventscribe.com/2018/AAA-Annual/agenda.asp?day=11/17/2018&theday=Saturday&h=Saturday%20%...
 
Description Presenation in International Metropolis Conference Hague 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation in International Metropolis Conference 2017 - The Hague (18-22 September 2017). Part of the panel organised by Prof. Steven Vertovec, Max-Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, Gottingen and Prof. Jeroen Doomernik, University of Amsterdam. The focus of the panel was "Asylum-Seeker Accommodation in Europe: Considering Scales of Policy and Practice". The paper presented was titled: "From 'humanitarian care' to asylum-seeker accommodation: Experiences from 2015-2016 Greece". The paper focused on focuses on the provision of housing, sustenance, healthcare and legal services to asylum-seekers under complex circumstances where relations between EU, state and non-state actors resulted in a markedly uneven and asymmetrical landscape and in palpable violations of asylum seekers' human and legal rights. On the basis of original ethnographic data, collected as part of the Transitory Lives ESRC/DFID-funded project, the paper discussed how the quality of asylum- seekers' accommodation in Greece varied considerably from case to case and depended heavily on socio-historical, demographic and local-political aspects. The deeply hierarchical and asymmetrical character of the provision of basic services was analysed against two major factors that played a crucial role in the 2015-2016 period: First, the noticeable tendency of the state to 'outsource' almost all services to the third sector, volunteers and the local communities; second, the importance of a local ethos of solidarity underpinned by historical memories of being a refugee from Asia Minor (as a result of the 1919-22 Greco-Turkish war), and by culturally-specific cosmologies of what constitutes 'giving' and 'receiving'. Based on ethnographic dialogues with refugees, state representatives, NGO actors, volunteers and ordinary members of Greek communities, the presentation revealed the inefficiency of top-down 'reception systems' that disregarded the needs and aspirations of asylum-seekers. The paper provided examples of grass-roots initiatives that proved to be considerably more effective and symmetrical than larger-scale efforts, calling for radical changes in the current 'humanitarian care' paradigm of asylum-seeker accommodation in Europe.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL http://www.thehagueonline.com/event/international-metropolis-conference-2017
 
Description Presentation in international workshop 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Paper presentation in international workshop "Care in Crisis: Ethnographic Perspectives on Humanitarianism", in Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, organised by Prof. Heike Drotbohm and Dr. Hannah Brown. The workshop brought together researcher from across European Universities in a discussion of humanitarian responses to migration crises. Paper presented: Crisis - Care - Empathy: Emerging socialities and the politics of solidarity in Greece. The paper discussed the complex relations between state and non-state actors in 2015-2016 refugee arrivals in Greece and demonstrated how the significant gaps in refugee reception that were filled primarily by local communities and volunteers who often proved to be the most effective and readily available providers of humanitarian care. On the basis of original ethnographic data, the paper analysed the complex humanitarian landscape in 2015-2016 Greece through paying close attention to the politics of care and solidarity as these developed in an emergency context.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL http://www.ifeas.uni-mainz.de/3317.php
 
Description Press Conference Messina 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact 2016, January 20. Transitory Lives participated through Research Assistant Giuliana Sano to Press Conference addressed to the promotion of the public awareness campaign "One guardian for each unaccompanied foreign minor", promoted by the NGO Arci Association, S. Egidio Community, the Diocesan Caritas of Messina and the Diocesan Office Migrantes of Messina.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
 
Description Public Lecture 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact 'Mustafa: The Cretan from Aleppo'. Invited to present in ESRC, workshop at the Centre of Ethnographic Research workshop 'Researching austerity: concepts, methods and debates'. (PI Dimitrios Theodossopoulos, João de Pina Cabral) University of Kent, 17 April.
The workshop was attended by academics, postgraduate and graduate students, as well as NGO representatives.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.kent.ac.uk/events/event/37839/cer-event-researching-austerity-concepts-methods-and-debat...
 
