The first week of June is a highlight of Sustainable Development Studies, as countless activities dedicated to the discipline are scattered around Europe, as part of the European Sustainable Development Week. In Italy, events are organised under the umbrella of the 17-days-long Festival dello Sviluppo Sostenibile – Sustainable Development Festival, supervised by ASviS.
On the 1st of June, the European Spring Seminar on Inequalities took place in the prestigious fondazione Trecani in Rome. The conference is organised by the Alumni Association of the Scuola di Politiche. The topic chosen for this first edition dealt with European peripheries, the relation between centre and periphery and the future of European peripheries and the peripheries of Europe.
There, Italian and foreign students studying in Italy had the opportunity to present research outcome touching upon the issue of Inequalities in Europe. I had the honour of being invited as a panellist among three other students from various backgrounds, travelling to Rome for this occasion.
From Sociology to Sustainable Development
As part of the first year Sociology module in the first year of the LL.M, in 2017, students were asked to draft a research paper as part of the module evaluation. If topic selection was left to the student’s appreciation, guidelines indicated that the paper should make a direct reference to concepts taken from the course syllabus.
My paper “An instance of Migration Flux amplified with Population Ageing: The Case of Retirement Migration in the European Union, 1992-2015. Problems, Policies and Outcomes. ” was awarded a 30/30 mark and received positive as well as constructive feedback from the two professors of the module, Prof. Luigi Cominelli and Valeria Verdolini.
The underlying rationale behind this topic selection, was to approach a widely-covered topic, i.e. the intersect between migration and geography; and to look at it from a reverse angle, so as to try and identify similarities and difference. Building on these observations, a short overview of policies in place, applicable laws and legal frameworks, as well as latest developments was provided; and their suitability and efficiency was briefly assessed, based on research evidences in this field.
From a Master term-paper to a student-led Academic conference
In April 2018, a call was issued for contributions to the first edition of the European Spring Seminar on Inequalities; the call was forwarded to all students of the LL.M, offering to adapt students’ papers on topics connected to the years’ theme, to the requirements of the conference.
Following a competitive selection, four panellists were invited to present their contribution to, and views on, the field of inequalities in a European context, on the First of June, in Rome.
On this occasion, the paper I presented, titled “POPULATION AGEING AND PENSIONERS’ MIGRATION: EUROPEAN PERIPHERIES, THE NEW ELDORADO?” offered insights on opportunities and challenges brought by a niche of so-called “Reversed-Migration” phenomenon.
The conference was attended by a varied crowd of Students, guests and enthusiasts alike; it was also recorded and broadcasted live, as well as live-tweeted.
Following this conference, it is expected that selected panelists will be invited to contribute with their papers to a joint-publication as well as publication of individual contributions on the topic of inequalities and centre-to-periphery relations in a European context.
On a personal note, I would like to thank Stella Brioschi, a fellow LL.M Graduate, for forwarding the extending the invitation to contribute to this conference to all LL.M Students. I would also like to thank Prof. Cominelli for the extended feedback and on his guidance throughout the re-writing process. Finally, I would like to thank the dedicated organisers of this conference, and the Alumni Association of the Scuola di Politiche.
