JCU and UNICRI Conclude Eighth Edition of Summer School on Migration and Human Rights
The eighth edition of the JCU-UNICRI Summer School on Migration and Human Rights was held at John Cabot University from July 10 to 14, 2023. The week-long intensive summer course, organized by John Cabot University and the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), was attended by 34 participants from diverse backgrounds, including academics, practitioners, graduates, and students.
The course kicked off with a special event on ‘Promised Lands and Migrant Workers’ with welcome remarks from Mary Merva (JCU Vice President of Academics and Professor of Economics) and Alessandra Liquori (Liaison Officer of the UNICRI Rome Office). The opening remarks were followed by a screening of the docu-musical The Harvest, and a panel discussion with Marco Omizzolo (EURISPES Researcher and Professor at Sapienza University of Rome), Andrea Paco Mariani (Director of The Harvest) and Giovanni Abbate (Labor Exploitation Expert and Project Manager at the International Organization for Migration), moderated by JCU Professor Silvia Scarpa.
The Summer School’s modules were delivered by academics, representatives of the United Nations system, and practitioners working for civil society organizations, a perfect mix of theory and practice in the field of migration governance.
Vice President Merva said, “The partnership with UNICRI is solid and long-lasting: more than 10 years ago our institutions joined forces committed to delivering sound education in the field of human rights and that initial commitment continues to guide our present and future work.”
“The success of this edition of the Summer School” said Professor Scarpa, “is particularly evident if we consider that this is the first time after Covid-19 that the course is fully taught in presence. We welcomed to Rome participants from 24 States and 5 continents, including Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America, to discuss the challenges of such a crosscutting issue like migration.”
The first Summer School jointly organized by UNICRI and John Cabot University was held in the summer of 2012, and it covered various human rights issues. Between 2013 and 2015, specific human rights issues were covered in the Summer School, including gender mainstreaming, the environment and human rights, and self-determination, individual and group rights. Since 2016, the Summer school covers the topic of migration and human rights, an issue whose global relevance has become particularly evident after the 2015 refugee crisis in Europe.
