International Scientific Symposium
Borders: Separation, Transition and Sharing
Zagreb, 5 June 2017; Rijeka, 6 June 2017
International Symposium Borders: Separation, Transition and Sharing was held in Zagreb at the Library of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts on 5 June 2017 and in Rijeka on 6 June 2017 in cooperation with the Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies in Zagreb, French Institute in Zagreb, French Embassy in Croatia, the University of Rijeka and the network the European Union National Institutes for Culture ‒ EUNIC Croatia. The Symposium was accompanied by four exhibitions of works and photos related to the topic of borders and migration as well as the accompanying several-day film program in Zagreb at Tuškanac cinema including picture films, documentaries, and short films dealing with immigration, integration, and borders. Twenty experts (sociologists, political scientists, geographers, legal professionals, and linguists) from France, Croatia, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, and Serbia participated in the work of the Symposium trying to answer many of the issues related to the borders in a contemporary European and other societies, their reconceptualization, (in)visibility and other problems imposed, in the first place, by new migration flows
Scientific presentations and discussions took place in four round tables, three of which were held in Zagreb: Borders of Southeastern Europe, from the visible to the invisible; Toward a Europe of Borders?; Border Walls around the World, and the Fourth Borders, Separation and Fellowship in Rijeka.
Keynote speech entitled “Actual patterns of migration flows. The challenge of migrations, boundaries, and asylum in contemporary Europe” was held by Dr. Catherine Withold de Wenden from the National Center for Scientific Research CNRS, CERI – Sciences Po in Paris.
Four scholars out of the Croatian experts involved in issues related to migration, integration policies, interethnic relations, and asylum participated in the work of Symposium with their presentations: Dr. Dubravka Mlinarić, research associate in the Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies, a specialist in historical geography, demography and migration, cartography and environmental history and dr. Snježana Gregurović, research associate in the Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies, a specialist in international borders i integration policies, spoke on the theme “Shaping boundaries on the European periphery: Croatian experiences”; Dr. Goranka Lalić, Assistant Professor of Administrative Sciences at the Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, whose scientific interests include public administration, migration, and asylum, gave a presentation entitled “Improving border management and access to asylum by civil sector monitoring: is there a link?, and Dr. Ružica Čičak Chand, retired Research Adviser, an expert in interethnic relations, religions and minority questions talked on the topic “Borders of the European secularism – a case of Muslim immigrants”. The above-mentioned topics of three presentations of Croatian scientists clearly display the width of the coverage of the Symposium’s central theme.
Scientists of the Institute for Migration and Ethnic studies were involved in all phases of the Symposium organization. In the Organizational Committee and the Scientific Council of the Symposium on behalf of IMIN participated: Dr. Sanja Klempić Bogadi (also the moderator of the first round table, Dr. Sc. Sonja Podgorelec (also the moderator of the second round table), and Dr. Drago Župarić Iljić.
The Symposium was exceptionally well-received -during the whole-day work between 60 and 80 people were constantly following the presentations. Interesting presentations of experts from various scientific disciplines were accompanied by quality discussion.
It is worth pointing out that the entire multimedia, scientific and cultural project Borders: Separation, Transition, and Sharing, whose conceptual initiator is the French Institute in Zagreb, and whose scientific part was designed and organized by the Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies, was proclaimed the best European cultural scientific project in 2017.