“During the conference, I had the opportunity to attend several informative and critical sessions on the relationship between migration law and policy, public discourse, access to rights, social movements and migrants’ experiences in different countries, with a particular focus on the global impact of migration. These sessions provided me with a better understanding of current trends in migration studies and will help me to focus more on the intersectional aspects of migration studies, looking at how factors such as gender, class, race, ethnicity, identity, ideology and global inequalities shape migration.”
Esra Demirkol Colosio Çankırı Karatekin Univesity,Turkey, ITC grant
“From May 27th to June 3rd, 2024, I had the opportunity to participate in a Short-Term Scientific Mission (STSM) aimed at collaborative research on social innovation in services for vulnerable children. This project focused on comparing approaches between Albania and Norway. We made a comprehensive review of literature and data on welfare and policy reforms for vulnerable children, particularly in Norway. Then we conducted a preliminary comparative analysis of the Albanian and Norwegian models and outlined key focus areas to understand the differences and similarities in welfare and policy approaches. An in-depth literature review at the University of Stavanger library provided essential insights into the Norwegian context of social innovation for vulnerable children. One result was the creation of a podcast focusing on welfare reforms for vulnerable children in Albania: “Social Coffee“.”
Megi Xhumari University of Tirana, Albania, STSM Grant
“At the conference, I was delivering an oral presentation and was part of a workshop: (Im)mobility in left-behind areas: cross-comparing European projects. Both activities allowed me to interact with various peers and establish new contacts or develop and enrich pre-existing ones. I was able to keep in touch with colleagues whom I know from previous or ongoing collaborations. At the same time, I made new connections, especially through the workshop, which had the main objective of facilitating interaction. As a result of participating in the panel and delivering the presentation, I was invited to share my work via blog posts at the NOVA Asylum Policy Lab. In turn, the participation in the workshop led to the collaborative intention to propose a series of workshops and panels for the 2025 IMISCOE conference.”
Alexandra Deliu Romanian Academy, ITC Grant
“This STSM is a great opportunity for future collaboration between our two organizations, with possibilities to research, publish scientific papers and participate in future collaborative projects.”
Seyithan Demirdağ Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University STSM Grant
“During my STSM, significant progress was made regarding the planned objectives and expected results. As follow-up activities we plan to write at least one scientific paper to be published in a peer-reviewed journal. In addition, we would like to present our findings at relevant academic conferences to disseminate our research and engage with the wider academic community. This collaboration will include joint research projects, co-authored publications and possible future STSMs to further explore transnational family dynamics. Policy recommendations resulting from this STSM will be formulated to inform and improve support mechanisms for transnational families. The structured approach and collaborative efforts have greatly enhanced (will continue to enhance) our understanding of the dynamics of transnational families and provide a solid foundation for future research and practical applications.”
Ozan Selçuk,Recep Tayyip Erdogan UniversityDoe, STSM Grant
TraFaDy members at the 16th Conference of European Sociological Association “Tension, Trust and Transformation”, August 27-30th, 2024, in Porto (Portugal)
The European Sociological Association (ESA) Conferences are held every two years in various locations across Europe, bringing together over three thousand scholars from Europe and beyond. This year, the conference took place in the city of Porto, Portugal. COST CA21143 (further – TraFaDy) members Vida Česnuitytė and Irma Budginaitė-Mačkinė initiated and organized a joint session JS RN13 & RN35 which united the Research Networks “Sociology of Families and Intimate Lives” (ESA RN13) and the “Sociology of Migration” (ESA RN35). The session, titled “Transnational Families in the Context of Global Migration: From Conceptualization to Social Protection and Resilience,” was inspired by activities within the TraFaDy network.
More than thirty individual researchers or research groups responded to the call for abstracts, highlighting the importance of this topic. After the review of the abstracts, 24 presentations were selected. Of these, fourteen were presented by members of the TraFaDy. The sessions covered topics like kin-keeping within transnational families, parenthood in transnational families, migration and transnational families, transnational families in turbulent times, integration of transnational families, social protection of transnational families.
The participation of Nafiye Cigdem Aktekin, Anna Woytinska, Judith Vegh, Elisabetta Zontini, and Vida Česnuitytė was funded by the Dissemination Conference Grant (DCG), while Faruk Çam’s participation was supported by the Inclusive Target Countries Conference Grant (ITC Grant). Other presenters in the JS RN13 & RN35 sessions secured funding from their own sources. Regardless of funding, in-person attendance at such a high-quality scientific event is professionally enriching and socially and culturally stimulating.
Participants – TraFaDy members attended JS RN13 & RN35 sessions, and other numerous sessions, had fruitful professional discussion. It was also perfect opportunity to meet colleagues, and to discuss important issues related to the TraFaDy activities, including future publications, cooperation of working groups, etc.
Our subgroup, WG1.2, had a great opportunity to present our scoping review on the impact of COVID-19 on transnational families at the recent ESA conference, with support from WG3 leader Vida Česnuitytė. Her guidance, both during preparation and onsite, made the experience very seamless. Additionally, participating alongside our WG1 leader, Irma Budginaitė-Mačkinė, allowed us to discuss key issues. I also had the pleasure of meeting COST TraFaDy members in person for the first time. Being part of a panel organised by a COST TraFaDy leaders significantly enhanced our visibility, fostered new networks, and strengthened our research community. Beyond the internal COST networking, this opportunity provided a valuable platform to engage with external collaborators and expand our connections. Overall, it was a highly valuable experience, both personally and as part of the COST TraFaDy Action, creating new external connections. Thank you for this opportunity! I highly recommend organizing more COST TraFaDy panels in the future!
Judit Vegh (TraFaDy member; ELTE PPK, Hungary)
“Valuable experience to learn and discuss new topics and innovative methods of studying social protection and TNF nexus. Between the sessions, we used the opportunity to plan activities for the next TraFaDy year, but also promoted our COST action… several participants of the Workshop became new members soon after the ESA Conference!”
Jelena Predojevic Despic (TraFaDy member; Institute of Social Sciences, Belgrade, Serbia)
“The conference was an exciting opportunity to meet researchers within and outside the TraFaDy network. In addition to the presentation of the co-authored paper on the social protection of workers from the former Yugoslav Republics, the TraFaDy team members met several times to discuss future activities related to the publication of national reports on the social protection of transnational families and future conference paper proposals on methodological aspects in researching transnational families and the politics of temporary protection.”
Sanja Cukut Krilić (TraFaDy member; Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU), Slovenia)
