Cover photo by Daria Obymaha / Pexels

GLocalEAst Project Meetings

• First Transnational Project Meeting (Kick Off) in Bratislava (on-line) – 30.10.2020. The introductory meeting (Kickoff meeting) was devoted to the organizational issues of the project, whereas the participants had the opportunity to see how the project would be implemented in the future. Project managers from Comenius University (CU) – Aneta Világi and Kateryna Yakovenko – prepared a detailed and structural presentation of the project guidelines with all the financial and administrative points explained. Marco Puleri – on behalf of the University of Bologna – presented the scientific side of project management and emphasized the specific objectives the partners shall meet. Particular milestones were set for the implementation of the project activity O1/A1 and the creation of ‘national networks’ among the main partners and associated partners was outlined. Due to the regulations of COVID-19 (UV-21856/2020 on the prohibition of assemblies of more than 6 persons and UV-678/2020 on the prohibition of going out), the kickoff meeting took place online via the MS Teams platform.
• Second Transnational Project Meeting in Belgrade– 29.03.2021 – Output 1 Evaluation Meeting (on-line). The second transnational project meeting took place between the main project partners. Originally, this meeting was to take place in Belgrade (Serbia), but due to the ongoing unfavorable pandemic situation, the meeting took place online via the MS Teams platform. The aim of this meeting was to present and discuss the intellectual outputs of the O1 – transnational report on educational and training needs analysis. Each of the participating institutions presented its national report and then comparative findings were presented, based on national reports. During the discussion, the consortium focused on the transfer of the acquired knowledge to the next stages of the project, specifically their application in the intellectual output of O2 – preparation of the GlocalEAst curriculum. At the second panel of the meeting, the main tasks and milestones related to the implementation of the O2 activity were presented, including a partial activity within O2 – the online seminar GlocalEAST at the University of Bologna. Further on, plans for a project multiplier event organized by the University of Belgrade were addressed.  
• Third Transnational Project Meeting in Kaunas – 24.09. 2021 – Output 2 Midterm meeting  (hybrid). The third transnational project meeting (Kaunas, Lithuania & online via MS Teams) dealt with the organizational issues of the second intellectual output (O2) as well as the administration of the Interim report. The participants received detailed information on the content and form of the submitted interim project report. The information was presented by project managers from Comenius University (UK) Aneta Világi and Kateryna Yakovenko. The leaders of the intellectual output O2 – Drago Zuparič (University of Zagreb) and Marco Puleri (University of Bologna) briefly informed about the progress in the implementation of this output and presented a detailed work plan for the near future. Consortium members also discussed the preparation of the summer school (September 2022) and the steps that need to be taken (especially administrative training). Due to COVID-19 regulations (valid in the individual consortium countries), the meeting took place in hybrid mode. Representatives of project partners who could travel attended the meeting in person. Representatives of partners who did not meet the condition of vaccination, or. they would be threatened after joining or returning from Lithuania for several days and attended the meeting online via MS Teams.

• Fourth Transnational Project Meeting in Frankfurt Oder – 09.-13.09. 2022 – Output 2 Evaluation Meeting. The fourth transnational project meeting (Frankfurt Oder, Germany & online via MS Teams) had two main goals: to evaluate the work on the intellectual output of O2 (GLocalEAst course Syllabi and Teaching Units) and to prepare the project partners to work on the intellectual output of O3 (GLocalEAst MOOC course ) and O4 (GLocalEAst e-learning course). In the first part of the meeting, the representatives of the individual work groups (task forces) within the intellectual output of O2 and also the main coordinator of O2 (University Zagreb, Croatia) evaluated the work on this output, the feedback we received from the students as well as the final steps that were necessary to be implemented by the end of October 2022. In the second part of the meeting, the participants received detailed information about the schedule and individual steps in the implementation of the intellectual output O3 and O4, the implementation of which started simultaneously in November 2022. The representative of the leading responsible institution – the University of Bologna and the deputy of the main project coordinator (the Comenius University in Bratislava) informed about these details. In the last part of the meeting, a discussion took place with project managers from the Comenius University in Bratislava about current issues related mainly to the administrative and financial aspects of project implementation. Due to the need for the participation of several representatives of the project partners, the meeting took place in a hybrid mode. Each project partner had at least 2 representatives who attended the meeting in person. Other project team members who could not travel took part in the meeting online via MS Teams. In this way, we ensured sufficient information for all partners of the consortium.

