5th International Conference “Migration, Displacement, and Urban Development”

On September 26–27, 2019, the 5th International Conference “Migration, Displacement, and Urban Development” was held in Moscow. The event was organized by Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), Centre for Political Theory and Applied Political Sciences, RANEPA, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Over the years the conference has earned a reputation as one of the most reputable forums on migration and migration policy in Russia, traditionally gathering representatives of the Russian and foreign academic community, international and non-governmental organizations, think tanks, and government bodies.

On September 26–27, 2019, the 5th International Conference “Migration, Displacement, and Urban Development” was held in Moscow. The event was organized by Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), Centre for Political Theory and Applied Political Sciences, RANEPA, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Over the years the conference has earned a reputation as one of the most reputable forums on migration and migration policy in Russia, traditionally gathering representatives of the Russian and foreign academic community, international and non-governmental organizations, think tanks, and government bodies.

Opening speeches were made by Ivan Timofeev, RIAC Director of Programs; Ikhtiyar Aslanov, Head of the Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Russian Federation, Belarus, and Moldova (ICRC); Sergey Zuev, Director of the Institute for Social Sciences, RANEPA; Vladimir Malakhov, Director of the Centre for Political Theory and Applied Political Sciences, RANEPA; Anne-Elizabeth Ravetto, Deputy Representative of the UNHCR in the Russian Federation; and Abdusattor Esoev, IOM Moscow Chief of Mission. The event was also attended by representatives of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), Vienna University, Osnabrück University, Tomsk State University, Adam Mickiewicz University (Poznan), Free University Amsterdam, Irkutsk State University, European University at St. Petersburg.

The key topic of the Conference this year was the presence of migrants and displaced people in urban space and the impact they have on the life and development of the cities. Global mobility of the population entails not only a sharp increase in the cultural, social and ethnic diversity of the host societies, but also a change in the structure of local communities, primarily, cities. Participants discussed the main migration mega-trends, their implications for global cities, and their contribution to urban development, the problems of physical and imaginary migrant communities, the development of ethnic entrepreneurship, the problems of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the urban environment, as well as the intergenerational integration of migrants in a big city.