SIRIUS First International Conference in Glasgow, UK - "Integrating migrants, refugees and asylum seekers into European labour markets: enablers and barriers"

Last week in Glasgow at Caledonian University was held the first Sirius International Conference entitled "Integrating migrants, refugees and asylum seekers into European labour markets: enablers and barriers". The conference, part of the project WP6,  took place on 29-30 August. The conference aimed to offer scholars from across disciplines and countries opportunities to exchange on issues related to the integration of migrants and refugees in different labour markets and communities. Similarly, the conference was divided into different workshops, as well as presentation of key-note speakers from different European Universities.

Moments of presentations by academics, exchanges of opinions and good practices with the participants as well as networking moments have made this first conference a very enriching event.

The event has been conceived in six thematic sessions:

• Session 1: Labour Economics and Migration: Challenges in Global Market
• Session 2: Legal barriers and enablers: critical perspectives on legal framework’s challenges and opportunities for migrants, refugees and asylum applicants’ integration in European labour markets and societies.
• Session 3: Labour market integration policies for migrants
• Session 4: The role of the third sector in promoting the integration of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in European societies and labour markets.
• Session 5: Companies, trade unions and social partners: what roles do they play in enhancing the integration of migrants, refugees and asylum applicants into European labour markets?
• Session 6: Biographies of labour-market Integration

Therefore SIRIUS documentary screening, directed by Alberto Bougleux, has been an intense emotional and impactful session. The documentary will soon be available online on SIRIUS project website.

The brainstorming of this first conference underlined and demonstrate the unicity of SIRIUS project, namely its multi-dimensional conceptual framework, that keeps into consideration that host country or political-institutional, societal and individual-related conditions function either as enablers or as barriers to migrants’, refugees’ and asylum seekers’ integration via the labour market.

SIRIUS has a mixed-methods approach and innovative dissemination plan involving online priority action networks, film essays, festival, job fair and an applied game along with scientific and policy dialogue workshops and conferences.

• Duration: 1/2018 – 12/2020
• Donor:  European Union, Horizon 2020 Research
• Partners in:  Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Italy, Switzerland, United Kingdom
• Project coordinator: Glasgow Caledonian University
• Homepage: https://www.sirius-project.eu/index.php/