On Friday, March 7, 2025, the Center for Sustainable Development held its first organizational meeting with contributors of the Migration Observatory.
The Migration Observatory program of the UG Center for Sustainable Development aims to monitor and analyze migration processes in Poland and around the world. Its task is to provide reliable data, expert opinions, reports and analyses that can serve as a basis for decision-making by public authorities, NGOs and the private sector. The Observatory is coordinated by Rafal Raczynski, PhD, a political scientist, assistant professor at the Department of International Relations at the Institute of Political Science of the University of Gdansk, member of the Committee on Migration Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Pomeranian Council for Regional Migration Policy.
After its inauguration in October 2024, researchers from the University of Gdansk interested in scientific and project cooperation began to apply to the Migration Observatory. Due to the great positive response, Dr. Rafal Raczynski formed a team of Migration Observatory collaborators as part of the program. It included representatives of various scientific disciplines such as sociology, history, political science, geography and marketing. The full list of collaborators can be found on the program’s website.
On March 7, 2025, the team held its first organizational meeting. The scientists were welcomed by Dr. Rafal Raczynski, who talked about the genesis of the Migration Observatory, its current activities and future plans. Monika Adamczuk, CZRUG project manager, presented the strategy of the University of Gdansk and explained how its goals are embedded in the activities of the Center for Sustainable Development, including the Migration Observatory, and how they are parameterized. The meeting was attended by Kamila Kowalska, PhD, Tomasz Lidzbarski, Paweł Nieczuja-Ostrowski, PhD, Joanna Leska-Ślęzak, PhD, Bartosz Mika, PhD, DSc, Prof. UG, Dorota Jaworska, PhD, Maja Grabkowska, PhD, Magdalena Szmytkowska, PhD, Dominika Studzińska, PhD, Przemysław E. Gębal, PhD, DSc, Prof. UG, and Adam Romejko, PhD, DSc, Prof. UG.
The Migration Observatory intends to expand its activities and network by organizing meetings and workshops, including with the participation of practitioners and representatives of government institutions. As announced by Dr. Rafal Raczynski, in the coming months it is also planning to organize an exhibition “Immigrantopolis” – presenting the presence of migrants in urban spaces. The exhibition is expected to contribute to the dissemination of knowledge on contemporary migration movements, which is one of the goals of the Observatory.