Projects archive - year 2010

EIF project - Improving qualification of teachers for the integration of children of the third country nationals into the Slovak educational system

Education and evaluation project of the NMŠ

Donor: European Fund of Integration of Third Countries Nationals 

 

Coordinator and partner: Milan Šimečka Foundation 

 

Period: May 2010 - June 2011

 

The main goal of the project of the Milan Šimečka Foundation (NMŠ) and CVEK has been to develop and to test education tools focused on integration of children of third country nationals into the Slovak education system. 

 

NMŠ trained the group of 20 elementary school teachers and in cooperation with them tested the developed educational tools during the regular instruction and in extracurricular activities. CVEK assesed the impact of the newly developed educational tools and both organizations disseminated the verified educational tools to the broader pedagogical and lay public.

 

The main outputs of the project included the set of educational activities and the impact analysis from the testing phase of the project at the involved schools. A symposium for policy makers at the end of the project and policy handout served as a final outcome of the project.

Summer School of Ethnicity and Migration Studies - 1st Edition (2010)

July 19 - August 1, 2010

Partners: Selye János University, Komárno

Masaryk University, Brno

Institute of Public Affairs, Warszawa 

Multicultural Center, Praha

Willa Decius, Krakow

The Woolf Institute, Cambridge

 

Donors: Open Society Foundation, Bratislava

International Visegrad Fund, Bratislava

Intenda Foundation, Bratislava  

CVEK, Bratislava

 

Period: July 19 - August 1, 2010

 

About the Summer School

Summer School of Ethnicity and Migration Studies is a two-week educational program covering topics connected with nationalism and ethnicity, de-ethnization of the public sphere, migration and integration analysis, approaches and policies. Topics connected to de-construction of national myths, analyses of public policies concerning minorities and discussions over desired migration policy models form the core of the Summer school activities. Through debates, lectures and workshops, it presents a unique informal learning space for student from the Central European countries and creates space for the participants to get familiar with each other’s ideas and initiate international cooperation. Lectures and workshops held by highly qualified experts from the region has been complemented with topical study trips.

 

It starts to be obvious that issues of ethnicity are becoming even more salient in 21st century than in previous ones. As the latest research conducted by CVEK has shown, the young generation tends to be even more radicalized mainly due to lack of public discussion, adequate education and negative influence provided by the media. The Summer School of Ethnicity and Migration has an ambition to influence future experts in the broadly understood ethnic studies.

 

The Summer school has been organized in a historical building of the Janos Selye University around four modules, lasting 2,5 days each. Topics of particular modules will be changing each year within the following modules:

 

1st Modul:
De-construction of the term nation in Central Europe;

Meanings of nationalism, ethnicity and identity in Central Europe;

Processes of reconciliation between Central European countries.

2nd Modul:
De-ethnization of the public sphere in Central European countries;

Changes and pluralization of identities in globalized times;

Conceptualization of post-national era.

3rd Modul:
Insight into the migration studies in Central European region;

Changes of migration patterns;

Evaluation of migration and integration policies of Central European countries.

4th Modul:
Integration of migrants and aliens in Central Europe;

Migration and social cohesion in Central Europe;

Changes of citizenship boundaries - citizenship and denizenship.

 

Target group

The Summer School aims to create an alternative learning platform for advanced studies for MA Students, PhD students, young researchers, young public officials from countries of Central and Eastern Europe - Slovakia, Czech republic, Hungary, Poland, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania, Lithuania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Macedonia, Turkey, Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine, Belorus, Georgia and Azerbajdzan. The working language of the School is English.

 

Application:

Accepted participants were informed by June 5, 2010.

Application package included:
• Application form duly filled and signed
• Motivation letter (not more than one A4 format page)
• CV
• Recommendations*
*Recommendations from one person (from the academia) familiar with the applicants work. Should be in English, printed on letterhead paper and bear the signature of the issuer. No special envelope is needed; recommendations should be simply attached to the application.

 

Costs

Registration fee for successful candidates was 50 Euro. Costs of the program, study material, field trips as well as accommodation and board were covered by the organizer. Participants were responsible for their travel costs and insurance.

