Conferences, workshops, and seminars

Homeland-Diaspora relations in flux

The Greek Diaspora Project at SEESOX is organizing a conference "Homeland-Diaspora Relations in Flux: Greece and Greeks abroad at times of Crisis" on June 22-23, 2018 at St Antony's College, University of Oxford.

Diaspora and development: The case of Greece

The workshop gathered a number of highly distinguished scholars, mostly non-Greek from the field of diaspora studies, and from an interdisciplinary perspective, including history, politics, international relations, law, economics, anthropology and sociology, to discuss conceptual, methodological and comparative perspectives, within which the study of the Greek diaspora and its relationship with the Greek crisis can be contextualised.

Programme Report

What's in a name? The classical Greek and Jewish diasporas and implications for the present

On Wednesday, 2 February SEESOX organised an online panel discussion with Robin Cohen (International Migration Institute, University of Oxford), Renee Hirschon (St Peter's College, Oxford) and Manolis Pratsinakis (Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS)) on the history of the notion of diaspora.

Webinar: Diaspora and the pandemic

The goal of this webinar is to discuss and exchange views on the current unfolding crisis related to the pandemic and how this is connected with Greek diasporic issues

Contemporary Greek diaspora in the UK and beyond

The event will include panellists from academia, the policy-making community and the business sector. It will address issues such as the recent migratory wave and brain drain; diasporic political engagement; the diaspora and philanthropic giving. It will also present some findings on the Greeks in the UK; and will introduce its Greek diaspora digital map. The opening remarks will be delivered by HE Mr Dimitris Caramitsos-Tziras, Greek Ambassador in London, and Mr Nikos Karamouzis, President Grand Thornton, and Chair of the Hellenic Advisory Board at SEESOX.  

Diasporas and peace mediations: Cypriots abroad and reunification attitudes

Neophytos Loizides (University of Kent) examines the role of diaspora groups in peace mediations in Cyprus. He will present the history of the island’s diaspora and how it relates to the Cyprus conflict, and explore diaspora attitudes towards the current reunification efforts focusing specifically on three core areas: demands for participation in a future referendum, the right of return and property compensations, and the political/electoral rights of diaspora citizens in a reunited Cyprus.

Articulating identity options: Eastern and Southern European migrants in Britain

Identification processes amongst migrants and their descendants have long constituted an important topic of research. In particular, scholars have debated the extent of choice, ethnic minorities have in expressing various identities, and the role of categorisation and racialisation therein. In this presentation, Laura Morosanu (University of Sussex) adds new insight to this literature by examining the meaning and salience of ethnic identity for ‘white’ European migrants in Britain.

Gendering remittances: Women’s empowerment in Albania

Drawing on research in Albania, Julie Vullnetari (University of Southampton) will show how gender relations in sending countries shape the sending, receiving and decision-making around the utilisation of remittances. This is important if we are to understand how power structures and relations are negotiated between men and women in the process of migration, thus helping formulate policies that nurture gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Social protection and return migration: The Albanian-Greek migration corridor

Return migration to Albania has intensified in the past few years due to the economic crisis in different European countries where many Albanians have migrated to since the beginning of the 1990s. Based on qualitative research with migrants, their children and key informants in Albania, Zana Vathi (Edge Hill University) investigates the experiences of return migrants with social protection and their positionality towards social protection stakeholders.

Fragmented communities: Diaspora politics in the UK’s Turkish-speaking community

In this presentation Mustafa Cakmak (Keele University) explored the current dynamics of the Turkish-speaking diaspora and their political engagement from a historical perspective in the UK context. It also investigated the Turkish state’s involvement with its diaspora and dissidents in the UK.

Contested diasporic identities in times of crisis: The Other Bulgaria in the UK

In this presentation Elena Genova (University of Nottingham) focuses on the case of Bulgarian migrants in the UK to explore contested diasporic identities in times of crises. In doing so, it draws on longitudinal fieldwork carried out between summer 2011 and 2017 that consists of 62 interviews and participant observation.

Transnational citizenship: Views of Serbia's active diaspora

Members of the Serbian diaspora, especially those vocal in representing their home country’s views, have previously been regarded as leaning towards nationalistic stances. The results of recent elections, however, indicate that today a rather different situation might be present. Tena Prelec (University of Sussex) will show that her study confirms this indication. The analysis sheds light on the political views of Serbian citizens abroad, discussing the results of two surveys conducted around the 2017 Serbian presidential elections.