MIUM-TIE Final Conference

November 16-19, 2009
Koc University Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations
İstiklal Cad. Nuru Ziya Sok. No: 5 Beyoğlu, Taksim-Istanbul / TÜRKİYE

The closing conference of MIUM-TIE project, “Managing International Urban Migration: Turkey, Italia, España”, which is conducted under the program “Promoting Civil Society Dialogue between EU and Turkey” will take place on 16 November 2009 at Koç University Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations. MIUM-TIE is a joint project realized by SSIIM Unesco Chair of Universita IUAV di Venezia in Italy, Koç University in Turkey, and Universidad de Cadiz in Spain. The Migration Research Center at Koç University (MiReKoc) is the coordinator of the MIUM-TIE project.
Besides carrying out scientific comparative research in cities of the three countries, the project aimed to bring together the main urban actors – from the local government, civil society organizations and academia – that are either interested in, or work with, migration related issues. Therefore, through the collaborative work done, MIUM-TIE provided platforms for the actors in each country to share their knowledge and experiences. To this end, the project hosted various capacity development activities.
The first activities were realized under the Awareness Raising and Networking Workshops in Italy, Turkey and in Spain and the intermediate conference “Strengthening TIEs” hold in Venice in May 2009.
Now, following the closing conference, the three days Pilot Training Course, “managing international migration in our cities” which is intended to NGOs, governorships, municipalities and local authorities, will be organized in order to discuss and develop sound policy methods.
In the Pilot Training Course, good practices that are observed and discovered throughout the project research activities in Italy and Spain will be shared by relevant stakeholders, and field research visits will be realized in the context of Istanbul. Challenges and experiences of the Istanbul case will be analyzed in place through these field research visits. In this context networks among international and local actors working on migration related issues will be established, which will be useful for each to learn about the experiences of the other.
Lastly, the Pilot Training Course will provide a platform for discussion on the rights of the migrants in urban settings.
Participants will share their experiences regarding international migration’s effects on urban governance through their presentations and focus groups. In focus groups, the issues at stake will be 1) Information, Orientation and Awareness Raising 2) Housing and Healthcare services 3) Education and Employment. The aim in all of these works is to analyze and exhibit the extent migrants are included to/excluded from the urban setting in different localities and develop sound policies for a better urban governance of international migration