2018•08•01     Barcelona

Professor Rainer Baubock delivered the keynote lecture at the opening plenary of the International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion (IMISCOE) network’s 15th Annual Conference in Barcelona.

Exploring the moral and political conundrums that result from indiscriminate migrant policies in the Mediterranean, Professor Bauböck argued for better categorization of various types of migrants and the opening of legal entry channels for all.

Professor Parvati Nair, Director of the United Nations University Institute on Globalization, Culture and Mobility (UNU-GCM) who hosted the keynote lecture, introduced Professor Bauböck and emphasised the need for academic research to provide evidence-based solutions to the world’s most pressing and divisive problems.

“The Mediterranean is a microcosm for global migration issues. As researchers, our study must inform sound policy-making at international, regional and local levels. While we pioneer and progress transformative theories, it is important to keep human rights and dignity at the heart of everything we do.”

Professor Bauböck’s insight at the opening plenary paved the way for ongoing discussions and debate amongst the hundreds of leading researchers gathered in Barcelona. Organised by the Interdisciplinary Research Group on Immigration at the department of political and social sciences at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (GRITM-UPF), the IMISCOE Conference provided opportunity for knowledge-sharing and cross-disciplinary dialogue for academics in the field of migration and integration.