On 20-22 August 2019 in Bratislava, Slovakia 15 experts gave presentations at the 7th European Migration Network (EMN) Educational Seminar entitled Impacts and Opportunities of International Migration. Podcasts of their presentations and lectures can be found on the EMN seminar website.

Experts from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Senegal, Switzerland, The Netherlands and United Kingdom gave lectures on the relationship between politics and migration, what influences people's decision to migrate, the good governance approach to migration, and migration in an urbanized world.

One of the seminar speakers Admiral Giuseppe de Giorgi, a former Italian Navy chief who commanded the rescue operation Mare Nostrum. c) Photo – IOM Slovakia

The seminar was attended by more than 70 employees of state and public administration, state implementation bodies, intergovernmental organizations, non-profit sector, think-tanks, academia, independent experts and representatives of EMN National Contact Points from other EU Member States and Norway.

You can listen to podcasts (audio) and see presentations from lectures here.

The novelty of this year's seminar was 360° virtual reality kit. Participants could put themselves into minds and shoes of refugees, such as Emran (19) from Afghanistan who came to Austria because there are no bombs exploding in Austria, or Baharaka (8) who had fled from Iran with her parents and who has no choice but to interpret for her parents, in all kinds of often difficult situations.

Virtual reality at the seminar. c) Photo – IOM Slovakia

As a part of seminar’s evening programme, both the participants and the public could visit screening of a documentary The Good Postman and a theater play Home (Where is Yours?), followed by a discussion with experts on how to talk about migration in an accurate and balanced way.

From left: Head of Office of IOM Slovakia Zuzana Vatráľová, Danish author of the book War – What if it were here? Janne Teller and a director of a play Home (Where is Yours?) Svetozár Sprušanský during the EMN discussion evening at the Nová Scéna Theatre. c) Photo – IOM Slovakia

The Educational Seminar Impacts and Opportunities of International Migration was organized by International Organization for Migration (IOM) , the EMN Co-ordinator for Slovakia.