Words by: Alex Huang
On November 13, the 2024 LDE GMD conference Governance of Migration and Diversity: Past, Present and Future took place in Leiden's historical venue, Scheltema. More than 200 participants attended the 2024 conference, including government and civil institutions representatives, students/scholars from LDE universities, GMD masters and beyond. With two keynotes, ten multidisciplinary panels, and a Whitepaper Launch, the conference shows the GMD centre's commitment to fostering interuniversity and interdisciplinary collaboration and solidifies the centre's role in bridging research, education, practice and creating dialogues.
Looking towards the future of migration and diversity through reflecting on history and Self-identities
With a thematic focus on the historical perspective of migration and diversity, the conference explores the connections between the past, present, and future of governance and migration diversity. We delved into how historical migrations and policy decisions shape today's society and influence future options.
GMD's professor of migration history and conference host Marlou Schrover (Leiden University) opened the conference with welcoming words accentuating the importance of looking into the history of migration, especially at the current time when migration and diversity are increasingly a polarised governance topic.
The GMD masters student board representatives, Alina Akhtar and Maud Stragier, welcomed the audience on behalf of the 2024-2025 board and shared how their personal experiences and self-identities inspired them to pursue a master's in migration and diversity.
Opening Keynote: Exploring the complex origins of racism through the historical context of the Polish migratory experience
Historian Anna Mazurkiewicz (University of Gdańsk, Poland), delivered the opening keynote titled "Flawed Homogeneity - Deconstructing Racism in Poland in the Context of Migratory Experience". Anna started with the statement that "Poland is the missing second world story in the debates of the origins of racism". The keynote explored the complex origins of racism by examining the historical context of the Polish migratory experience through concepts like mediated coloniality", and "post-communist ethnonationalism. Anna's keynote was eye-opening. It painted a compelling story of why we ought to look further into the often-overlooked Eastern European perspective of migration history to understand racism. To learn more about the keynote, please explore the literature list Anna kindly shared with us.
Interdisciplinary and interactive Panel sessions
Following the opening sessions, the ten interdisciplinary panels, each unique in their design, took place. Each panel features scholars from all LDE universities, and many of them involve governance and civil institution practitioners. From panels emphasizing the spatial-material economic perspectives of migration and from sessions with a thematic focus on queer migration, internationalization, digitalization, and racism to narratives and loneliness, the panels at the 2024 GMD conference covered a diverse range of migration-related topics. Please check the page for the PPT slides the panellists shared.
Launch of the GMD White Paper Migration City: Past, Present, and Future - Conversations on Policies and Political Choices, from the Labour Market to Housing."
After two rounds of exchange through panels, the participants gathered again for the closing plenary. One of the majorevents of this year's conference was the Launch of the first GMD Whitepaper - The Migration City of the Past, present, and Future, which contains 7 thematic conversations between 7 GMD scholars and 7 experts in the migration field. The coordinator of the GMD whitepaper, Reinout Kleinhans, presented the whitepaper and handed it over to the GMD's Advisory board members Imke van Gardingen of the FNV and Jan Jaap Kleinrensink of VluchtelingenWerk Nederland. Together with Imke and Jan Jaap, Reinout reflected on how it is essential to have cross-sector and multidisciplinary conversations on migration issues, and the whitepaper offers an example of how we could do this. Please read and download the white paper here.
Closing Keynote: Inspiration for future migration and diversity research agenda through intersectional and interdisciplinary research on queer migration
After the white paper launch, the closing keynote speaker, Łukasz Szulc (University of Manchester), delivered the keynote "Swiping Across Borders: Queer Migrants, Agency and Sad Dating Apps". This enlightening keynote focused on the concepts of agency and emotion, highlighting the experiences of Polish LGBTQ+ individuals using dating apps. Szulc emphasized the significant role of digital technology for queer migrants and its implications for culture and society. Following the keynote, Andrew Sheild, a queer migration scholar from GMD, moderated a panel discussion. The panel included Łukasz Szulc and queer migrant Sonny Jermain from Stichting Rainbow Anonymous. During this discussion, Sonny shared personal and valuable experiences that resonated with Szulc's research. The closing keynote and the panel discussion on queer migration exemplified how an intersectional and interdisciplinary approach can provide meaningful insights for future research on migration and diversity. Visit the page to see the PPT slides from Łukasz.
A Space for All: Fostering Dialogues on Migration and Diversity
During the conference networking drinks, discussions continued. Students and professors exchanged ideas, GMD scholars rekindled old connections and forged new ones, while newcomers to the center learned about our diverse range of topics and networking opportunities. This rare occasion brought together participants from various universities, different types of institutions, and a variety of career stages to share their perspectives. We envisioned our conference as a free space for interdisciplinary and cross-sector discussions, and we are committed to continuing our efforts to facilitate these valuable exchanges and learn from one another.
We would like to express our gratitude to the panel organizers and presenters for their efforts in preparing such engaging sessions. A special thanks goes to Anna Mazurkiewicz and Łukasz Szulc for their inspiring keynote speeches. To all 200 participants, we appreciate your engagement and contributions to the dynamic discussions. We look forward to seeing you next year at our 10th anniversary conference!
Stay connected:
- Follow the LDE GMD LinkedIn Page
- Sign up as a GMD research fellow
Photo Credit: Nesie Junyi Wang
