At a time of horrendous political events, in a world disfigured by deep pain and unimaginable suffering, it feels odd to be writing about a new research project investigating creative alternatives to the existing status quo. Yet, here we are. Thursday and Friday last week In Brussels were packed with presentations and discussions looking at critical approaches to current return and readmission policies in the EU and the UK, and imagining new opportunities for policy engagement in this area. For two days, we assembled at the Universite Libre a Bruxelles (ULB) for the official kick-off meeting of the three-year HORIZON project “MORE: Motivations, Experiences And Consequences Of Returns And Readmissions Policy: Revealing And Developing Effective Alternatives.”
MORE is a collaborative project coordinated by the University of Barcelona, gathering ten partner institutions: University of Venice, Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Mirovni Institut, Slovenia, KMOP-Social Action and Innovation Center, Greece, Red Barnet, Denmark, Linkoping University, Sweden, the University of Goettingen, Germany, the Center for European Policy Studies (CEPS), and the University of Oxford’s Centre on Migration, Policy, and Society (COMPAS).
Official presentations of work packages, deliverables, tasks, and timelines were interspersed with opportunities to re-connect with colleagues, and meet fellow researchers and practitioners from all over Europe and the world. Our discussions were intense and the time spent together was filled with collegial understanding and a spirit of common purpose. We had time for active academic exchange with coffee and tiny Belgian waffles in the breaks ☺. The second day’s lunch was a delicious mix of autumn inspired foods, prepared by a Brussels-based migrant organisation.
For the next three years, I’ll be working as a postdoctoral researcher with Professors Zoran Slavnić and Branka Likić-Brborić, based at REMESO, Linkoping University, Sweden. The three of us lead the first work package of the project, investigating the state-of-the-art in return and readmission policies across national contexts and the EU. I am beyond excited to be working with such a stellar team! It is wonderful to continue working on return migration, after completing my Ph.D. in this sub-field. With the MORE project, I get to learn more about return from a perspective of governance, so I eagerly look forward to the professional challenges and rewards the next three years promise to bring.