Reception offered by the City of Rotterdam (Town Hall)

Stephen Castles (chair)
Refugees Studies Center, UK
Ruud Lubbers (video)
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Switzerland
Kathleen Newland
Migration Policy Institute, USA

The world's asylum system is under severe pressure. Not only are the numbers of people in need of protection high, but the system is also being used as a means of gaining entry to countries - where other means of entry have been severely restricted. Against this background, widely contrasting views can be found about the efficacy of the major international instrument governing the treatment of refugees, the 1951 Geneva Convention. Nearly everyone agrees that there is a discrepancy between the original goal and function of asylum and current practice. Vast resources and scarce goodwill are being diverted to judicial processing, resources that could be spent to better advantage of helping and protecting those whom they are in theory intended to serve. Even worse, the legal processes may themselves be spawning an illegal industry of traffickers while endangering genuine refugees. This session will take stock of the world's asylum regime, asking whether the patient can be nursed back to health.

Joanne van Selm (chair)
Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies, The Netherlands, Migration Policy Institute, USA
Kees Groenendijk
Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Gerry van Kessel [ Presentation Paper ]
Intergovernmental Consultations on Asylum, Refugees and Migration in Europe, North America and Australia, Switzerland

Simon Russell
Refugee Policy Officer, International Council of Voluntary Agencies, Switzerland

Demetrios Papademetriou (chair)
Migration Policy Institute, USA
Bimal Ghosh
New International Regime for the Orderly Movement of People, Switzerland

Often those who migrate from the developing to the developed world are those with
the most skills to offer. Migration rewards these individuals, allowing them to
increase their earnings, but it lowers the return, and thus dampens the incentive
for their home countries to invest in human capital.

This session will explore whether the practice by developed countries of accepting, and indeed actively recruiting, skilled migrants, harms the economies of the developing countries. It will also consider the extent to which remittances and increases in the flow of goods and services compensate for this loss of skills. The panel will involve itself in the question of whether the developed world bears a moral obligation for compensating the developing world through capital transfers, through investment in social infrastructure or even the acceptance of larger numbers of `surplus' unskilled workers? Those and other remedies to address the disparities that are sometimes accentuated by migration will be scrutinized.

Andreas Wimmer (chair)
Zentrum für Entwicklungsforschung, Germany
Aderanti Adepoju [ Presentation Paper ]
Human Resources Development Centre, Nigeria
Oded Stark
Professor of Economics, University of Oslo (Norway), University of Bonn (Germany)

Assigning priority to the social integration of immigrants is a difficult enough political task for governments in many countries. However, having adopted a policy of integration, actually producing socially cohesive societies and cities is a still more difficult, long-term challenge. The mechanisms for social integration are many, ranging from national governments to local governments, to organizations such as schools, labour unions, churches, sports clubs, and non-governmental organizations, and, finally, immigrants, members of minority groups, and individual members of the receiving society. To what extent should these institutional players adapt themselves to accommodate increasing diversity? How should the native majority prepare for such changes?
The relative efficacy of governments in achieving cohesive cities will form much of the discussion in this panel. How important is the role of government as compared with the actions of the immigrants themselves and the organizations that they belong to, work in, learn in, worship in, meet in, and play in? To what extent is participation in the political process important in developing a sense of membership in a society? How do we best strike a balance between 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' initiatives, to take advantage of the capacities of immigrants, governments, and other organizations for developing social cohesion?

Pauline Geoghegan (chair)
Quartiers en Crise, Belgium
Jorge Gaspar
University of Lisbon, Portugal
Marco Martiniello
Université de Liège, Belgium
Hedy d'Ancona
European Parliament, The Netherlands

Rinus Penninx (chair)
Co-chair International Metropolis Project, The Netherlands
Rainer Münz [ Prsentation Paper ]
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany

During the Fifth International Metropolis Conference in Vancouver, Professor Bhiku Parekh referred to building social cohesion explicitly upon a foundation of diversity rather than upon a foundation of similarity with the host population, which places the onus on those who are different to fit in. This perspective is a fruitful point of departure for contemporary discussions of policy related to social cohesion and social trust. It forces us to pay attention to the obligations of those in the receiving society to create an environment in which all can flourish. Increasingly modern liberal societies are beginning to celebrate their diverse populations, reaping the benefits of a richer and more dynamic life for all. However, not all types of diversity fit easily into public life. This is as true of homegrown diversity as it is of diversity brought by migration. There are two dimensions of difference which can lead to difficulties: first, extreme forms of inequality resulting from social exclusion and racism; second, certain lifestyles and forms of behaviour resulting from widely differing value systems. Often these are linked, as social exclusion can lead to cultural reactions of separatism and fundamentalism. Where social difference and ethnicity are tied, serious social divisions and conflicts often follow. This session will examine how liberal societies manage cultural and social difference and the linkage between them.

