Past and Present Migration Challenges: what European and American History can teach us

Unibo structure involved: Department of Economics – DSE – Forlì Campus
Scientific Manager: Francesca Fauri
Unibo Team: Debora Mantovani, Fabio Casini
Project Web page: https://site.unibo.it/ppm
Erasmus+ Action type: Jean Monnet Activities Jean Monnet Projects
Project reference: 620748-EPP-1-2020-1-IT-EPPJMO-PROJECT
Start Date: 19 September 2020
End Date: 18 September 2022
Budget:       Total  € 60,000         UNIBO € 60,000 

Coordinator: ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - UNIVERSITÀ DI BOLOGNA (IT);

Partners:
Università La Sapienza di Roma (IT)
Goethe University Frankfurt (DE)
Universidade de Caxias do Sul (BR)
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (AR) 

Summary:

Thanks to the confrontation of past and present migration experiences and through a multi-disciplinary approach that includes economic, political and sociological contributions from scholars of both Continents, the aim of this project is to shed light on the complex nature of the migratory movement and use the past as a way to better understand present challenges within the European Union. The project also aims at fostering the discussion on the role of migration studies, migrants’ integration and the EU migration policy at the university and civil society level. This objective will be reached thanks to several activities: two international workshops and conferences, in Argentina (teleconference) and in Italy (Bertinoro, physical meeting), which will present the results of the research to the general public. An exhibition (pictures and documents) “Gone but not forgotten: the industrial heritage of Italian migrants and Italian companies in Argentina” to be displayed in Buenos Aires and several meetings with university and high schools students in Italy and Argentina analysing European migration movements and the EU current immigration policy The goal of these seminars is to make students aware of what the EU is and what it does in relation to immigration needs and challenges, highlighting its value and founding principles like tolerance, help for the weak and non-discrimination. We want to raise questions and provide answers that might defeat conventional wisdom, we think there is a pressing need to mobilise research to influence public factually unsound perceptions about immigration. We believe the final cross-cultural multi-disciplinary volume can be extremely fertile for stimulating transatlantic intellectual confrontation on the migration phenomenon and for identifying and sharing best practices throughout Eu members. Thus this project could also be crucial in order to help make the case for smarter/better/more inclusive EU immigration policies.