International Conference
Migration, Diaspora and Development
Nanjing (China), 13-15 October 2019
Call for Papers
Rationale
Global migration has shifted from being dominated by permanent migration and settlement towards temporary, multidirectional or even circular movements of people. As many as 258 million or 3.4% of the world's people live outside their country of birth; nearly half of whom were born in Asia. The people who make up this outward movement-commonly referred to as constituting diasporas-play an important role in the development of their countries of origin, even though they are not typically included in national population census or other data collections. Over recent years demography (and population studies) has made important contributions to our understanding of diasporas and their contribution to development, particularly by tracing spatial patterns and migration pathways. As yet, however, little has been done to: (1) develop concepts and measures of national populations that explicitly accommodate diasporas; (2) move beyond a concern with diasporas' contribution to the economic development of origin and destination countries to consider their non-economic contributions; and (3) investigate the causal mechanisms and processes linking diasporas with development outcomes. In this respect, demography (and population studies) has not evolved in a way that aligns with transnationalism, currently the most influential perspective on migration and development issues. This, in turn, has constrained efforts to promote diaspora (and migration) policy: while more than half of the world's nations have a formal diaspora policy, China, Australia and many other countries in the Asia-Pacific do not.
The conference is jointly organised by the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences at NanjingUniversity (China) and the Department of Geography, Environment and Population, School of Social Sciences, at the University of Adelaide (Australia). This conference, as part of the research project Transnationalism and diaspora: Enhancing demography's contribution to migration and development, funded by the Australian Research Council under its Discovery program, aims to bring demographers, sociologists, economists, political scientists, and other social scientists together with policymakers and practitioners, as these two spheres–research and policy–usually remain separated from each other. Moreover, the conference aims to: (1) advance demographic understandings of population, migration and the implications of migration for development; (2) increase knowledge of the scale, characteristics and significance of diasporas in the Asia-Pacific; and (3) assess policies concerning diaspora and explore new directions.
Key highlights of the conference:
A major gathering of scholars, policymakers and civil society on issues of international migration, transnational linkages, diaspora engagement, and development.
Connecting researchers that work in the field of migration and development studies.
Numerous interactions with policymakers, practitioners and key diasporic organisations active in the domain of migration and development.
Opportunity to have your paper published in a journal's special issue for the best papers.
Opportunity to participate in discussions of a range of themes, including:
o Rethinking the migration–development nexus
o Data and methods: Defining and measuring diaspora populations
o Identifying transnational linkages and mapping migration pathways
o Migration and diaspora policies: Whose development?
o Empirical studies in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond
o One Belt One Road: Exploring the role of diasporas
o Moving forward: Enhancing demography's contribution to migration and development research.
How to submit
Please submit your full paper or abstract to A/Prof. Wei Guo (weiguo@nju.edu.cn) or Dr Xuchun Liu (xuchun.liu@adelaide.edu.au). The abstract should be no more than 300 words and accompanied by a short biographical notice (100 words). Submissions from early-stage scholars are particularly encouraged.
The deadline for submission is 1st September 2019. Successful submissions will be notified by 8th September2019.
Conference fees
Fees for the conference, including registration, receptions, all sessions, lunches, gala dinners will be waived for all participants. Participants need to be responsible for their travel and accommodation expenses. Conference organisers will help make reservations.
Conference languages
The conference will be held in English and Chinese. No simultaneous interpretation from and into English or other languages will be provided. Preferably please prepare your paper and presentation in English.
Contact
You can email weiguo@nju.edu.cn (Conference Coordinator, A/Prof. Wei Guo at Nanjing University) for more information.
Organising committee
Prof. Youhua Chen (School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Nanjing University)
A/Prof. Yan Tan (Department of Geography, Environment and Population, The University of Adelaide)
A/Prof. Wei Guo (School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Nanjing University)
Keynote Addresses:
Prof Andrew Rosser (Asia Institute, The University of Melbourne)
Prof Jie Zhang (People's Public Security University of China)
Prof Guy Abel (Asian Demographic Research Institute, Shanghai University; World Population Program, International Institute for Applied System Analysis)