Description Public Lecture, Oxford University 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact January 2020: Public Lecture: Rethinking Crisis, Greek Society and Greek Studies; Modern Greek Studies in the 21st Century Perspectives and Practices in Cultural Analysis, Oxford University. The Lecture disseminated results of my research to academic and non-academic audiences.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.torch.ox.ac.uk/event/conference-rethinking-modern-greek-studies-in-the-21st-century
 
Description Public Talk 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Public talk in Conference: Rethinking Modern Greek Studies in the 21st Century: A Cultural Analysis Network. 31st January 2020, Oxford University.
The talk was part of a round-table that was particularly well received and attended. Participants included established academics, early career researchers and research students from UK and Europe.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.torch.ox.ac.uk/event/conference-rethinking-modern-greek-studies-in-the-21st-century
 
Description Public Webinar 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact January 2021: Keynote in Roundtable: Roundtable "Our Intense Biopolitical Moment: Covid and Before". Online webinar organised by Rethinking Modern Greek Studies in the 21st Century: A Cultural Analysis Network. I had the opportunity to present my research results to academic, non-academic audiences and the general public. The event was attended by UK, European researchers and NGOs, attracted media attention in Greece and was reported by Greek national radio-stations.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.torch.ox.ac.uk/event/our-intense-biopolitical-present-covid-and-before
 
Description RAI Dissemination & Policy workshop 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Participatory workshop in the Royal Anthropological Institute that disseminated our research findings in the last stages of our data analysis and in anticipation of our final report. The presentation of our findings will be organised around the following interest areas: 1) Migrant/refugee journeys; 2) Vulnerable populations; 3) Borders and security; 4) Structures of reception and protection; 5) Push versus pull factors; 6) Attitudes and role of local communities; 7) Lessons learnt
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL https://transitorylives.net/events-2/dissemination-workshop-london-programme
 
Description Radio Interview 
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 Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Interviewed twice by Greek national radio station 9.84 by journalist Kostas Raptis on refugee and migration issues (October 2019, February 2020 respectively).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019,2020
 
Description Radio Interview 
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 Dr. Elisabeth Kirtsoglou was interviewed on Radio Athens 9.84 (produced Kostas Raptis) on forced displacement and gender issues (October 25, 19.00 - 20.00 GMT, 21.00 - 22.00 local time)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Radio interview, Athens 9.84 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Radio interview, Athens 9.84, International Women's day. PI Kirtsoglou talked about forced displacement and gender issues.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Seminar on Refugees - Ministry of Education 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact 2016, January 22-23. Co-I Prof. Tsimouris was invited to talk about Transitory Lives research to two-day workshop organised by the Greek Ministry of education and the environmental centres of Drapetsona & Elefsina, Attica. The workshop was attended by schools, teachers and the general public.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL http://dipe-anatol.att.sch.gr/index.php/kainotomes-draseis/perivallontiki-ekpaidefsi/1090-xthes-emei...
 
Description St. Andrews Workshop 
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 2015, December 3: Participation and Presentation in Making and Sharing Knowledge workshop, Cosmopolitanism Studies Centre, University of St. Andrews. Presentation Title: We are all immigrants: Cosmopolitanism as a moral project. Delivered by Dr. Kirtsoglou and Prof. Tsimouris.

The purpose of this workshop was to explore the production, dissemination and sharing of knowledge between different types of audiences. Our presentation focused on creating cosmopolitan spaces of empathy between local communities and migrant/refugees.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
URL https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/anthropology/events/?eventid=691
 
Description Syriza in the European Parliament Conference 
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 High-level policy-making workshop titled "EU and Refugees: Facing Reality and Discussing Alternative Solutions". The workshop took place in Athens on the 12th of February 2016 and its scope was to influence the agenda of the SYRIZA party (Greek political party in government) in the European Parliament. Participants in the workshop included: D. Papadimoulis (Vice President of the European Parliament), D. Avramopoulos (EU Commissioner on Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship), I. Mouzalas (Greek Minister for Immigration Policy) N. Xydakis (Alternate Foreigh Minister for European Affairs), representatives of British Universities and international NGOs (MSF). Transitory Lives participated in the workshop through Research Assistant George Tyrikos-Ergas and collaborator D. Christopoulos.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
 
