International Migration Conference on Food Insecurity and Migrants on the Move

Organizer: THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MIGRATION & DEVELOPMENT, (IIMAD), HUNGRY CITIES PARTNERSHIP and BALSILLIE SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

About the Conference

  • When: 21-22 October 2022
  • Call for Papers

The International Institute of Migration and Development(IIMAD), in collaboration with the Hungry Cities Partnership (HCP) MIFOOD Project, invites academics, researchers, activists, artists and other practitioners to submit original research, case studies, work, and other insights for presentation at the 2022 Annual IIMAD International Migration Conference. The conference will focus on the theme Food (In)security and Migrants on the Move”. It will take place on 21-22 October 2022 using a hybrid approach. The timing of presentations will be adjusted to account for the time zones of presenters as much as possible.

Food Security and Migration

While migration has historically provided economic and cultural advantages, the recent global trends are indicative of the travesties faced by populations, who migrate due to lack of food security and conflict. Global systems, neighbourhoods, diasporas, and dynamical spatial and temporal forms all play a role in regulation. Such regulating both drives and governs, whether through formal or social institutions, knowledge or imagination. We’re looking for articles that advocate for new approaches to analysis that question conventional scales or strive to combine several geographical and temporal dimensions and which pay attention to COVID-19 and refugee displacements and disruptions.

Resilient food systems and rural labour markets

Economic growth and employment are causally connected to food security, and the links are bidirectional and mutually reinforcing. Economic growth must be inclusive in order to effectively reduce food insecurity, reaching the poor through improved work opportunities and better earnings. The theme looks at how resilient food systems and labour-centred solutions might help achieve food security and resilient livelihoods, with a special focus on the rural economy.

Environmental factors, agricultural incomes and food security

Climate extremes, food insecurity, and migration are all intertwined in various places in the global south, yet environmental change is only one of several variables driving movement. We are also interested in studies that take a different perspective on the problem, such as the role of population dynamics and food production systems as current and future drivers of environmental change. Theoretical or review studies that provide in depth and critical examinations of the population-environment-food nexus are especially encouraged.

Urban food governance

Migration to cities is a major trend that will have a significant impact on food security and nutrition in the near future. The yearly per cent change in urban population is higher than the world average, suggesting that internal migration is occurring at a rapid pace. Access to healthy food, suitable work, social safety, housing, and water and sanitation services are all obstacles for migrants to metropolitan centres. This presents the government with extra hurdles in terms of ensuring not just the population’s livelihood security, but also food and nutrition security. Cities have always acted as hubs for regulating movement. The papers in this collection look at the role of modern municipalities in creating or strengthening urban food issues.

Submission Guidelines

Abstracts (500-750 words maximum; 5 keywords) should be sent by midday (12 pm IST) on Sunday 30th June 2022. Submissions and presentations must be in English.

Please include the following:

  • Specify the sub-theme that your submission speaks to
  • Your time zone and preferred dates/times between 21st -22 October 2022
  • Name of the author(s); organiser and country/countries they associate with
  • Institutional affiliation(s) & sector of presentation of each presenter; organiser (e.g. research. policy, civil society, NGOs) Short bio of the authors (100-150 words)
  • Abstracts to be submitted in PDF format

The abstracts will be evaluated by the conference organisers, and qualified participants will get more information in early July. We encourage participants from across the social sciences, working from a variety of methodological and theoretical approaches, as this is an interdisciplinary conference. Emerging researchers and others working in and on areas outside of Europe and North America are especially encouraged to submit. Food security and related implications may also be projected in future population and climate change scenarios, according to the papers. We are also interested in studies that take a different perspective on the problem, such as the role of population dynamics and food production systems as current and future drivers of environmental change. Following the conference, chosen papers will be published as peer-reviewed IIMAD and MiFOOD working papers that will serve as a resource for current research on food (in)security and migration. If we receive excellent papers, the organizers will plan to edit a special issue with an international journal or an edited book.

All abstracts and queries should be sent to: info@iimad.org

Regards

S Irudaya Rajan The International Institute of Migration and Development

Jonathan Crush, Balsillie School of International Affairs, Wilfrid Laurier University

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *