Symposium
Societies and Public Policies in Europe for Confronting the Demographic Challenges of the 21st Century: Birth Rate, Ageing and Migration. Three Demographic Courses of Action: France, Germany and Croatia
Zagreb, 11 December 2015
Goethe-Institute and French Institute in Croatia, in cooperation with the Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies in Zagreb, organized a symposium entitled “Societies and Public Policies in Europe for Confronting the Demographic Challenges of the 21st Century: birth rate, aging and migration. Three demographic courses of action: France, Germany and Croatia” which was held on 11 December 2015 at the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (HAZU), Strossmayer Square14, Zagreb.
At the beginning of the symposium welcoming speeches were delivered by Mr. Vincent Dalmais, First Counsellor at the FrenchEmbassy in Zagreb, Mr. Andreas Krauβ, Charge d’Affairesof the Federal Republic of Germany, and Dr. Sonja Podgorelec, Acting Director of the Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies in Zagreb.
At the symposium, demographers, sociologists, economists, lawyers and anthropologists from France, Germany and Croatia, and representatives of civil society discussed the demographic challenges of the 21st century as well as the current migration, i.e. the refugee situation.
The symposium was divided into two sessions. In the first session entitled “Demographics, immigration/emigration… and coexistence,” the researchers exposed on immigration in the context of demographic challenges facing Europe and the integration of new immigrant groups in the European Union taking into account the socio-economic context. The first series was moderated by Mr. Luc Levy, Director of the French Institute in Croatia, and the speakers were: Dr. Francois Heran (Research Director at the French National Institute of Demographic Studies), Dr. Snježana Gregurović (research associate in IMIN), Dr. Drago Župarić-Iljić (research associate in IMIN-in), Dana Diminescu (lecturer at Telecom ParisTech) and Stephen Sievert (researcher at the Berlin Institute for Population and Global Development).
In the second session entitled “Challenges related to aging in European societies: political and economic responses” the researchers discussed the reforms of the family and social policy as well as the consequences of different demographic trends in Europe on public policy. The session was moderated by Ms. Katrin Ostwald-Richter, Director of the Goethe Institute in Croatia, and the speakers were: Dr. Ivan Čipin (Assistant Professor at the Department of Demography at the Faculty of Economics in Zagreb), Dr. Anne-Marie Guillemard (Professor at the University Paris Descartes Sorbonne), Dr. Christian Hunkler (senior research associate at the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy in Munich), Dr. Sanja Klempić Bogadi (senior research associate in IMIN) and Dr. Sonja Podgorelec (research adviser in IMIN).
Discussion with the audience that followed the presentations contributed to the comparative consideration of these very complex problems and indicated the importance of public debates on such themes. In addition to researchers, the symposium brought together representatives of non-governmental organizations, the government sector, civil society, media as well as cultural workers and students.