By Jenny Phillimore While migrants seeking to escape conflict, persecution, poverty, and environmental disaster have been crossing the Mediterranean by boat to seek sanctuary in Europe for a number of years, in 2015 the scale of arrivals increased beyond all expectations. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported in excess of one million arrivals, with migrants... Continue Reading →
Jenny Phillimore on superdiversity
A great deal of attention has been placed upon the numbers of migrants arriving in Europe with far less concern paid to how those migrants might be supported to integrate into European societies. Researchers at Birmingham have undertaken studies looking at what works in migrant integration and identifying good practice in migrant integration. They have also... Continue Reading →
Birmingham heroes: Migration & displacement
The University of Birmingham is at the forefront of research into migration and displacement. The Birmingham Heroes campaign is celebrating the work being carried out at the Institute for Research into Superdiversity (IRiS), the first institute in the UK and one of the first globally, to focus on migration, displacement and superdiversity. The ongoing ‘refugee... Continue Reading →
The challenge of superdiversity for urban planning
by Simon Pemberton (UPWEB, Keele University) Given my eclectic background as a practising urban planner, research institute director (on social inclusion) and (more lately) human geographer, I have become increasingly interested in the implications of increasing super-diversity for urban planning, as well as the equality of outcomes of planning practices. To this end, I have... Continue Reading →
Migrants and Migration Post Brexit: Finding our voice to influence the new landscape
IRis is delighted to host at the University of Birmingham an event on migration and migrants post Brexit organised by Migrant Voice. The event will take place on October 24th from 09.30am - 3.30pm. Following the surge in hate crimes against migrants after the EU referendum vote and the new developments and challenges facing the UK, this event will go to the... Continue Reading →
Citizenship, rights and deservingness – new issue of the American Behavioral Scientist journal
IRiS Nando Sigona has edited a collection of essays on citizenship, undocumented status and youth with Roberto Gonzales of Harvard University and Edelina M Burciaga of the University of Colorado at Denver. The American Behavioral Scientist issue draws on contributions to a symposium organised at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Fall 2013 and... Continue Reading →
Can the fabric of a diverse society be undone?
By Nando Sigona @nandosigona If you woke up this morning in a British city, you can see this happening right in front to your eyes. From the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham – one of the most diverse cities in the UK - the Tories are feeding the press with anti-immigration soundbites relentlessly, competing among... Continue Reading →
Barack Obama says the refugee crisis is a ‘test of our humanity’ – is Britain failing it? Asks Nando Sigona
Nando Sigona, University of Birmingham In a compassionate and compelling speech, Barack Obama called the response to the global refugee crisis “a test of our humanity” and invited world leaders attending the Leaders' Summit on Refugees on September 20 to do more to assist those fleeing war and persecution. The British prime minister, Theresa May,... Continue Reading →