• Fifth Transnational Project Meeting in Bologna – 23.-24.02. 2023 – Digital Platforms Meeting. The fifth transnational project meeting was devoted to the preparation of the content of GLocalEAst courses on two digital platforms – Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) and the e-learning platform Moodle. The meeting also included the creation of the digital content of the MOOC course (O3) and a discussion of the structure, content and design of the Moodle version of the course (O4). The representative of the University of Bologna (the institution responsible for the coordination of work on the O4 output) informed about the upcoming activities within the intellectual output O4, namely the upcoming O4 pilot course (within the Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Program scheme) and the upcoming conference (multiplier event E4). The project coordinators from the Comenius University informed the partners about the next steps in the area of ​​project administration.
• Sixth Transnational Project Meeting in Zagreb – 06.-07.07. 2023 – Closing Meeting. The final project meeting was primarily devoted to two issues. First, the Serbian partner as O5 coordinator informed on the intellectual output O5 progress – Joint Policy Paper Series (JPPS) on global and local migration issues. At the same time, the members of the consortium discussed the possibilities and activities following the publication of the JPPS, especially other dissemination activities. Secondly, as the end of the project was approaching, the members of the consortium devoted themselves to the discussion on preparation of the final report of the project, both in terms of content and financial aspects.

Each participating institution has hold multiple internal meetings on a regular basis.

GLocalEAst Seminars

As part of the preparation and testing of the intellectual output O2 GLocalEAst curriculum, the University of Bologna organized a series of online seminars in which consortium members participated and tested the materials prepared within the GLocalEast project. You can find more information about the seminars below.

Open Days seminar – 17-18, June 2021 GlocalEAST Seminars

Open Days seminar – 13-14, June 2022 GLocalEAST seminars II

GLocalEAst Conferences

Educational and Training Needs in Migrant Integration (E1): International conference in Belgrade (22.06. 2021)  

The conference took place on June 22, 2021 at the Rectorate of the University of Belgrade, and was attended by more than 50 people. The conference program is available here: Conference Program . The event was organized to expand and promote the intellectual activity O1, which was a comparative study based on national research of project partners. The initial plan was to hold a conference with the presence of project partners (participation in discussions) and local conference participants. This would have created an international character of the conference. Unfortunately, Covid pandemic limited the participation. On the other hand, intellectual output 01 was presented by the Serbian project partner to the audience and simultaneously, online.

The conference was attended by invited guests from government agencies (parliament, government), the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration, the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia and non-governmental organizations.

Feedback from both participants and organizers (members of the project team from Serbia) evaluated the event as very successful. Several guests expressed their expectation and willingness to be invited and also participate in other activities within the GlocalEAst project.

 

Teaching methodologies and approaches to border, migration and diaspora studies (E2): International Conference in Kaunas (23.09. 2021)

A conference was held in Kaunas to discuss and disseminate interdisciplinary teaching methods in migration, diaspora and frontier studies. Feedback and lessons from the conference were gathered and shared with the leaders of four working groups involved in the preparation of GLocalEAst syllabi and teaching materials. Subsequently, this knowledge will be used in the development of methodology and innovative approaches to teaching, which the consortium of the GLocalEAst project wants to integrate into selected master’s courses at universities involved in the project.

Among the topics discussed at the conference were the transformation of the migration dimensions east-west and south-north, changing concepts of borders, the new diaspora within the European Union, the Lithuanian view of borders, but also challenges for state institutions, the activities of non-governmental organizations and diasporic communities. The conference also criticized the way EU countries handled the refugee crisis (2015-16). The participants of the conference pointed out that the insufficient response to the crisis was also a consequence of the ineffectiveness of the migration policy and the general approach to migration policy as such. The absence of a functional connection between the academic environment, government institutions, the labor market and civil society, specifically non-governmental organizations, and weak cross-border cooperation in research on migration issues, especially in light of the permanent connection of the global and local dimensions, have contributed to the failure of EU countries. The attention of the conference was thus focused on the identification of possibilities for cooperation between the academic sphere, non-governmental organizations and specific methodological challenges. The implementation of the conference was partially affected by the ongoing aggravated pandemic situation, especially capacity restrictions in interiors. The organizers of the event solved this problem in such a way that part of the conference participants were present in person and part were connected remotely via video call. You can find the conference program here: https://glocal.sk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Conference_Kaunas_23.09.pdf

 

Bringing together HEIs and the civil society (E3): International Conference in Frankfurt Oder (16. 9. 2022)

