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Seminar Focuses on Migration

The Embassy of the Czech Republic (as a member of EUNIC), participated in the seminar On the Road - Migration in the 21st Century at George Washington (GW) University's Elliott School of International Affairs on October 14, 2022. 

The seminar featured two panels, one focused on the Ukraine refugee crisis and the other panel centered on migration in the Americas. GW's Assistant Professor Michelle Kelso and Czech Cultural Counselor / current EUNIC President Lukáš Přibyl opened the seminar.

Panel one included: Melinda Haring (Deputy Director, Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center), Oksana Nechyporenko (Director, GoGlobal/Go-Camp NGO),and Veronika Kuchyňová Šmigolová (Director of the Department for the Americas, Junior Deputy Minister at the Czech MFA). Gregory Feifer (Executive Director of the Institute of Current World Affairs) moderated the panel.

During panel I, Veronika Šmigolová said, “The immediate priority is to help Ukraine win the war.” She mentioned that there are approximately 450,000 Ukrainian refugees in the Czech Republic.

Oksana Nechyporenko stressed the importance in keeping interest in the Ukraine via all channels possible, including social media, talking with different communities. She said, “Ukrainians do not want to be called refugees, but rather ‘temporary displaced people’ because they would like to return home.”

Melinda Haring gave concrete examples of how society can help Ukraine including voting, volunteering to work with refugees currently in the US to navigate them though such things as the American School system, donating thermal underwear / warm socks / mittens / generators / electric blankets. For more information about her recommendations, please visit: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/.../six-things-you-yes.../

Panel two featured: Aaron Mitchell (Director of the Latin American Caribbean Division , U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of International Affairs), Rachel Schmidtke (Senior Advocate for Latin America at Refugee International), Andrew Selee (President of the Migration Policy Institute). Silvia Dangond-Gibsone (Cultural Attaché of the Embassy of Columbia) moderated the panel.

About the Project: ON THE ROAD - Migration in the 21st Century

The seminar was part of the project On the Road - Migration in the 21st Century. A component of this project was a concert performance of "On the Road to Arivaca" which took place on October 13, 2022 in the Hammer Auditorium of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at George Washington University.

The project On the Road – Migration in the 21st Century provides an open space to examine the issues surrounding migration in Europe and Latin America and bring the communities together at the table to address the needs of the people. Overall, the project strives to contribute to the shared values of democracy, the defense of human rights, freedom of expression, thought and creativity, diversity and cultural dialogue in order to respond to the global challenges in order to achieve more stable, cohesive and inclusive societies in Europe and Latin America in diverse global settings.

The project, led by the Embassy of the Czech Republic, Embassy of Portugal, Washington D.C., and the Embassy of Spain in the United States, was presented by the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) in Washington, DC, the Ibero-American Cultural Attachés Association (AACIA), and the Alliance for New Music-Theatre. The project was funded by the EULAT 4 Culture Program under the presidency of Spain.  The George Washington University Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies and the Latin American and Hemispheric Studies Program (LAHSP) at the Elliott School of International Affairs, and the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at the George Washington University collaborated on the project.

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Migration Seminar