3 October 2018 - The University of Southampton (United Kingdom), a member institution of the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI), is organizing an event that will take place on 20 November 2018, to examine the uncertainty and complexity of migration. According to the organizers, migration can impact economies and societies, trigger policy responses, and cause political debate. Due to the inherent complexity of international migration, it is also one of the most unpredictable and uncertain population processes and a fascinating area of study. In this session, experts will explore some of the major challenges surrounding migration.
Such challenges include decision-making and accurate methods of measurement and prediction as well as the different ways migration can impact policy, which takes the complexity and uncertainty of the process for what it is: neither something to ignore nor fight against, but rather an inherent feature of mobility that needs to be acknowledged and managed. Administrative systems also impact the accuracy and completeness of some of the data we rely on. Patterns of migration can also quickly alter as a result of changing political and economic circumstances, meaning that migration can be a very difficult process to analyse, predict, and control.
The speakers will be Professor Jakub Bijak from the University of Southampton, who teaches statistical demography and co-leads the Economic and Social Research Council Centre for Population Change modelling strand; Jon Simmons, Deputy Director for analysis on migration and border policy in the Home Office Analysis and Insight Directorate; and, Jason Cowley, journalist, awarded magazine editor and writer. For more information about this event, which is the second one within the framework of what has been called Public Lecture Series, you can visit this website.