5TH IMISCOE ANNUAL CONFERENCE 
Media coverage: El Correo >>> and El Pais >>>
6-9 September 2008 the fifth IMISCOE Annual conference was organized by IMISCOE partner DEUSTO in Bilbao, Spain. An overwhelming amount of close to 300 IMISCOE members and invited external experts attended this 2-day international event. The conference was divided in a plenary programme, worksessions for the thematic research groups and sessions that covered topics cut crossing these thematically organized research clusters.
The conference was preceded with a welcome Reception jointly hosted by the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS) and Amsterdam University Press (AUP, the publisher of the IMISCOE Series). Members were able to view recent JEMS and AUP titles, including some of the latest publications of IMISCOE members.
On the first day the conference was officially opened by Prof. Jaime Oraá ( Rector of the University of Deusto), Prof. Rinus Penninx (IMISCOE Coordinator), Prof. Julia Gonzalez, (Vice Rector of International Relations, University of Deusto and IMISCOE member) and Mrs Giulia Amaducci (research officer of IMISCOE at the European Commission, DG research).
Dr. Estrella Gualda of the University of Huelva and Dr. Eduardo Ruiz Vieytez of the University of Deusto gave presentations during the plenary session on Immigration in Spain. They presented the reality of contemporary immigration to Spain, its rapid increase in recent years and its various characteristics. The two Spanish professors who are experts in the field discussed the benefits and challenges presented by the arrival and settlement of millions of migrants in Spain as well as the issue of national-autonomous migration policies.
In the afternoon of 10 September the 9 thematic research clusters organized their workshops to discuss ongoing work of IMISCOE members and make plans for the future IMISCOE period.
In the evening the Immigration Division of the Basque Government’s Department of Housing and Social Affairs invited all participants to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. The evening began with a guided visit, which was followed by a buffet dinner. The reception was opened by the Basque Government’s Councillor of Housing and Social Affairs, Javier Madrazo.
The second conference day opened with presentations by Dr. Gioconda Herrera, FLACSO Ecuador and Dr. Michel Poulain, Catholic University of Louvain, on Latin American Migration to Europe. While various European countries have significant Latin American communities, Spain’s main immigrant community is mostly composed of Latin American settlers. The two experts discussed Latin American migration to Europe from the perspectives of the settlers themselves and the receiving European countries.
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