Towards the new UArctic research network on Arctic migration

In 2017 a new research team for the Arctic Centre and a new UArctic Thematic Network in the field of Arctic migration might be established. Nafisa Yeasmin, researcher of the Arctic Centre and initiator of the network, explains why there is a need to create a cross-national group of scientists researching the topic of migration to the North.

Photo by Agata
Mazepus

When have you come up with
the idea to create a network of researchers whose work focuses on the topic of
Arctic migration?

This idea came to my mind
already a couple of years ago. When I had started my study on migration in the
Arctic in 2012 I realized that in the area of my interest at that time there was no
single person that would do this kind of research.

How come?

There was, of
course, research about migration within the Arctic but not about migration to the
Arctic. Although mobility means both migration and immigration, these are two
different things. While migration means mobility from a one city to another within a
country or a region, Arctic immigration concerns mobility to the Northern regions
from non-Arctic countries.

What does the
research on this particular type of mobility in the Arctic
concern?

We research the status and lives of
those who come to the Arctic region. One example relates to refugees that are coming
to all of the Arctic countries, both legally and illegally.

Was this topic not present in the UArctic before?

At one point I have realized that at every meeting of the UArctic
the topics concerned mainly industries, environmental issues, and the situation of
the indigenous peoples. These issues are of course very important, however, there
was nothing about the immigrants and minorities living in the Arctic other than
indigenous ones. This realization inspired me to start working towards creating the
group of researchers that would consider these topics.

How did you implement the idea to create a research
network?

I decided to talk about it to Timo
Koivurova, the director of the Arctic Centre. Timo has started his own research
group on law and governance in our institution, so I knew that he is the right
person to discuss my plans. I have also reached out to institutions outside Finland
to find out whether others also feel that such network is needed. For example, I
contacted Nordregio, a Stockholm-based research institution focusing on urban and
regional development studies.

Everyone agreed that there is
a need to create a network in this field as even if there are other researchers who
are interested in the Arctic migration this topic is treated rather scatteredly. In
order to successfully approach it, the forces should be joined in a network.

How does a group of researchers become a research
network under UArctic?

All thematic networks
have to be presented in front of the general assembly of the University. As the next
such meeting takes place in August 2017, we are going to apply for a status of an
official thematic network of the UArctic next June. It would be a great opportunity
for us because thanks to the official status we could apply for research grants as a
network.

Despite lack of the official status,
is the network already working?

Yes, we are
already a network and even though we do not have an official status yet, this year
we already organized two workshops.

How come
such network was not created earlier? Is this because the migration to the Arctic
region a new issue that arose around the migration crisis of 2015? Or was this topic
relevant before as well?

The migration to
the Arctic region is not a new thing. Nonetheless, the big and sudden influx of
people to the North in 2015 made everyone understand that there is a need to work on
solutions to the question of how to deal with the problems arousing from the
migration.

Arctic societies came to realization that they
need migrants due to the demographic challenges they are currently facing. However,
not all of them know how to deal with the migration issues.

Some countries, such as Sweden and Norway have long-term plans for migration-related
issues and were quite well-prepared to integrate new waves of migrants having
ready-on policies that only needed to be implemented when the refugees reached
them.

Photo (Agata
Mazepus): Nafisa explains objectives of the FOLO project during Symposium on Arctic
Migration held in the Arctic Centre on December 7, 2016

What are the most important topics for the
researchers who investigate the issues related to the Arctic
Migration?

In my opinion, socio-economic
integration is at the moment the most important issue.

People who come to the Arctic look for the security not only in the sense of being
safe from the war, but also in terms of the economic safety. Without food, clothing,
and meeting other basic needs people cannot live nor function well in any society.
Therefore, economic solvency is crucial. As welfare countries, Arctic societies need
to find ways to provide such solvency.

On the other hand,
social integration and inclusion are very important. We should educate the society
about the migrants as the attitudes of the society towards the migrants and vice
versa are crucial for the peaceful coexistence of all peoples.

Do you think that the research concerning Arctic migration could
help policymakers with finding solutions for these issues?

Of course, researchers’ work can be a great help for the
policymakers.

For instance, research could be helpful in
determining the costs and benefits for the host countries of accepting refugees and
migrants to Arctic societies. Another example would be finding solutions to the
demographic and economic crises societies are facing as research can provide
guidance on how the skills and human capital offered by immigrants could be used for
our benefit. Researchers can also help policymakers in identifying good examples and
practices from all around the world, from example Canada, which could be implemented
in the Arctic.

A good example of how theory
can help the practice is your project FOLO.

FOLO, the Foreign Lounge, is a project aiming to support immigrants to get access to
the labor market in Finnish Lapland. The reason why we decided to launch such
project is that some immigrants live in Lapland for several years already and they
are unable to find full-time jobs. Even though they often have good education and
work experience, they struggle to find a stable job in their field.

Therefore, we aim to create a model of economic integration of the
well-educated immigrants. It is not easy as the economic situation in the whole
Europe is not ideal and in Lapland almost all the companies are very small often
operating as family business without a need to hire new employees.

Even though it is challenging, we do our best. One of our priorities is
trying to combat the stereotype that all immigrants are uneducated and do not speak
the language. We arrange meetings between potential employers and job seekers so
that business owners realize that immigrants are able to adapt to the Finnish work
environment.

We hope that with both the theory and practice
researchers will contribute to a better management of the immigration problems
Arctic region faces today.

Interview: Agata Mazepus / Arctic Centre