Integration Through Contribution seminar 1: Global Migration and Refugee Movements: Trends, Challenges and Pathways to Integration

The seminar series is organized by the project "Nature Welcomes All", funded by Kone Foundation, in partnership with the Biodiversity Anthropocenes Research Programme and the doctoral research programme “Entanglements of Migration and Time in Post-industrial Urban Europe" (MITIME). Welcome to join us online or in person!

Seminar 1: Global Migration and Refugee Movements: Trends, Challenges and Pathways to Integration

The seminar aims to explore current trends, challenges, and responses related to global migration and refugee movements, with a particular focus on forced migration narratives, climate change as a driver of human mobility, and recent developments in European migration and asylum policies. It seeks to promote critical discussion on pathways to integration, social inclusion, and sustainable policy solutions in an increasingly interconnected and mobile world.

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Introduction to the seminar series “Integration Through Contribution: Refugees in Science and Society”
Roger Norum (University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland)

Project “Nature welcomes all”
Mykyta Peregrym and Olena Kozak (University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland)

Beyond securitization discourses: (Counter)narratives on forced migration
Saara Pelander (Migration Institute of Finland; University of Helsinki, Finland)
Abstract: This talk will first explore the most common tropes through which migration, particularly forced migration, is debated in politics and the media, often oscillating between narratives of threat and pity. Using the Finnish example, it will be showed how certain ways of depicting refugees have developed and persisted historically, especially in mediated representations. It will then demonstrate how many of these tropes and perceptions continue to shape discourse today and are prevalent beyond the Finnish context. Finally, insights into how these often dehumanizing narratives can be countered and challenged will be discussed.

Saara Pellander is the Director of the Migration Institute of Finland, Doctor of Social Sciences, and Associate Professor (Title of Docent) in Political History, University of Helsinki. She has worked and published on issues related to migration policies and their implementation as well as the effects of these policies in particular from the perspective of transnational families, as well as on media representations of (forced) migration. Dr. Saara Pellander has been a visiting researcher at the Cornelia Goethe Center for Gender Studies at Goethe University Frankfurt am Main/Germany, as well as the history department at the University of Stockholm, Sweden. She is currently involved in two research consortia funded by the Strategic Research Council in Finland, Transforming Immigration Systems (TRIM), as well as Mobile Futures.

Global Migration and Refugee Movements in Times of Climate Change: Trends, Challenges and Pathways to Integration
Benjamin Schraven (German Institute of Development and Sustainability, Gemany)
Abstract: Migration and displacement are defining issues of our time. In public debates, especially in Europe, migration and forced displacement are often reduced to partially xenophobic and alarmist images and narratives of crisis, uni-causal roots of 'mass movements', and social overload caused by too much migration. Empirical evidence points to a more nuanced reality: most migration and displacement remains regional or internal. Furthermore, mobility decisions are shaped by a complex interplay of conflict, persecution, instability, inequality, demographic change, economic transformation - and increasingly climate and environmental stress. This lecture provides an overview of current global migration and displacement trends, focusing particularly on the role of climate and environmental change. It discusses how droughts, floods, sea-level rise and ecosystem degradation affect livelihoods, displacement risks and mobility strategies, while also highlighting the limits of the “climate refugee” narrative. The lecture also covers key challenges for refugee protection and migrant integration. Finally, the lecture will also outline key political developments of recent years at a global level relating to displacement and migration.

Benjamin Schraven is a migration expert, consultant, and lecturer with roughly 20 years of professional experience in research, policy advice, and training on migration, the environment/climate, and sustainable development. Holding a PhD in Development Studies from the University of Bonn, Benjamin's work focuses on the nexus between climate change, human mobility, migration governance and adaptation. His consultancy portfolio includes migration- and displacement-related assignments for several regional and country offices of IOM, the European Union, the World Bank, UNICEF, GIZ and other development partners. Through numerous publications and policy briefs on climate change, environmental degradation and human mobility in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Benjamin has a strong track record in translating complex evidence into policy-relevant recommendations. Besides his consulting roles, he also serves as an Associate Senior Research Fellow of the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).

Recent Key Developments in Migration and Asylum in Europe
Tuukka Lampi (Finnish National Contact Point of the European Migration Network, Finland)
Abstract: Drawing from contributions from EU-member states, this presentation aims to paint the big picture on recent developments in migration and asylum in Europe. Based on the recently published Asylum and Migration Overview 2025 by the European Migration Network, the presentation will map out and discuss migration and refugee trends in the EU, as well as latest EU policies, strategies, and approaches to integration.

Tuukka Lampi is a senior specialist in migration and asylum at the Finnish National Contact Point of the European Migration Network (EMN). He has previously worked as a senior adviser at the nationality unit of the Finnish Immigration Service, with IOM on migration and development projects, and as an immigration officer at the Finnish Embassy in New Delhi. He holds a MSc in Migration, Mobility and Development from SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) and an MA in English and Germanic Philology from the University of Helsinki.
The European Migration Network (EMN) is a network of migration and asylum experts that operates in the EMN Member and EMN Observer Countries. The Member Countries include all EU Member States except Denmark. The Observer Countries include Norway, Georgia, Moldova, Armenia, Montenegro, Serbia and Ukraine. The European Commission funds the network and coordinates its activities through the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME).

Ukrainian diaspora organisations in Finland: keeping momentum amidst the uncertainties
Arseniy Svynarenko (Association of Ukrainians in Finland)
Abstract: As a result of Russia’s genocidal war of colonial conquest of Ukraine, Europe has experienced its largest movement of refugees since World War II. In Finland, the Ukrainian population increased from just over 7,000 to more than 50,000. It is expected that in the coming years 8 000-10 000 Ukrainians will be arriving in Finland yearly. Since 2022 many Ukrainians have returned to Ukraine or moved to live in other countries. Return will be a lengthy process because rebuilding and restoration of safety will take years. Currently more than 20 Ukrainian diaspora organisations in Finland actively contribute to Ukraine’s defence by supporting civilians and defenders in Ukraine. They also are actively engaged in advocacy work, building contacts with politicians, increasing awareness about Ukraine in the Finnish society through rallies, seminars, concerts, promoting Ukrainian’s active civic participation in the Finnish society. For recent Ukrainian migrants diaspora organisations play a crucial role in sustaining ties to Ukraine through language and culture thereby expanding the range of future opportunities available to them.

Arseniy Svynarenko, PhD, Member of the Board of the Association of Ukrainians in Finland, research fellow at the Finnish Youth Research Society.

If you are interested in taking part in other meetings of this seminar series, please save the dates below in your calendar:

• Seminar 2: From Displacement to Discovery: How Refugees Scientists Shape the World
  October 14th 2026, 10.00-12.00, online
• Seminar 3: Beyond Borders: Art, Refugee Integration, and the Co-Creation of Cultural and Local Knowledge
  November 11th 2026, 14.00-16.00, online
• Seminar 4: Refugees as Environmental Actors: Participation in Environmental, Climate and Nature-based Activities
  December 2th 2026, 10.00-12.00, online