The phenomenon of migration has been recognised as one of the key factors shaping the modern world, having a significant impact on the political, economic and cultural spheres. In response to the growing importance of this phenomenon, especially in the context of Polish realities, the Centre for Sustainable Development at the University of Gdansk has initiated the Migration Observatory. It is a programme dedicated to the comprehensive analysis of migration processes. “The Observatory is intended to initiate interdisciplinary research in the field of migration,” said Rafał Raczyński, PhD, coordinator of the team, during the programme’s inauguration ceremony on 25 October 2024 at the UG Library. – “We want to include experts from our university who represent various scientific disciplines and have been conducting research on various aspects of migration for years,” announced Sylwia Mrozowska, PhD, DSc, Professor UG, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Development.
Fot. Alan Stocki
The event was attended by representatives of institutions of the socio-economic environment and migration researchers. The main event at the Library was the signing of a letter of intent between the University of Gdansk and the Pomeranian Voivodeship on cooperation for the regional system of intercultural integration of people with migration experience. The document was signed by the Rector of the University of Gdansk, Prof. Piotr Stepnowski, and the Marshal of the Pomorskie Voivodeship, Mieczysław Struk.
“Together with the Marshal, we will sign a letter of intent, which clearly defines the principles of our cooperation, concerning how to make use of the Observatory’s potential, both analytical and advisory in terms of forecasting policies, but also in terms of the ongoing solution of problems related to migration in our region,” announced the Rector.
As he emphasised, the Observatory is further proof that the University of Gdansk is going beyond its classical educational or research activities, as it wants to be a region-forming and socially responsible institution.
“126,000 people in the Pomorskie Voivodeship have been granted UKR status (official certificate of entitlement to stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland and accompanying rights – ed.),” noted Marshal Mieczysław Struk. “We estimate that in the Pomeranian Voivodeship in primary and secondary schools there are about 30 thousand pupils from Ukraine. We need a migration policy and clear statements on what we are aiming at and how we can integrate not only Ukrainians, but also other national minorities.”
The scope of activities of the Migration Observatory will include, among other things, monitoring and analysis of migration data, conducting research, but also advice and consultation, including support for public institutions, NGOs and companies in developing and implementing migration policies. In addition, it will organise training courses and seminars for students, civil servants and NGO staff.
“This is an institution that has been sorely lacking on the map of our voivodeship, which I hope will help us create public and local policies using reliable local data,” said Deputy Mayor of the City of Gdańsk Monika Chabior. “Of course, we have our experiences and analyses, but a deeper insight and development of our experiences and reflections in an objectivised way has not been available to us so far. Concentrating the energies of female scientists, but also hopefully female students, in this way will allow us to explore the migration issues we deal with on a daily basis, but also to include new stakeholders.”
As Sylwia Mrozowska, PhD, DSc, Prof. UG, Director of the UG Centre for Sustainable Development, emphasised, the strength of the Migration Observatory is first and foremost the team:
“Questions regarding the creation of this type of unit were directed to the Centre from various quarters and institutions. For many institutions, our team is already a natural addressee to turn to on migration issues, among others. I am very pleased that Rafał Raczyński has agreed to coordinate the activities of the Migration Observatory, for which I thank him warmly. Elżbieta Czapka and Kamila Kowalska are also in the team. We also want to cooperate extensively with all our experts and researchers. We believe that they will become involved in the development of expert opinions, analyses and the realisation of research services in the field of migration on behalf of external institutions,” said Sylwia Mrozowska.
Rafał Raczyński, a political scientist, assistant professor at the Department of International Relations of the UG Institute of Political Science, chief researcher at the Emigration Museum in Gdynia, member of the Migration Research Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences, talked about the origins and plans for the coming months:
“We have a distinguished group of researchers at the University who have been dealing with the topic of migration for years. We want to create a platform of cooperation for them, to establish an interdisciplinary base of experts who study migration,” said Rafał Raczyński.
The political scientist drew attention to the scale and intensity of the phenomenon. As he said, Poland is on the threshold of a thorough overhaul of its migration policy. Multi-level migration management is needed.
“We are living in the age of migration,” continued the Observatory coordinator. “Today, the mobility of people is much greater than at any time in history. Migration processes are an important social, economic and political phenomenon. Poland is a country that has undergone a rapid transformation from an emigration country to an emigration-immigration country. For some time now, not only have we been sending emigrants out into the world, but immigrants have also been coming to us. Today there are an estimated 2.5 million foreigners in Poland. We should already break with the paradigm of seeing our society as homogeneous. One could say that we are going back to our basics. Looking at Poland in historical terms, we have almost always been a multicultural country.“
More information about the Migration Observatory on the website of the Centre for Sustainable Development of the University of Gdansk (CZRUG) Migration Observatory – The Centre for Sustainable Development of the University of Gdańsk (CZRUG)