Refugee focus for symposium

More than 60 academics from across Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America will gather in Toowoomba next month (July) to discuss migrant social inclusion and security.

The Migrant Security: Citizenship and Social Inclusion in a Transnational Era Symposium will be held at USQ on July 15 and 16.

'The key themes of the symposium involve how to foster social inclusion and civic engagement at a time of rapid social change, as refugees and migrants seek to develop a sense of local belonging whilst maintaining international connections through new media, like the Internet,' USQ academic, Dr Robert Mason, said.

“Directors from eight of the key research centres in refugee development and policy issues will attend the symposium, including professors from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Flinders University, La Trobe University, RMIT University and Deakin University.

'We have delegates attending from Go8 universities including Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Queensland, and UNSW, as well as from international bases like Auckland Universities and a number of American universities.'

Hosted by USQ’s Public Memory Research Centre, the symposium is part of a research stream within the Centre that is dedicated to investigating social inclusion in regional Australian communities.

'The Centre integrates academic research with local connections in order to drive outcomes that are of applied benefit to local communities,' Dr Mason said.

'The research stream is a new area of focus for the Centre, which is conducting a series of ongoing meetings with non-government organisations and local communities eager to develop greater relations with USQ.

'The symposium presents a significant opportunity for USQ staff to develop research collaborations, and to formalise what is a shared area of research for many colleagues.'

More information is available on the USQ website: www.usq.edu.au/migrantsecurity