SUMMARY OF THE LECTURES
Monday, 03.09.2012
Opening Ceremony and Guided Visit at the City Hall
After the arrival of all students, they were warmly welcomed at the Ceremony Hall of the City Hall
of České Budějovice. The guests of the opening ceremony were Mr. Juraj Thoma, the Lord Mayor of
České Budějovice; Mr. Libor Grubhoffer, the President of the University of South Bohemia, and Mrs.
Lucie Sládková, Head of the IOM Mission in Prague. In this occassion, each guest delivered a
welcoming speech which was aimed both to welcome the students and to give a brief introduction
concerning the city and the program itself. Apart from the guests and the students, one of the
speakers, Mrs. Lori Hunter from the University of Colorado and the organizers from the IOM
Mission in Prague and the University of South Bohemia were also present during the ceremony. The
opening ceremony was continued by a short guided visit to the whole City Hall.
Guided City Tour
The program was then followed by an attractive guided city tour of České Budějovice which was led
by the representatives of the University of South Bohemia. Students were invited to know more
about the history of the city as well as the important places in the city. Moreover, they were also
able to see directly some historical places that were related to migration issues in the country and
particularly in the city.
Introductory Meeting about the Program
The introductory meeting was given jointly by the representatives of the IOM Prague and the
University of South Bohemia at the Faculty of Education, University of South Bohemia. There was
no presentation given in this session, however all students were informed concerning the technical
matters of the program including the schedule of the lectures. There was also a brief explanation on
who were the lecturers and short speech on what do the organizers expect from the students
during the program.
Welcome Dinner
Following the opening ceremony and introductory meeting, all students as well as several speakers
were invited to the welcome dinner at Indian restaurant with multicultural atmosphere. The
welcome dinner was organized in a more informal and familiar way in order to make all
participants become closer. All students, organizers, and speakers were given an opportunity to
introduce themselves as well as to know each other better through this dinner.
Tuesday, 04.09.2012
Welcoming Speech by the Cultural Attaché of the US Embassy for the Czech Republic
Tuesday’s morning session was opened by a short welcoming speech from Ms. Sherry KenesonHall, the cultural attaché of the US Embassy for the Czech Republic. In her speech, she expressed her
gratitude to see that a summer school of migration studies is organized regarding the importance of
the issue. In this occasion, she especially introduced Mrs. Lori Hunter who was the main speaker for
the morning session.
Presentation by Mrs. Lori Hunter and Mr. Robert Stojanov on Climate Change and Migration
Tuesday’s session was predominantly devoted to the discussion of climate change and migration.
The first presentation was given by Mrs. Lori Hunter, Associate Professor of sociology and
environmental studies, Institute of Behavioral Science of the University of Colorado in Boulder. For
this discussion, she presented “Climate Change and Human Migration: An Overview of Current
Research Understanding” that provided a thorough introduction on the issue both from theoretical
and practical side. Students had the opportunity to enjoy an absorbing lecture while understand
and discuss about the importance of climate change impact in migration issue based on Mrs.
Hunter’s research experiences and the existing discourses.
The second presenter was Mr. Robert Stojanov from the Global Change Research Centre, the
Academy of Science of the Czech Republic – who presented his presentation entitled
“Environmentally-Induced Migration – Four Case Studies from Three Continents.” As it is
mentioned in the title, Mr. Stojanov firstly explained about how environmental changes might be an
impetus of human displacement and followed by environmental-induced migration cases that
happened in China, Chernobyl, Bangladesh, and South Africa. Students were also exposed to the
existing models to analyze and understand more environment-induced migration.
Afternoon Session: Panel Discussion on Climate Change and Migration
Tuesday’s afternoon session was filled with a panel discussion entitled “Environmental Change and
Migration: concept, migration theories, links to economy, sociology, geography and other
disciplines.” Apart from Mrs. Hunter and Mr. Stojanov, two other panelists were also present in the
discussion namely Ms. Zuzana Cahlíková from the Global Change Research Centre and Ms. Maria
Kusalasari, master student in migration studies (EMMIR) and IOM Prague intern. Short
presentations concerning the applicable theory to study climate change and migration as well as
environment-induced migration in Southeast Asia and Indonesia were delivered. The session
brought attention and students could enjoy fruitful in-depth discussion about climate change and
migration with the panelist in relations to various disciplines.
Team Workshop and Group Discussion
In this session all students were divided into four study groups on selected migration topics namely
migration and integration, migration and asylum seekers, labor migration, and environmentinduced migration. Each group was guided by the tutors from the IOM and the University of South
Bohemia. All of them were given opportunity to decide on a topic in which they had to identify the
problem as well as possible solutions and they would have to present the result on the last day of
the summer school.
Facultative Evening Program: Migration Movie and Discussion
The facultative evening program on Tuesday was to watch a movie related to migration entitled
“Barcelona or Die.” It tells about a migrant from Senegal who wanted to move to Canary Islands for
better life. It was described how he tried to go across the continent illegally by boat. The discussion
was led by Ms. Karin Brázová from IOM Prague where each student was asked to share their
opinion about irregular migration in their respective countries. There was also a short presentation
by Ms. Anna Maršíková on the European Master on Migration and Intercultural Relations (EMMIR).
Wednesday, 05.09.2012
Presentation by Mrs. Lucie Sládková on Trafficking in Human Beings
Wednesday’s morning session was started by the lecture from Mrs. Lucie Sládková, the head of IOM
Mission in Prague. The students had opportunity to enjoy an interesting lecture concerning human
trafficking. Apart from the explanation on the theoretical aspect and legal framework, the
discussion was enriched by the practical experiences and examples such as a story from one of the
victims. There was a short movie shown during the lecture that brought the concrete situation into
the class and initiated a dynamic discussion within the students.
