Revisiting Theories on International Migration: A Dialogue with Asia

The Scalabrini Migration Center held a conference titled “Revisiting Theories on International Migration: A Dialogue with Asia” at The Bayleaf Hotel in Manila, from 25 to 26 April 2013. With partial support from the International Labor Organization and the International Organization for Migration, the conference brought together migration scholars from Europe, North America and Asia to discuss developments on theories concerning international migration, particularly how theories engage with the migration realities in Asia.

The conference was attended by 30 participants. In addition to the invited scholars, the participants included representatives from Philippine academia, international organizations, and Philippine government agencies.  The opening of the conference was graced by Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz, secretary of labor, who gave a welcome message. The topics and the speakers were: regional integration (Rinus Penninx and Fernando Aldaba); beyond multiculturalism (Christian Joppke and In-Jin Yoon); circular migration (Stephen Castles and Piyasiri Wickramasekara); the gender perspective (Eleonore Kofman and Brenda Yeoh); the return of migrants (Jean Pierre Cassarino and Biao Xiang); and the migration turning points (Philip Martin and Manolo Abella). The conference was concluded by a summary presented by Graziano Battistella and sharing on future developments of migration and research.