First Annual Conference of Western Balkans Migration Network (WB-MIGNET) in Tirana

The First Annual Conference of the Western Balkans Migration Network (WB-MIGNET) in Tirana on 15-16 April 2016, marked the initiation of the Network activities. It was attended by a number of representatives from government institutions, international organisations, academia and students.

Welcome speeches were delivered by Prof. Anastas Angjeli, member of the Albanian Academy of Sciences and member of the Parliament of Albania, and Halil Hyseni, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Albania, who stressed that “the creation and revitalisation of the Western Balkans Migration Network will bring a valuable contribution to addressing the challenge of migration in this beautiful part of Europe”.

The keynote speech was given by Prof. Russell King (University of Sussex, Sussex Centre for Migration Research) who is President of the WB-MIGNET’s Academic Advisory Board. During the event, the latest migration research findings produced by researchers participating in the WB-MIGNET were presented. The presentations can be downloaded below.

The Conference is co-financed by the CEI Cooperation Fund. Ugo Poli, CEI Project Manager and Focal Point for Migrations, participated in the conference as special guest.

It was hosted by the Center for Economic and Social Studies (CESS), Albania, one of the Network’s founders together with six other think tanks: Institute of Economics Zagreb, Croatia; Center for Development Evaluation and Social Science Research (CDESS), Bosnia and Herzegovina; Institute for Strategic Studies and Prognoses (ISSP), Montenegro; South East European University (SEEU), Macedonia; Group 484, Serbia; and a group of independent researchers from Kosovo.

The annual meeting of members of the WB-MIGNET Executive and Academic Advisory Board was held on the second day of the conference. The event was used as an opportunity to discuss progress achieved and finalise the plan for further activities of the Network. This is expected to contribute to producing high-quality evidence and other resources that should improve migration policies in the Western Balkan region and increase awareness on migration issues worldwide.

First Annual Conference of Western Balkans Migration Network (WB-MIGNET) in Tirana

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