Ineke Ketelaar (chair)
Association of Netherlands Municipalities, The Netherlands
Nicholas Fraser
British Broadcasting Corporation, UK

Marina Solodkin
former Deputy Minister Immigrant Absorption, Israel
Rainer Bauböck [ Presentation Paper ]
Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria

Those who smuggle migrants and traffic in human beings, particularly women, are known to extract payment through indentured labour. This constitutes a fundamental violation of human rights. Social and working conditions that approximate indentured servitude are serious hindrances to the sort of integration that is desired for newcomers to free and democratic societies. But persistent poverty, the lure of economic well-being in the developed world, and restrictive immigration policies will ensure continued demand for entry through the services of smugglers and traffickers. And the limited access to employment and social services that is often accorded to irregular migrants re-inforces their vulnerability and dependency on the smugglers. This situation will resist easy solutions. This session will explore the potential of two types of policy responses by receiving countries:
- international conventions and co-ordinated national policies to combat migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings;
- government actions directed at domestic industries and employers who knowingly or not benefit from vulnerable, undocumented migrants.

Howard Duncan (chair)
Head International Metropolis Secretariat, Canada
Francesco Carchedi
Associazione Parsec, Italy
James Puleo
Department of State, USA
Irena Omelaniuk [ Presentation Paper ]
International Organisation for Migration, Switzerland

Reception at the Peace Palace, The Hague, offered by the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Jozias van Aartsen
Minister of Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands

Bus trip continued to the Nieuwe Maas River
Harbour cruise and dinner
Music by De Gehoorgangsters, conducted by Jos Valster

Ned Ellis (chair)
Vice President of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Canada
Rasheed Araeen
Artist, Curator, Writer and Editor of Third Text and Kala Press

There is little question that cities are enriched by the cultural contributions of newcomers. What is less appreciated is that the work of native borne artists, musicians, writers and filmmakers also changes in response to migration. Some of the most notable effects of cultural transformation can be seen in food, art, music, literature, and film where native borne creators are being challenged by the ideas and works of newcomers and where the resulting tensions are producing surprising outcomes. The two-way nature of integration makes for new hybrid cultural practices and products. How do such experiences of eating the food, watching the films, and listening to the music of different cultures affect attitudes towards immigrants and diversity? To what extent do these experiences prepare citizens for increasingly diverse societies? How is ethnic, racial, and religious diversity reflected in a city's physical appearance, architecture and use of public space, and what effect does this have on public attitudes towards minorities, the identities of its residents, and the overall character of the city? This session will explore these modern phenomena and their importance for municipal, cultural policies. How can programmes supportive of the arts and culture best respond and capitalize on diversity in the city?

Herman Meijer (chair)
Alderman, City of Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Franco Bianchini
Department Media and Cultural Production, University of Leicester, UK

Naseem Khan
Arts Council of Great Britain, UK
Walther Tjon Pian Gi [ Presentation Paper ]
Multiculturele Televisie Nederland, The Netherlands

By and large, national governments and supra-national institutions establish the laws and policies that determine the number of migrants entering a country, the skills and liabilities they bring, and the duration of their stay. Notwithstanding where these policies are developed, their major impact is experienced at the city level. This is where most newcomers live, work, attend school, create businesses, spend their earnings, and become integrated into their new communities. This session examines the role of cities in the governance of migration and integration. What are the challenges immigration poses to the political, social, economic, residential and cultural dimensions of cities? To what extent have immigrants been successfully integrated in the various domains? What role can local authorities play in affecting attitudes within the city towards diversity? How do municipal interests differ from national interests with respect to immigration and citizenship? What distribution of policy responsibilities works best?

Gilbert Wawoe (moderator)
State Councillor, the Council of the State of the Netherlands
Ivo Opstelten
Mayor, City of Rotterdam, Netherlands
Obed Mlaba
Mayor, City of Durban, South-Africa
Nuria Carrerai Comes
Deputy mayor Barcelona, Spain
Renate Brauner
Stadtratin, City of Vienna, Austria
David Miller
City Councillor, City of Toronto, Canada