The conference reflected upon actual geopolitical development – the war in Ukraine and its relevance for border, migration and diaspora issues. The program of the conference touch upon issues like the geopolitical dimension of borders and migration, forced migration and humanitarian dimensions; migrant integration and cultural dimensions. The representatives of the GlocalEAst project discussed with participants from civil society what were challenges posted by war in Europe and how can a new GLocalEAst curriculum contribute to it. The discussion parts of the conference reflected insights from student works in GlocalEast project and the way in which the NGO sector could contribute to eliminate identified shortcomings and gaps. The conference program can be found here: Multiplier_event_GlocalEast_Program_16.09.22

 

 

Digital learning tools for border, migration and diaspora studies (E4): International Conference in Bologna (15. 6. 2023)

The conference was the result of joint cooperation and exchange of researchers who are currently working on two European projects dedicated to the study of international migration and processes of border creation in Europe: GlocalEAST and REBOUND. During the conference, speakers addressed the current, complex and interconnected challenges of migration, diaspora and borders. In their contributions, they offered a transnational perspective, which they combined with detailed knowledge of regional and local processes in Eastern and Central Europe. The representatives of the GLocalEAst project presented digital educational opportunities on the mentioned topics, which were prepared as part of the project. They also presented the advantages that these digital methods of education bring not only in view of the pandemic period or other limiting influences (e.g. military conflict, natural disasters), but also current trends in the dissemination and reception of information, especially by the younger generation. The conference program can be found here:CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

 

GLocalEAst Joint Policy Paper Series (E5): International Conference in Zagreb (06.07. 2023)

The final conference was focused on the transfer of experience gained from the GLocalEAst project implementation to the broader community – civil society and political leaders. The invited guests therefore came from various institutions, including the non-governmental sector, local and state administration and self-government offices. The representatives of the GLocalEAst project presented the intellectual output JPPS (O5), focusing mainly on the recommendations addressed to the representatives of the sectors that were present at the conference. The conference program can be found here:GlocalEAST Final conference (6th July) – Programme.

 

GLocalEAst Summer School

Two-week international summer school “Global Migration, Diaspora and Border Studies in East-Central Europe” at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany, September 5 – 16, 2022.                                                     

The summer school provided students with interdisciplinary and innovative courses that combined practical skills and solutions to current challenges in the field. In addition to acquiring basic academic knowledge in the field of migration, diasporic and border studies, the curriculum of the summer school also included the acquisition of skills that correspond to the needs of the labor market and society in solving migration issues. These were developed in collaboration with partners from non-governmental organizations and local government institutions in order to create synergies with current socio-political issues. The summer school program combined various formats that facilitated the acquisition and deepening of knowledge and skills. Renowned scientists in the field of migration and border studies from six partner universities conveyed basic aspects related to the subject areas in their lectures. The accompanying series of seminars enabled the discussion of selected case studies, with which the participants also gained more detailed applied knowledge. In working groups led by media specialists and specialists from the “field”, the students had to creatively design and create a thematically focused multimedia project, thereby also gaining practical skills. Excursions to thematically relevant locations in Berlin and the German-Polish border area were also carried out as part of the summer school. Students had the opportunity to receive a certificate of participation and 4 ECTS credits after successfully completing the summer school, including active participation in the working group program. More detailed information about the summer school is here: GLocalEAst Summer School_call for application_final

GlocalEAst Blended Intensive Programme

“WORKSHOP ON MIGRATION, BORDER AND DIASPORA STUDIESIN EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE”, BIP programme (JUNE 12-16, 2023)

This BIP program was developed to test the e-learning course (O4) prepared within the GLocalEAst project. The program combined various formats that facilitate the acquisition and deepening of knowledge and skills:

 

• E-learning platform (Virtuale): Renowned scholars in the field of migration and border studies from the six partner universities convey central aspects in their lectures (core courses). On the course webpage on ‘Virtuale’, students had the opportunity to learn about the main methodological tools adopted in migration, border and diaspora studies, thanks to a selection of readings, slides and ‘video-lectures’ created by the GlocalEAST team of academics.
• Webinars (7 classes; 14 academic hours): An accompanying series of webinars provided for discussions on selected case studies in order to give participants the opportunity to acquire practical knowledge on how to develop research in migration, diaspora and border studies from professionals. A series of selected talks held by professionals from NGOs, research centres and governmental bodies working in migration and border management was held from March to May 2022.
• In-Person Intensive Programme (8 classes; 16 academic hours): in early June, students from all the institutions joint an in-person intensive programme at the Forlì Campus to learn to design and produce a topic-related research project. Every student had the opportunity to present his/her paper at the end of the workshop.

 The program of in-presence part of the BIP can be found here: GLOCALEAST 2023