Conference on international migration begins in Thiruvananthapuram

The 5th national conference on ‘Mobility for a New Era: Rethinking International Migration and Mobility Narratives and Frameworks’ began at the Hilton Garden Inn, here, on Monday. The two-day conference is organised by the International Institute of Migration and Development (IIMAD), Thiruvananthapuram, and the Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi.

Renowned sociologist Ajay Bailey, chair in Geographies of Health, Inclusion and Development, Utrecht University, Netherlands, who delivered the keynote address, emphasised the need to think beyond the social cost of migration and consider the social cost of being a migrant. IIMAD president Sheela Thomas, who spoke on the occasion, stressed the increasing resentment against migrants in developed countries. Nutan Kapoor Mahawar, Acting Director General/Additional Secretary, Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), who delivered the introductory speech, pointed out that discourses on migration need to be rethought through a human-centric perspective on migration.

IIMAD chair, Dr. Irudaya Rajan, who spoke on the occasion, also noted that migration today is being led by demographic changes. India, being a demographically young country, will continue to play a major role as a labour supplier. The country thus has an important part in bargaining for a migration policy that benefits the migrant population, he said. The India Migration Report 2024 was also released during the inaugural session. Dr. K.J. Jospeh, Board member of IIMAD, also spoke.