Visegrad + project:
Ukrainian refugees in Central Europe and the Balkans – lessons learned and policy recommendations
In April 2023 the International Visegrad Fund gave a green light to implement the first project prepared and submitted by the members of Border and Regional Studies Network: Ukrainian refugees in Central Europe and the Balkans – lessons learned and policy recommendations. We are very happy that the Visegrad Fund decided to finance our proposal.
The project is aimed to improve cooperation between experts from Central Europe and the Balkan countries on the field of conducting research and forming policy recommendations on the status of refugees by working on the comparative study of Ukrainian refugees. This undertaking will be implemented by academics of the Border and Regional Studies Network (CEEPUS) established in 2021. We believe that an issue of Ukrainian refugees that affects all countries of our network, however in different forms and degrees, is important problem which should be focused on, compared and addressed by knowledge-based recommendations for policy makers. It must be underlined that an influx of Ukrainian refugees after Russian aggression of February 24, 2022 is a significant challenge for receiving countries, they institutions and societies. These challenges and how they where dealt with will be studied in comparative perspective taking into account different experiences of 7 countries of the region (V4, Romania, Montenegro, North Macedonia).
The project’s implementation might be divided into three main stages. Firstly, the international research team will be established including 14 academics from 7 countries. They will conduct research in they countries resulting in preparation of 7 country studies. Secondly, 3 days conference combined with workshops will be organized in Skopje on October 18-20, 2023. It will gather academics, students, representatives of the UNHCR from North Macedonia, representatives of civil society organizations. It will be devoted to sharing, discussing and comparing country studies conducted by teams of researchers from 7 countries. The purpose of the Skopje conference is to share results of research and work together on recommendations on refugees policy, by engaging students, experts from the UNHCR, representatives of ngos and Ukrainian refugees. The last, but not least, the research report, including the main findings and recommendations formulated in Skopje, will be published and disseminated among the main stakeholders.
The project is co-financed by the governments of Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia through Visegrad Grants from International Visegrad Fund. The mission of the fund is to advance ideas for sustainable regional cooperation in Central Europe
Partners of the project:
- Adam Mickiewicz University of Poznań
- “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of IASI
- “Babes Bolyai” University of Cluj-Napoca
- Silesian University in Opava
- University American College Skopje
- University of Montenegro
- University of Opole
- University of Ostrava
- University of Pécs
- University of SS. Cyril and Methodicus in Trnava
Budget of the project: 9,910 Euro
Focus area/objective of the project: Public Policy and Institutional Partnership,Connecting the expert communities to find joint solutions to common policy challenges
Implementation period: 01/06/2023–31/05/2024
Coordinator of the project: dr Bartosz Czepil bczepil@uni.opole.pl University of Opole
If you are interested to read more about the Visegrad Fund see its website >>> https://www.visegradfund.org/