[Air-L] Call for participants: Workshop on Digital Labour and Migration/Displacement, Edinburgh, 13 Sep

[HACKL Andreas]

Dear colleagues,

Call for participants and papers:

Migration and digital livelihoods: fair work in an unequal world?

University of Edinburgh
School of Social and Political Science
Friday, 13 September, 2019


How can migrants and forcibly displaced persons around the world access digital livelihoods and fair digital work opportunities?

What lessons can we learn from current digital realities and initiatives for the future of labour migration and refugee work?


In answering these questions, this workshop brings together a collective of leading researchers, development practitioners, innovators, and people with lived experience of
forced migration and digital livelihoods.

As refugees and migrants struggle to access formal work in the labour markets of host countries, some find a viable alternative in digital labour markets, including online freelancing on work platforms, as well as internships and jobs in international IT companies. The growing importance of digital work and digital skills has inspired a wide array of development programmes and humanitarian action. It has prompted civil society initiatives and innovative start-ups. At a time when a myriad of initiatives and actions seek to incorporate migrants and refugees into digital forms of work, it is important to learn lessons and draw conclusions from current research and experience.

Workshop objectives and outputs

The workshop is designed to learn lessons from current research ad practice around migration and digital livelihoods, and to foster exchange between researchers and practitioners. The workshop will lead to two related but separate outputs:

Output 1: A collaborative special issue in a leading journal of the field, such as World Development, Development and Change, or Journal of Refugee Studies.

Output 2: An open access report targeting policy makers, stakeholders, and public audiences to be distributed through relevant networks.

Practicalities

The workshop will run all day on Friday, 13 September, 2019, at the University of Edinburgh.

Proposals and Registration

Invited are all practitioners and researchers working in the field of digital work or digital education in relation to migrants or refugees.

If you would like to participate, please send an indication of your proposed input including a brief biographical description to the convener.

The deadline for expressions of interest is 2nd of August.

Contact:

Dr Andreas Hackl
Senior Research Fellow, Social Anthropology
School of Social and Political Science
andreas.hackl at ed.ac.uk





The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336.