 

Application form for the Summer School on ethnicity and migration studies here

 

Poster of the 1st edition of the Summer school of ethnicity and migration studies here

 

Program of the 1st edition of the Summer School of ethnicity and migration studies here 

 

Photo gallery from the Summer school here 

 

Summer School on the Facebook here 

 

Participants of the 1st edition of Summer School of Ethnic and Migration Studies:

Jarmila Androvičová, Slovakia     
Bojana Babic, Bosnia and Hercegovina       
Tereza Blahoutova, Czech republic     
Edita Bezdičková, Slovakia     
Graciela Boruszko, USA    
Marta Čonková, Slovakia     
Anna Júlia Donáth, Hungary     
Piotr Drozd, Poland      
Ana Simina Guga, Romania     
Teodor Gyelník, Slovakia     
Cristina Haruta, Romania      
Dorota Chabiera, Poland     
Maria Chernyaeva, Bulgaria     
Anna Jurek, Poland      
Darko Karačić, Croatia       
Shorena Kobaidze, Georgia     
Judit Kontsekova, Slovakia     
Jan Kopkáš, Czech republic      
Kateryna Kravchuk, Ukraine     
Andreea Lazar, Romania     
Bahruz Mammadov, Azerbaijan    
Miroslav Mavra, Croatia     
Salome Mekhuzla, Georgia      
Iga Mergler, Poland      
Tereza Modráková, Czech republic     
Claudia Mullauer, Austria     
Elzbieta Okuniewska, Poland     
Slávka Otčenášová, Slovakia     
Adam Puchejda, Poland     
Marija Roglić, Croatia     
Daria Ronchetti, Czech republic     
Lenka Safrankova Pavlickova, Czech republic  
Onur Sen, Turkey     
Ondrej Schutz, Slovakia     
Monika Stafa, Albania     
Ali Turunz, Turkey     
Mária Tömösváryová, Slovakia    
Anna Zamejc, Poland     
Aleksander Zdravkovski, Macedonia   
Olga Zubrzycka, Poland     
Drago Župarić-Iljić, Croatia  

 

Want to apply in 2011?

2nd edition of the Summer School of Ethnicity and Migration Studies will be organized in 2011. Detailed information will be announced in March 2011.

Perspectives. Where to direct support for development of Eastern Slovakia?

Research project for the Carpathian Foundation

Partner: Carpathian Foundation 
 
Obdobie: April - October 2010 

 

The aim of the research Where to direct support for development of Eastern Slovakia? has been to gather complex information on:

 

1. Amount and distribution of resources that have been invested into projects of non-governmental organizations and local governments focused on development of civil society and the region itself;  

 

2. Share of particular private donors on financing of projects and activities of non-governmental organizations and local governments;

 

3. Impact of invested assets and models based on lessons learned;

 

4. Desired trends for the future and what should be supported in the future by private donors.

 

Two research-evaluation activities have been conducted within the project - analyses of financial support from various donors for non-governmental organizations and local governments analyses of the impact of non-governmental organizations on development of the region of Eastern Slovakia.

 

Research report in both Slovak and English languages and presentation of the research at the international conference in October 2010 has been outcomes of the project Where to direct support for development of Eastern Slovakia?

 

The Conference COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INVESTMENTS: Using Lessons Learned for Future Opportunities took place on 11 - 13 October, 2010 in Košice, Slovakia in DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel. Purpose of the Conference has been to present the impact of financial assistance provided for civic society development in the last 15 years, and to evaluate contribution of non – profit non – governmental organizations to regional development. The Conference framed trends for corporate donors in the field of social responsibility using examples of issues currently affecting eastern Slovakia. Michal Vašečka presented results of the CVEK research at the conference.  

 

Prezentation from the conference in Košice can be downloaded here 

 

Research report can be downloaded here

EIF project - Testing of integration policies indicators

Project of the SGI and CVEK

Partner: Slovak Governance Institute, Bratislava

 

Donor: European Fund for Integration of Third Countries Nationals 

Period: February 2010 - June 2011

 

Project Testing of integration policies indicators (TIPI) presents, from the point of view of content and personally, continuing project of the previous one - High quality research - precondition for a successful integration. The above mentioned project brought set of elementary indicators that can be used in the process of measuring successes of integration policies. CVEK research team suggested that there is a need to test integration policies indicators, to differentiate them from indicators of integration and indicators of the Democratic Diversity Management. Project aimed to utilize experiences of international surveys such as EMILE, IMISCOE, TSER, WOLIWEB, and INTI. 