Migration and Gender
The discussion was continued with a lecture on Migration and Gender which was delivered by
Aishah Namukasa and Lisa-Marie Heimeshoff, Ph.D candidates from the University of Kassel,
Germany. The lecture provided quite a number of concrete and specific cases concerning the
feminization of migration and other gender-related issues in migration studies which are part of
their research experience. This topic has also drawn attention and questions from the students. In
the end of the lecture and discussion, a short movie on Sri Lankan women labor migrants who work
in Lebanon was shown to portray the real situation which is actually happening globally.
Migration Theories, Realities, and Myths
In the afternoon, Mr. Dušan Drbohlav, Associate Professor at Department of Social Geography and
Regional Development, Faculty of Natural Sciences at Charles University in Prague started the
session with an inspiring presentation on myths-breaking in migration. In this way, students were
confronted with facts often opposing the general believes commonly held by journalists and even
some politicians. The most important point in this lecture is how to pick a suitable theory in
conducting a research on migration issue. The lecture was followed by a session on new theories
and conceptual frameworks in migration issues which were related to his researches on labor
migration. The lecture drew attention and interesting discussion between the students and Mr.
Drbohlav, and this was one of the most important lectures as it provided the students theoretical
framework of migration. It helped students to understand more about migration issues from both
theoretical and empirical side.
Facultative Evening Program: Discussion on Immigration Issues in Israel and the Middle East
On Wednesday, the facultative evening program was organized at the Cultural House Slavie. In a
more relax and friendly issue, a presentation was delivered by Mr. Marek Čejka, an expert on the
Middle East from the Institute of International Relations in Prague. The interesting presentation
covered the history of immigration in Israel which was the focus of the lecture. This topic brought
curiosity from the students and an exciting discussion followed after the lecture. As it was
organized in a more relax approach, it was possible to do the discussion in a more informal way
which added the excitement in the group.
Thursday, 06.09.2012
Presentation by Mr. Salim Murad on Immigration, Integration, and Media
An inspiring lecture entitled “Immigration, Integration, and Media – New Faces of Populist
Mobilization in the Czech Republic” was delivered on Thursday by Mr. Salim Murad from the
University of South Bohemia as well as a lecturer of the European Master on Migration and
Intercultural Relations (EMMIR). Mr. Murad demonstrated the relations between the three
elements that were mentioned in the title to expose the influence of the media in creating
perceptions within Czech society towards immigrants especially in this century. Done in an
interactive and thought-provoking way, this lecture has brought attention from the student and a
dynamic discussion occurred throughout the session.
Afternoon Session: Presentations and Panel Discussion on the Integration of Migrants
This time participants had opportunity to understand integration process of migrants in the Czech
Republic from different point of view. The panelists came from different background including Mr.
Jan Kepka from the Department for Asylum and Migration Policy, Ministry of Interior; Ms. Michaela
Dušková and Ms. Vendula Vaňková from the Counseling Center for Foreigners and Migrants of
Diocesan Charity in České Budějovice; Ms. Ljuba Symronyk from Townshend International School;
and Ms. Petra Texlerová from the Organization for Aid to Refugees. With this diverse background of
panelists, students were enabled to explore the concept of integration both from the point of view
of the state and civil society. The panel discussion received good remarks from the students as
integration is also one of the most essential topics to be discussed when it comes to migration
issues.
Facultative Evening Program: “The Forest” (Open Air Drama by the Colorful Children)
On Thursday evening, another facultative program was organized for all participants in cooperation
with the Colorful Children Theatre. The play entitled “The Forest” generally showed a passionate
culture clash between the civilized world and the fabulous forest. Despite of the usage of Czech
language in the play, the play has drawn enthusiasm from all of the participants.
Friday, 07.09.2012
Presentation by Mr. Jan Schroth on Circular Migration and Development
Friday’s morning session was initiated by the presentation delivered by Mr. Jan Schroth from the
IOM entitled “Re-Turn Project – Circular Migration and its Impact on Regional Development” which
is one of the on-going project organized by the IOM. The main purpose of this project as well as the
presentation is to link the phenomenon of labor migration with development both in the receiving
or hosting countries. The return migrants can be seen as a counter action to avoid brain drain as
well as to contribute to the development of their country of origin. Here the students were exposed
to the relation between migration, development, as well as migration network with home.
Increasing best practices proves that this project could be continued even in the future. A quite
interactive discussion also occurred during and after the lecture.
Presentation on IOM Prague’s Project on Return Migration (Assisted Voluntary Returns)
The lecture continued with the discussion concerning the on-going IOM projects concerning the
Assisted Voluntary Returns or AVR. In general the presentation described the whole project
including who are the partners, what are the main activities as well as the progress that is
happening in the Czech Republic itself. Different from the previous project that emphasizes the
importance of remigration to support development, AVR is more into returning migrants whose
asylum applications were rejected so that their presence became irregular in Europe, as well as
vulnerable groups such as unaccompanied minors and victims of trafficking. The main concern here
is to reintegrate them into hosting society and assist them to rebuild their life at home. It also drew
much attention from the students who are mostly asking about the migrants after being returned to
their home country and how to make their life sustainable.
Group Presentation, Summary and Evaluation of the Summer School, and Closing Ceremony
Friday’s last session was devoted to the group presentation as well as evaluation and closing
ceremony of the summer school. All four groups delivered their result of small research that was
initiated on Tuesday. Each group managed to present and provide new insights as well as ideas in
the class which was also discussed by other students and both representatives from the IOM and
USB. The session was ended by handing out the certificates and diplomas for all participants along
with the evaluation and summary in which the participants had to fill a form and express their
opinions on the program.