The MIGRADEMO research team has conducted fieldwork in Morocco, Romania, and Turkey, including semi-structured interviews and household surveys. As part of our dissemination activities, we have organised a series of country-level workshops in Ifrane, Bucharest, and Istanbul with local actors, survey companies, and academics supporting our research on the field in order to thank them and provide them with an update on the progress of our study. These events aim to communicate some preliminary findings to the local audience and gather valuable feedback and input from them.
Our first workshop, focused on the Moroccan case study, was hosted by Al Akhawayn University (Ifrane) on April 24. The event, held as part of the local Spring Fair, was divided into two days, giving the opportunity to local academics and students to provide feedback and engage in insightful conversations with our team.
On the first day, Dr Eva Østergaard-Nielsen (PI) and Ahmed Kadiri presented an overview of our findings. They explained how migration influenced the political attitudes and behaviours of members of Parliament and civil society representatives and discussed the results of the qualitative interviews and household surveys conducted in Béni Mellal-Khénifra. They also presented the key points of getting access to the field through different kinds of permits in which the support from the Al Akhawayn University was invaluable. The presentation was followed by an interesting discussion with comments and feedback from the audience.
The following day, Ahmed Kadiri, PhD candidate at the UAB, gave a speech on his upcoming article on embedded political activism from academic returnees in the context of Morocco. The lecture garnered substantial interest among the students and the other participants involved, giving way to an engaging Q&A session.
These sessions gave rise to interesting conversations between the MIGRADEMO team and the participants. The main topics discussed included the noteworthy findings from the household survey, which shed light on the disparities in political attitudes between households with and without migration ties. Moreover, the event delved into the challenges associated with conducting research on complex issues in Morocco.
Eager to follow up on such fruitful conversations in the future, we would like to express our gratitude to all those who joined the event and shared their perspectives and ideas with us. Your contributions enriched the debate and provided valuable insights to help us digest the preliminary findings of our research. We also thank Al Akhawayn University and Dr Frances D. Loustau-Williams for making this event possible.