 

The main aim of the TIPI project has been to test integration policies indicators and to assess successes of particular minority groups integration within various dimensions, with a focus on economic integration.

 

Researchers assessed success in several dimensions:

1. Economic integration;

2. Education;

3. Social integration;

4. Political integration;

5. Language;

6. Residential integration.

 

Outcomes of the project:

1. International workshop for policy-makers and analysts in the sphere of minority integration and integration of third countries nationals, that took place on June 27 in the Austria Trend hotel in Bratislava;

2. Manual for policy-makers;

3. Academic publications about integration indicators.

EIF project - Integration of third countries nationals on the local level. The role of local governments and other actors in the process.

Research of migrants integration on a local level

Donor: European Fund for Integration of Third Countries Nationals

 

Period: February 2010 - March 2011

 

Project Integration of third countries nationals on the local level - the role of local governments and other actors in the process has been focused on mapping and researching of local governments strategies in the process of integration of third countries nationals into the society. This has been rather scarcely approached aspect of integration processes, although local governments are key-actors of the integration process on the local level. Project therefore aimed to analyze strategies that local governments apply toward migrants and to analyze activities of other actors of the process.  

 

Main aim of the project has been to come with a set of recommendations to improve integration process of migrants in Slovakia on the local level and to contribute to better performance of local governments toward third countries nationals.

 

Among particular aims of the project were:
1. To identify factors that influence performance of local governments in relation to migrants and to analyze strategies applied by local governments in Slovakia toward migrants.

2. Analyze approach of local governments to integration of migrants in Slovakia in comparison to the Czech republic and Austria and to create recommendation how to improve integration of third countries nationals.  

3. To improve approach of local governments to the issue of integration by spreading examples of good practices.

 

Research team conducted qualitative comparative research by using case studies analyses - in Slovakia, the Czech republic, and Austria. Final report has been published in the form of manual for local governments titled Integration of Migrants on the Local Level – Research Findings and Recommendations.

The research report can be downloaded here.

 

In order to finalize the project Integration of third countries nationals on the local level CVEK organized workshop for local government representatives on April 1, 2011 in Trnava. The seminar was aimed at representatives of local and regional self-governments from all regions. The morning part of the seminar consisted of presentations of the project and of three case studies carried out in the selected towns - Trnava, České Budějovice a Wiener Neustadt. The afternoon block was devoted to the presentation of Slovakia's legal framework of integration which was followed by a discussion.

 

Program of the seminar:

9,30 – 10,00 Registration of participants

10,00 – 10,15 Presentation of the project and its activities

10,15 – 12,00 Presentations of the results of the comparative research on integration of immigrants on the local level and dicussion

12,00 – 13,00 Lunch

13,00 – 13,45 Perspectives and activities of self-governing regions regarding integration of immigrants

13,45 – 15,30 Experiences with integration of immigrants

 

Photogallery is available here.

Conference Migrations - Rethinking contemporary migration events

Telč, June 24 - 26, 2010

Partners: Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Brno

Institute for Research on Social Reproduction and Integration, Masaryk University, Brno
Institute of Sociology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague
TÁRKI Social Research Institute Inc., Budapest
Institute of Public Affairs, Warszawa

 

Period: June 24 - 26, 2010

 

 

International conference Migrations, rethinking contemporary migration events in Telč, organized in June 24 - 26, 2010 has been already a second conference in a row and followed after the successful conference in Telč in 2008. Conference in 2008 focused on theoretical reflections of migration processes and their interpretations, changes in understanding of what exactly does belong into this realm as well as possible consequences of theoretical thinking about migration policy and migration research were discussed. Conference also analyzed several research methods in order to articulate the possibilities of different approaches and special emphasis was put on the vitality of the interdisciplinary approach in studying migration and on demonstrations of innovative research approaches.

