BRIDGES will bring together representatives of European, national and regional institutions; entities dedicated to the reception of migrants; and academic researchers to discuss the impact of migration narratives in border contexts, at a seminar organised by CIDOB with the collaboration of Casa África. In the afternoon, an open event will take place on the border as a space of inequality and the route towards the Canary Islands.
📅 20 February 2024
📍 Casa África, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
How can we talk about migration in the current context of increasing politicisation? Can we change our gaze to go beyond the headlines and emergency responses? How can we include the specific realities and challenges of the spaces of first arrival in national and international debates? To what extent do narratives about migrations determine policies and, conversely, to what extent do policies (or lack thereof) determine narratives?
In order to address these questions, this seminar will focus the debate on two specific issues: firstly, European policies and their manifestation in border spaces, with a particular focus on access to asylum and the possible effects of the European Pact on Migration and Asylum; secondly, the reception of unaccompanied minors and the need for a more equitable distribution of responsibility between autonomous communities. To this end, the event will bring together representatives of European institutions, national and regional governments, the main entities dedicated to the reception of new arrivals and academic researchers.
The attendance to this seminar is by invitation.
In the afternoon, at 19h, the event “The Border is Inequality: questions, answers and doubts about the Western African route” will be open to the public.
Open event: “The Border is Inequality: questions, answers and doubts about the Western African route”
19h — Casa África
Migrations are crossed by inequality. Inequality in the value of passports; economic or gender inequality; or inequality before the law. 2024 is expected to be a historic year on the Canary Islands route. In this context, this conversation will try to answer some of the questions floating in the air: What explains the changes in the composition of migration flows, now with more women, minors and diversity of nationalities? What impact does inequality have on the energy generated by migratory movements? Beyond the conditions that push migrants to migrate, where does the agency of migrants lie? What narratives play a role in the decision to migrate? Blanca Garcés, Senior Researcher at CIDOB and BRIDGES Coordinator, and Adama Sophie Ndao, Geographer and expert in Migration and Gender, will discuss them in conversation with the journalist Txema Santana.
More info about the event at the website of Casa África.