Kennan Institute Invites Proposals for Conference on "Immigration, Forced Migrants, and Refugees in Central Eurasia."

The Kennan Institute is pleased to announce a new series of research workshops on "Immigration, Forced Migrants, and Refugees in Central Eurasia." According to the United Nations, there are currently 185 million people living in countries other than their birth, up from 80 million people three decades ago. This global phenomenon is of special importance in Central Eurasia, where the collapse of the Soviet state, together with conditions of ethnic conflict, political ambiguity, new-found freedom of movement, and economic chaos, have created waves of migration which have come to shape economic, political, social, and security issues in the region. The Kennan Institute now proposes to convene practitioners, policymakers, and scholars who study the many issues surrounding new migration trends in the region. The workshop series will bring together up to fifteen individuals from various disciplines with recent field experience.

The Kennan Institute's Workshop Series is designed to serve as a forum at which scholars from various disciplines can discuss the different aspects of migration, share research findings, and suggest policy recommendations. Participants in the series would explore the ways in which policymakers and practitioners can utilize the specialized knowledge of academics in the discipline and scholars can recognize how policy affects their field. The workshop series will be directed by Cynthia Buckley (University of Texas, Austin). The series will consist of two meetings, targeting specialists with recent field experience. The first meeting will be held on 28-29 March 2004. The second meeting is scheduled for Fall 2004. Further research on common themes is expected to form the basis for a collection of papers and series of policy briefs.

Selection for the workshop series will be based on an open national competition. Participation in the workshop series is open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents at the post-doctoral level (pre-tenure) and Ph.D. candidates who have completed field research for their dissertations. The workshop series is interdisciplinary. Any area of social science or humanities research that focuses on issues of migration—contemporary or historical—is welcome. Per diem costs and travel support for the workshops will be provided by the Kennan Institute.

Those interested should submit an abstract (less than 1000 words) of their current research, a current CV, and two letters of recommendation to: Migration Workshop, The Kennan Institute/Woodrow Wilson Center, One Woodrow Wilson Plaza, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20004-3027. Abstracts and resumes may be sent by email to: kennan@wwic.si.edu; recommendation letters must be sent by mail. All application materials must be in English and must be received by 1 December 2003.

The "Immigration, Forced Migrants, and Refugees in Central Eurasia" Workshop Series is supported by the Program for Research and Training on Eastern Europe and the Independent States of the Former Soviet Union (Title VIII) and the George F. Kennan Fund.

For further information, please contact Erin Trouth at (202) 691-4132 or visit www.wilsoncenter.org/kennan.