 

Conference Migrations, rethinking contemporary migration events developed previous topics specifically in two areas:   

 

Knowledge Production in Migration Studies
In this rather theoretical session conference focused on the practices that, speaking of migrations, transform an event into a research topic and interests that stand behind it. The production and circulation of knowledge on migration has a differing logic in the areas of politics, public life and the academic world. The crucial question has been what types of migration are discursively produced as a normal and deviating social process and how different discursive fields interfere.

 

Migrations Policymaking
Theoretical concepts and research findings are re-defined in the political sphere and thus shape contemporary migration events. Political players have usually only slight understanding for broader than a national perspective. To be part of the administration of the nation state also means in some way believing in this "real fiction" or at the very least acting pragmatically in line with it. The essential impact on migrating people’s living conditions enlightens the ethical aspects of migrations policymaking.

 

Keynote speakers of the 2010 conference were:  

 

Prof. Asa Kasher

Asa Kasher is the Laura Schwarz-Kipp Professor Emeritus of Professional Ethics and Philosophy of Practice and Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Tel Aviv University in Israel. He is co-author of the Israel Defense Forces Code of Ethics, "The Spirit of the IDF: Values and Basic Principles," 1994. His research covers a broad range of topics in philosophy and ethics, including military ethics and medical ethics, and philosophy of language, as well as issues of Jewish identity. He wrote an influential defense of Israel's 'law of return', justifying it as a form of affirmative action, following periods in which Jews were not allowed to immigrate to many countries. In 2000, Professor Kasher was awarded the Israel Prize for his work in philosophy and ethics.

 

Prof. Endre Sik

Endre Sik is a professor at the ELTE University, Department of Minority Studies, the director of the Centre for Refugee and Migration Studies at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and of the National Focal Point of the European Union Centre for Monitoring Race and Xenophobia. For ten years he was the chairman of Refuge - Association for Helping Migrants. He served as the president of the Hungarian Sociological Association, of the Sociology Committee of the National Research Fund. He is a project manager at TÁRKI Research Institute Inc. His main fields of research are: migration, Diaspora; xenophobia, labor market, informal economy, households' economic behavior; social network capital.

 

Program of the conference can be downloaded here 

 

Further information can be downloaded at http://ivris.fss.muni.cz/migrations

 

Conference took place in Convict of Holy Angels

Evaluation of ESF support for enhancing access to the labor market and the social inclusion of migrants and ethnic minorities

Evaluation project for the Centre for Strategy & Evaluation Services

Partner: Centre for Strategy & Evaluation Services, Kent

 

Beneficiary institution: European Commission, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities

Period: January - October 2010

 

The objectives of the study Evaluation of ESF support for enhancing access to the labor market and the social inclusion of migrants and ethnic minorities has been to:

 

1. Assess the European Social Fund's support for enhancing access to the labor market and the social inclusion of migrants and ethnic minorities; 
2. Provide guidelines for the Member States on the implementation of ESF Operational Programs in the 2007-2013 programming period in order to target beneficiaries more effectively; 
3. Identify effective means of tackling barriers to the social and labor market integration of migrants and ethnic minorities.

 

The evaluation focuses on ESF interventions in the 2000-2006 programming period, but also examines the implementation of ESF Operational Programs (OPs) to date in the new 2007-2013 period. The evaluation research takes into account activities supported through the EQUAL Community Initiative.

Through case studies and country reports at Member State level and through a thematic report addressing Roma integration issues, the evaluation aims to provide a comparative analysis between the Member States with regard to the main challenges in enhancing access to the labor market and the social inclusion of migrants and ethnic minorities.

 

15 EU countries have been included in the research in order to ensure a representative balance. CVEK covered activities of the project in Slovakia, conducted interviews with both policy makers and representatives of beneficiary organizations and prepared overview of ESF and EQUAL in Slovakia and intervention logic of ESF and EQUAL in Slovakia. CVEK analysed treatment of migrants, ethnic, and national minorities in selected ESF programs and in EQUAL, coordination of the HP EqOp implementation, roles of various entities in the Monitoring process, roles of various entities in HP EqOp monitoring, and bringed examples of good practices.  

