Events

About one million first-time asylum seekers registered in the European Union in 2016 and a similar number the year before. How many will enter in 2017? What can we in Europe expect with wars and conflicts continuing and driving people from our neighbourhood to European shores? What is the situation in those source and transit countries of refugees and migrants that are most affected by armed conflicts and political instability? How can the life of refugees, migrants and host communities be improved? These are some of the questions to be addressed by experts from Afghanistan, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Libya, Nigeria Sudan and Poland.

 
This event will also be an opportunity to launch a new Bertelsmann Stiftung publication ‘Escaping the Escape – Toward solutions for the humanitarian migration crisis’ https://www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/en/publications/publication/did/escaping-the-escape/

Please confirm your participation in the conference by 25 April by registration on the website.

AGENDA          

 
13.30 – 14.00            Registration 
 
14:00 – 14:15           Opening remarks
 
Marek Prawda,  Head of the European Commission  Representation in Poland
Jacek Kucharczyk, President of the Board, Institute of Public Affairs
Gabriele Schöler, Senior Project Manager, Bertelsmann Stiftung          

14:15 – 14:30           Introduction
 
Christian-Peter Hanelt, Senior Expert, Bertelsmann Stiftung
 
14.30 – 15.45            Expert discussion
                         
Mariam Safi, Afghanistan, founding director of the Organization for Policy Research and Development Studies (DROPS);
Zakariya El Zaidy, Libya, protection team leader for the Danish Refugee Council in Libya;
J. Shola Omotola, Nigeria, professor of Political Science at the Federal University Oye Ekiti in Nigeria; and
Dane Taleski, FYROM, adjunct professor at the South East European University in Tetovo/Skopje;
Marta Szczepanik, Poland, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
 
Moderation:
Gabriele Schöler,Bertelsmann Stiftung
 
 
Polish-English translation will be provided

Our guests will be:

Jeremiah Shola Omotola, Nigeria, professor of Political Science at the Federal University Oye Ekiti in Nigeria;
Shola Omotola was a senior lecturer in the department of political science, Redeemer’s University, Ede, Nigeria, before he moved to his current post at the Federal University.
He obtained his PhD in comparative African politics and governance from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. His fields of interest include comparative African governance institutions, democratization and election studies, legislative studies, oil and environmental politics in the Niger Delta, conflict and peacebuilding.

Mariam Safi, Afghanistan, founding director of the Organization for Policy Research and Development Studies (DROPS);
Drops is a leading local think-tank in Afghanistan committed to strengthening democratic ideas and values through its policy-oriented research, training and advocacy programs. They aim to provide policymakers with sound alternative solutions to national issues and creates a platform to increase women’s voices in policy discourse. Mariam was honored by the Diplomatic Courier as one of their Top Global Women in 2014 for her contribution to the research community in Afghanistan. She is a member of the Afghanistan Policy Group, a Near East South Asia Center alumni, and a local peace-building expert for Peace Direct.
She has an MA in International Peace Studies from the United Nations-mandated University for Peace, San José, Costa Rica. Her fields of interest include peace-building, human security, and countering violent extremism offering a grassroots and gender perspective on issues effecting Afghanistan and the South Asian region.

Dane Taleski, Republic of Macedonia, adjunct professor at the South East European University in Tetovo/Skopje
Until recently, he was a visiting fellow, Centre for Southeast European Studies, University in Graz, and a Fellow, Center for Advanced Studies of Southeastern Europe, University in Rijeka, Croatia. In 2014, he received a Civil Society Scholar Award from the Open Society Institute in New York.He received his PhD in political science from the Central European University in Budapest. Fields of interest: post-conflict democratization, transformation of rebel groups, political parties and ethnic politics, regional cooperation, EU integration and Southeast Europe.

Zakariya El Zaidy, Libya, protection team leader for the Danish Refugee Council in Libya;
Zakariya is one of the founding members and former chief operations officer of Mercy Wings Organization, a Libyan NGO established for the purpose of fighting human trafficking. His main focus lies on the fast-paced changing situation of mixed migration in Libya. Together with practitioners and experts in the field of mixed migration, humanitarian relief and aid, Zakariya has participated in various seminars and workshops on migration, counter trafficking, and protection on a local and international level. He is certified in leadership, organizational management and social entrepreneurship. He has been working as web and graphic designer. Currently, Zakariya manages a personal blog in Arabic focusing on mixed migration in Libya.
He holds a bachelor degree in geology engineering and petro-physical studies from Tripoli University.