Internationalisation of Higher Education in Europe: Prospects and Challenges of Forced Migration Assist.Prof.Dr. Ayselin YILDIZ Yaşar University (Izmir/Turkey) June 9, 2016 EAIE, Amsterdam
To iden(fy refugees, asylum-seekers and irregular migrants? Geneva Conven(on (1951) Defini(ons macer due to the acached rights to the status Defini(ons macer due to percep(on building and integra(on policies at HEIs Should we limit our ini(a(ves due to legal framework?
Refugee: (who) owing to (a) well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country Asylum Seeker: Asylum seeker describes someone who has applied for protection as a refugee and is awaiting the determination of his or her status
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs): people who have not crossed an international border but have moved to a different region than the one they call home within their own country. Stateless persons: people who do not have a recognized nationality and do not belong to any country.
Rights of Refugees Right to seek and enjoy asylum in other countries (Universal Declara(on of Human Rights, Art.14) Non-refoulement: States not to return, a refugee to the fron(ers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, na(onality, membership of a par(cular social group or poli(cal opinion 1951 Conven(on, Art 33 Freedom of movement within host country: refugees the right to choose their place of residence within the territory and to move freely within the State.
Rights of Refugees Right to family life, rights to educa(on, access to jus(ce, employment, property rights, free exercise of religion and religious educa(on, access to public relief and assistance, equal treatment by taxing authori(es The most favorable treatment possible, which must be at least as favorable to that provided to na9onals of a foreign country in the same circumstances: The right to prac(ce a profession The right to self-employment Access to housing Access to higher educa(on
Enrolment of Interna(onal Students Recruitment of Interna(onal Staff Ins(tu(onal procedures Na(onal Law INTERNATIONAL LAW
European Context on Asylum and Refugee Policies Efforts since 1999 but s(ll lack of a Common European Asylum System
Challenges for the EU v Asylum flows are not constant and they are not evenly distributed across the EU v Not all the member states offer interna(onal protec(on with the status of refugee v Not all MS are willing to accept reseclement of refugees in their countries v Lack of a func(oning interna(onal system
First instance decisions on applications by types of decisions DE FR SE UK BE CH BG DK IT NO NL EL FI ES RO PL HU MT IE LU CZ CY SI EE PT HR LT LV SK 0 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000 70000 80000 90000 100000 Source: Eurostat, 2015 Refugee Humanitarian Status Subsidiary Protec(on Rejected
Understanding the crisis 59.5 million forcibly displaced people worldwide 19.5 million refugees 32 million IDPs 1.8 million refugees 10 million stateless 4.8 million registered Syrian refugees 7 million internally displaced Syrians Source: UNHCR 2016
WHO ARE ON THE ROUTE? First-time applications in 2015 (in thousands)
Understanding the crisis Syrians in Turkey No-schooling: 50 % Number of university graduate: 40.000 Syrians in Germany
3,000,000 2,749,862 2,500,000 Registered Syrians 2,000,000 1,500,000 1,000,000 500,000 0 1,048,275 642,868 246,123 119,665 Turkey Lebanon Jordon Iraq Egypt Source: UNHCR, May 2016 Limiting our group? Syrians, what about the rest?
How to respond to refugee flows? (States) Durable Solu(ons Voluntary Return Local Integra(on ReseClement in a third country
ReseClement rates (Uneven share of responsibility) 2000 1865 1850 1800 1600 1400 1200 1105 1000 800 600 760 620 610 510 450 450 400 200 275 175 95 45 40 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Source: Eurostat, 2015
Role of Higher Educa(on Ins(tu(ons v Responsibility to protect: Ter(ary educa(on lacks in interna(onal organiza(ons strategies v Responsibility to build policy and percep(on v Responsibility to prevent conflicts, encourage peace-building
Challenges Ins(tu(onal capaci(es Language Recogni(on of diplomas, qualifica(ons Lack of documenta(on Independence from na(onal policies? (Prac((oners level and policy-makers level) Framing posi(ve discrimina(on
Policy Responses of HEIs in Europe Situa(on in Turkey: Not only transit but also secled refugees Remarkable generosity and humanity Temporary protec(on status for Syrians Access to educa(on, no fees Entrance to the system: Locals and Syrians, challenges Syrian academics?
Policy Responses of HEIs in Europe Situa(on in Germany Asset for Germany DAAD responses (sustainable support structures) (INTEGRA, WELCOME) Projects of Bri(sh Council in the UK Arabic MOOK (massive open online courses provider
Good Prac(ce University of Bremen HERE IN-TOUCH
Good Prac(ce Norwegian Approach European Qualifica(on Passport for Refugees (A mul(-na(onal ac(on) Recogni(on of Qualifica(ons Documenta(on ENIC-NARIC Guidelines for the recognition of refugees qualification
Policy Sugges(ons New funding opportuni(es, specific calls by the European Commission EU Trust Fund, Madad Fund Strengthening ins(tu(onal capaci(es Recogni(on mechanisms Share of experience, dissemina(on of best prac(ces Crea(ve Europe To develop a European approach
Number of EU funded projects
Policy Sugges(ons Return or secle? Long-term perspec(ves Invest to human resource, refugee academics Database Scholar Rescue Fund Scholarships for refugees (ad hoc and piecemeal efforts) Consor(um of universi(es Online plaqorms and networks Tui(on-free is not enough, hidden costs!
Policy Sugges(ons Benchmark strategies: UC Davis with Ins(tute of Interna(onal Educa(on (US) Ins(tute of Interna(onal Educa(on s Scholar Rescue Fund (US) WUSC (Canada) SPARK, UAF (NL) Kiron University (Germany) Norwegian Refugee Council Council for at Risk Academics (CARA)
Policy Sugges(ons Inclusive, comprehensive, effec(ve approach leading to results A European approach developed by prac((oners experiences at na(onal and ins(tu(onal level Rather than to be pushed by the policy-makers, push the policy-makers Focus beyond recruitment
Thank you for being here for solidarity ayselin.yildiz@yasar.edu.tr