Global Refugee Crisis: Palermo and Florence, Italy

Summer 1, 2023
May 8 – June 6

One of the main ironies of our times is that we are feeling less safe and more fearful in a world that is increasingly securitized. In the aftermath of the break of Syrian civil war, Europe fell into a major “security crisis” owing to the first mass influx of refugees from outside of Europe. Against the backdrop of tightened border control and rise of anti-immigrant regimes in Europe since 2016, this Dialogue demonstrates how cities of refuge take on innovative socio-spatial roles and political agency in rescuing and accommodating refugees. In the context of refugee flow, we will explore the ways in which Palermo as a city of refuge shapes the perception and experience of safety and fear. As these border cities resist to and negotiate with anti-immigration policies and securitization in Europe, they carve out safe places and generate urban practices of inclusion and protection.

The main goal of the dialogue is to achieve a clear understanding of the challenges that the global refugee crisis presents to the border/port cities of European Union. Students will conduct hands-on research exploring how host cities cope with refugee crisis. We will talk to locals, policy-makers, activists, journalists, government officials and NGO’s in Italy to learn about their experiences in accommodating refugees. Our broader agenda is to develop ideas and to explore possible solutions to the refugee crisis with the goal of reforming and amending policies that respect human rights of refugees.

For more information, please see the Global Experience Office website found here.

Information Session for Summer 2023:
Wednesday, November 30th
4:30pm-5:30pm
Zoom link is here

Recorded Information Session from last year can be found here. To view event, login with your myNortheastern account.