Current research shows that migrants experience poverty, discrimination and marginalisation whilst living in the EU (Belloni, 2016; 2019; Esson, 2015; Innes, 2016; Kuschminder, 2018; Ossipow, Counilh & Chimienti, 2019; Pogliano, 2016; Patterson & Leurs, 2019; Tuckett, 2016; Sawert, 2020). These conditions have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic implications. While not a panacea to the challenges hindering effective migrant integration, the application of technology and the digitisation of services offer some solutions. This conference will explore some of these.
Partners in the MIICT consortium are pleased to announce the programme for the final conference on the 26th January 2022 which will be hosted online to enable the wider participation from all over the world. The conference is aimed at presenting the final results of the EU-funded H2020 MIICT-ICT Enabled public services for migration project, as well as uniting external experts working in the fields of migration, integration and digitalisation to present the challenges and solutions in relation to the co-creation of ICT solutions to aid the integration of migrants, including asylum seekers and refugees.
This conference will present results from the various steps of the process from devising the methodology used in the co-creation of the ICT solutions with the end users through to the development of possible technological solutions. Speakers range from technology developers, engineers, computer scientists and academics to lawyers and NGO representatives. The conference will also focus on important security, data protection, ethics and privacy concerns in ICT migration research.
The panels will focus on co-creation, evidence-based research, technological solutions and sustainability:
Panel 1 Co-Creation – experts will explore how ICT solutions can provide efficient and effective integration when they are co-created by the end users. Co-creative methods are enlightening and have a transformative effect on participating migrants, but they also pose challenges. The presentations will highlight some of these as well as the knowledge gap that often exists between project and policy designers and field-based practitioners and share some insights on the credibility (or not) of co-creation methodology. Experts will also address the legal and ethical considerations surrounding the development of ICT solutions for migrants’ integration in this panel.
Panel 2-4 Evidence based research – experts from the MIICT project will present evidence-based research from the pilot countries along with external experts in order to address the importance of the customisation of ICT solutions. They will explore what these ICT solutions mean for migrants, asylum seekers and refugees and key social service providers in Italy, Cyprus and Spain reporting on activities carried out during different phases of the research using hybrid approaches due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Panel 5 Technological solutions – experts in this panel will present one possible technological solution—the one created in the MIICT project which is an interactive platform called IMMERSE. The panel will also include presentations from other experts who will explore the importance of other technological developments such as artificial intelligence.
Panel 6 Impact and sustainability – experts in this panel will report on the findings from high-level policy roundtables and address how the deployed solutions can be made sustainable though monitoring and validation techniques to ensure migrants are not put at risk or misinformed.
9:30-10:00
Welcome and introduction to the H2020 MIICT-ICT Enabled Public Services for Migration project
Key Note Speech by Miguel Almario (IOM UN Migration Agency) – Community Response App: Informed consent and the future of data collection
10:00-11:00
Panel 1 – Co-creating ICT solutions to aid migrant integration
Moderator: Leda Kuneva, Research Fellow, CSD, Bulgaria
11:00-12:00
Panel 2 – Migration Research and New Technologies in Spain
Moderator: Jose M. González Riera, Fundea, Granada, Spain
— 30 Minutes Lunch Break —
12:30-13:30
Panel 3 – Incorporating Evidence from the Field and the Importance of Ground-truthing: The Case of Cyprus
Moderator: Kahina Le Louvrier, Research Fellow, University of Northumbria, UNN, UK
13:30-14:30
Panel 4 – Creating ICTs to aid migrant integration in Italy
Moderator: Dolinda Cavallo, Project Manager, ALDA, European Association for Local Democracy
— 15 Minutes Break —
14:45-15:45
Panel 5 – Technological Solutions
Moderator: Melina Breitegger Project Manager and Research Fellow, SYNYO, Vienna.
15:45-16:45
Panel 6 – The impact of digitalisation on the integration of migrants
Moderator: Jari Rasanen project officer, Laurea, University of Applied Sciences, Finland
Closing remarks by Babak Akhgar (Coordinator of the H2020 MIICT-ICT Enabled Public services for Migration project, Director of Centric)