Summer School V4 - 9th Edition (2010)

July 4 - 17, 2010

Partners: Willa Decius Association Krakow;

Asociace pro mezinárodní otázky Praha;

Foundation Cracovia Expres Krakow;

EuroRegio Ukraine Kyiv. 

 

Donor: International Visegrad Fund

  

Period: July 4 - 17, 2010 

 

In 2010 CVEK co-organized already 9th edition of the V4 Summer School at the Willa Decius in Krakow. The 9th edition of the Visegrad Summer School brought together 50 young Czech, Hungarian, Polish and Slovak students, as well as some students from other countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The program consisted of lectures, panel debates and seminars on issues and challenges relevant to the Visegrad Group region, the European Union and beyond. School offered many opportunities to learn about each other and start an international co-operation between the people and the countries.

 

The program of the ninth edition of the Visegrad Summer School included debates on current political, cultural and social challenges in the global and European perspective, e.g. extremism, migration issues, Eastern Partnership, environmental protection, energy security policy, climate crisis and also regional and Euroatlantic cooperation. Global poverty, stabilizing missions at Afghanistan, Balkans and Africa have been discussed as well. An important part of the democracy section were lectures on the integration role of countries and a presentation of the regional responsibility for global problems. Students applied the theoretical knowledge in practical activities during workshops - they developed, political, social and cultural projects that aimed at establishing collaboration between them and their countries. On the weekend participants visited borderlands of Malopolska region and students also attended artistic events and learned about the culture of Krakow.

 

The organizers provided: 
- educational programme and materials
- special events
- accommodation and board

 

Participants covered:
- travel costs to/from/in Krakow
- their own insurance
- registration fee of 75 EURO

 

Call for applications for the Visegrad Summer School opened on 1 March 2010,  

the deadline for applications was 31 March 2010.

 

Application form here 

 

V4 Summer school poster here 

 

Slovakia has been represented on the 9th edition of the Summer School by 9 participants:

Edita Bezdičková, FSS, Masaryk University, Brno
Pavol Kobárik, ESF, Masaryk University, Brno
Katarína Lokšová, FMV, University of Economics, Prague
Michal Polgár, FMV, University of Economics, Bratislava
Lívia Cseresová, FSEV, Comenius Univesity, Bratislava
Mária Nicolauvová, FF, Comenius University, Bratislava
Jana Hrčková, PF, Charles University Karlova, Prague
Jana Kočová, PF, Trnava University, Trnava
Katarína Klingová, FSEV, Comenius University, Bratislava

 

Photo gallery from the Summer School here

RAXEN 11

FRA network

Donor: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) 

Period: January 2010 - December 2010

 

Also during 2010 CVEK continued, together with an initiative People against Racism, to collect and analyze data on racism and xenophobia in Slovakia. Racism and Xenophobia European Information Network (RAXEN) was established by European Monitoring Center of Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) that was changed into the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) in 2007. The main objective of FRA is to offer broad audience in the EU-25 objective, reliable and comparable data on issues of racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism in the territory of member states and to contribute to formulation of effective measures designed to fight racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism.

 

RAXEN Network consists of 25 national groups, one group operating in each member state. National groups are partners of FRA providing needed information and data on national level. Center for Research of Ethnicity and Culture together with People Against Racism form national group for Slovakia. Particular national groups carry out different tasks specified by FRA, collect information and statistical data about various activities in the area of fight against racism and xenophobia, work out general (general situation in the country) as well as specific reports (employment, education, housing, etc.).

 

In 2010 CVEK worked on 2 thematic studies that are even more than in the past focused on status of asylum seekers and migrants in the Slovak republic.

 

On September 13, 2010, European Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) released two research reports concerning the issue of quality of asylum procedures in European countries. Both research reports are partly based on interviews with asylum seekers conducted in 27 EU countries. In Slovakia, the research was carried out  by Center for the Research of Ethnicity and Culture.

 

FRA research report "Access to effective remedies: the asylum-seeker perspective"

FRA research report "The duty to inform applicants about the asylum procedure: the asylum-seeker perspective"

 

Both research reports can be downloaded here.