Description Talk in Nea Makri, Attica, Athens 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Third sector organisations
Results and Impact 2016, February, 14. CO-Investigator Tsimouris shared insights of Transitory Lives research to day-event organised by the municipality of Nea Makri - Athens. iv. The talk was titled: Transitory Lives: anthropological understandings of the refugee crisis in the Aegean. The event was attended by refugee-solidarity organisations, parents and school children of the county of Nea Makri.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL http://blogs.sch.gr/2nipnmakr/2016/02/08/%CF%84%CE%BF-%CF%80%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%83%CF%86%CF%85%CE%B3%CE%...
 
Description Talk to Peiramatiko Lykeio 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact 2016, March 7. Public talk to 1st Peiramatiko Lykeio, Athens on our Transitory Lives research on the refugee crisis. The talk was directed to secondary school students (ages 15-18). It was attended by the students, teachers and their parents.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
 
Description Tallberg Workshop - Lesvos 
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 Transitory Lives participated through Research Assistant George Tyrikos-ERgas in international workshop of Tallberg Foundation in Lesvos. The goal of the workshop was to question and explore the dynamics of the refugee issue in terms of its political and economic consequences, as well as with regards to promoting safe and tolerant societies.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL http://www.tallbergfoundation.org/events/the-tallberg-workshop-on-lesvos/
 
Description Training Government Officials 
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 Invited by UNHCR/IOM to deliver training to Ethiopian Government officials on durable solutions to migration and displacement. This was a three-day intensive professional training workshop for government officials from across Ethiopia on durable solutions to migration and displacement with special reference to IDPs (internally displaced persons). It was co-delivered with two colleagues from Durham University. Good practice and know-how gained during the project 'Transitory Lives' was shared with participants who participate in the design and delivering of Ethiopian policy on migration and displacement.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description Transitory Lives - Participatory Workshop Brussels 
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 On May 29-30 the Transitory Lives ESRC/DFID project held a participatory workshop in Brussels to disseminate research findings in the last stages of data analysis and in anticipation of our final report. The workshop was attended by representatives of Greek, Italian and European NGOs, representatives of European Members of Parliament (EMPs), and migration researchers. Focusing on the central and south eastern Mediterranean migration routes (Greece, South Italy), the workshop addressed the social effects of high-risk migration upon migrants and receiving communities, the shortcomings and strengths of current policies and structures, and issues pertaining to research and policy responses to migration emergencies. The presentation of our findings was organised around the following interest areas:
1) Migrant/refugee journeys (including non-linear, messy journeys and their effects on the categories of refugee and migrant).
2) Vulnerable populations (including unaccompanied minors, women and young men)
3) Borders and security (including the relationship between bordering practices and the proliferation of criminal networks).
4) Structures of reception and protection (including humanitarian assistance related problems; detention and vulnerability, hot-spots).
5) Push versus pull factors (including 'asylum shopping' and choice of destination).
6) Attitudes and role of local communities (including new forms of solidarity, the rise of xenophobia and the changing political map of Europe)
7) Lessons learnt (including major issues that arise from the comparison of Greek and Italian contexts).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL https://allevents.in/brussels/transitory-lives-participatory-workshop/1946226312272543
 
Description Two Radio Interviews on Brexit, Europe and Migration Issues 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact PI Kirtsoglou talked to two Greek national radio stations (Athens 9.84 & Real FM) on the political effects of migration, Brexit and the European Union (27 June 2016)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL http://www.real.gr/?Page=category&catID=189
 
Description Workshop 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Ethnography as a Bridge: Between Anthropology and Political Sociology. International workshop (UK, US). (Durham 21 May 2019). Organisers: Dr. Elisabeth Kirtsoglou & Dr. Leonidas Oikonomakis.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://ethnobridge.wordpress.com/