The Migrant Sex Workers  Legal Training project is hosting a legal training workshop webinar.

The training will offer practical information and skills for service providers working across all sectors who want to build their capacity to offer relevant and adequate support and services to migrant sex workers who have or may experience violence, discrimination or other forms of abuse. The training will build on the Guide for service providers and Full series of legal information developed for the 2017 project Upholding and promoting human rights, justice and access for migrant sex workers: resources for service providers. 
​ 
Date:  January, 31, 2020 
Time : 12:00-1:15 pm 
Registration is now open.

An article in the Columbia Spectator highlights the need for unions for international student workers. The article discusses how few safeguards exist to ensure international student workers are not forced to work without rest or fired for no reason, given that they can be deported without appeal. 

"Without a strong union, international students will only receive gestures of goodwill with little guarantee of material commitments to needed protections. In response to a xenophobic state and vacillating universities, we have no choice but to organize." 

The Commission of the Pan American Health Organization on Equity and Health Inequalities in the Americas has released a new report, "Just Societies: Health Equity and Dignified Lives."

The report presents evidence to convey that majority of ill health is socially determined. They discuss how socioeconomic position, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability status, being a migrant—alone or in combination—can result in marked inequalities in health on life. Furthermore, the analysis shows how structural factors, such as climate change, environmental threats, and one’s relationship with the land, as well as the continuing impact of colonialism and racism, are slowing advancement towards a dignified life and reaping the highest possible standards of health. 

"The report provides examples of successful policies, programs, and actions implemented in countries and presents 12 recommendations to achieve health equity, calling for coordinated actions among local and national governments, transnational organizations, and civil society to jointly address the social determinants of health."

A community event on Migrant Collective Action is taking place on November 2 at the University of Toronto Multifaith Centre from 2-5:30 pm.

The forum will present findings from the "Promoting Migrant Collective Action," a participatory action research study supported by the Building Migrant Resilience in Cities Partnership. There will also be the opportunity to hear directly from migrant leaders working with South Asian Women’s Rights Organization and the Tibetan community in Parkdale to learn how they come together to address key concerns in their community through collective action. 

An article in the University of Toronto magazine discusses the strengths of Canada's private refugee scholarship program and provides suggestions for how it can be improved.

According to UofT Professor Audrey Macklin, research shows that privately sponsored refugees perform better in their new home compared to those who come via the government program. This is usually due to privately sponsored refugees arriving to a network of advocates who provide material support and also advice, contacts and instant social relationships. However, there is very little known about the sponsors themselves.

When Macklin and her research team evaluated the results of a survey completed by 530 sponsors, they determined that several recognized the power imbalances that are engraved into the structure of the private sponsorship program.

"In discussions of how the private sponsorship program could be improved, suggestions proposed included more formal training for individuals and groups sponsoring refugees and required background checks for participants, as well as changes to the tax laws that would allow people to treat contributions to a private sponsorship effort as charitable donations." 

An article in the Washington Post highlights the climate emergency occurring in Siberia. According to Scientists, the planet's warming must not exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius — however, Siberia's temperatures have increased exponentially.

In a region in Siberia called Yakutia, the temperature has increased by more than 3 degrees Celsius, which is nearly triple the global average. Siberians are now being driven to migrate due to extreme warming. 

"This migration from the countryside to cities and towns represents one of the most significant and little-noticed movements to date of climate refugees."

A special issue, "The Health and Wellbeing of Migrant Populations”, in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is now accepting manuscripts till December 31, 2019. Papers with original data are prioritized. This special issue belongs to the section "Global Health".

The Mahindra Humanities Center at Harvard University invites applications for one-year postdoctoral fellowships in connection with the Center’s Andrew W. Mellon Foundation seminar on the topic of migration and the humanities. 

The deadline for applications is November 15, 2019.

The African LGBTQI+ Migration Research Network is pleased to announce its first call for submissions (edited collection): LGBTIQ+ migration on, from and to the African continent.

"This edited collection seeks to contribute to this urgent scholarly conversation by bringing together diverse inputs on topics related to LGBTIQ+ migration on, from and to the African continent. We have a particular interest in what happens when borders, sexualities, genders, identities, languages and mobilities come up against the histories, trajectories, futures and imaginaries of what Mbembe (2007) calls the ‘geographical accident’ that is Africa."

Expressions of interest – short abstract (200-250 words) and a biography (150 words) are due by September 13, 2019. Please send all abstracts and enquiries to almresearchnet@gmail.com, addressed to either B Camminga or John Marnell (African Centre for Migration and Society, University of the Witwatersrand).