European Conference: Young Migrant Women in Secondary Education

The conference on ‘Young Migrant Women in Secondary Education: Promoting Integration and Mutual Understanding through Dialogue and Exchange’ was held on June 16, 2011 at the Newton Amphitheatre in the premises of the University of Nicosia.

The conference was organised within the framework of the project also entitled Young Migrant Women in Secondary Education: Promoting integration and mutual understanding through dialogue and exchange, funded by the European Commission Fund for the Integration of Third-country Nationals. Partners to the project included the Centre of Research in Theories and Practices that Overcome Inequalities (CREA), University of Barcelona (Spain); the Centre for Rights, Equalities and Social Justice (CRESJ) at the Institute of Education, University of London (UK); the Department of Sociology, Panteion University (Greece); and the Euro-Mediterranean Centre for Educational Research (EMCER), University of Malta (Malta). The conference launched the research reports produced by all five partners and marked the completion of the project which had duration of 18 months.

The conference was a collaborative meeting of all the partners to the project who presented and discussed the results of the research conducted during the project with a wider audience. Over 50 participants attended the meeting, including representatives of local NGOs, the UN Offices in Cyprus, governmental representatives, media persons, as well as academics, students and members of the public. The programme included introductory speeches, two key-note speeches, and two panel presentations followed by discussions. Key-note speakers included Gill Crozier, Professor of Education at the Centre for Educational Research in Equalities, Policy and Pedagogy, at the University of Roehampton and Professor Naz Rassool, Institute of Education, University of Reading.

The conference was opened by Ms. Josie Christodoulou, Policy Coordinator at the Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies. In her introductory remarks, Ms. Christodoulou expressed the Institute’s gratitude to all the project partners and acknowledged the still somewhat ‘problematic’ position of gender-related research.

The introductory address was followed by two opening speeches by Ms. Loukia Hadjimichael, representative of the Ministry of Education and Culture, and Mr.Kypros Filipou, Representative of MP Nicos Tornarites. Both congratulated the Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies for its initiative in exploring and bringing to the surface the issue of integration, with special focus on young migrant women in secondary education, and MIGS work on gender issues and women’s rights more generally.

To read the full conference report please click here.

The conference was preceded by a Roundtable Discussion, held at the University of Nicosia on June 15, 2011. The main objective of the roundtable discussion was to share research-generated knowledge, and ultimately, to identify and to exchange good practices among experts and policy-makers. The main questions addressed at the roundtable were: What are the root-causes of the problem faced by young migrant women? Is there a remedy for these root-causes? Who are the principal actors, including passive actors, and what is the normative framework we are to work in? Participants included the project partners from Greece, Malta, Spain and the UK, as well as Cypriot policy makers, teachers, and education practitioners.

To read the full round table discussion report please click here.