3 – 4 May 2007

Based on presentations by young researchers from European Union member states and countries on the Mediterranean, this seminar has been organised with the aspiration of promoting the professional and scientific horizons of young researchers, who, from different disciplines, have their interest in the Mediterranean region as a common focus. Some of the objectives of this encounter are to disseminate their work, energise relationships among them and, in the long run, give impetus to transnational networks of joint reflection.

This is the second workshop in a series dedicated to the exterior dimension of immigration policy, on this occasion with the contribution of Virginia Guiraudon, Marie-Curie Professor, Dept. of Political and Social Sciences, European University Institute. The author of such articles and books as Les politiques d'immigration en Europe (2000) and co-editor of Controlling a New Migration World (2001), her research focuses on policies regarding migration, asylum and the prevention of discrimination at the European level. The presentation will given by Ricard Zapata, Permanent Lecturer in Political Science at Pompeu Fabra University and director of the Research Group on Immigration and Policy Innovation (GRIIP).

Working language: English (with simultaneous translation)

Presentation of an article by Stelios Stavridis on the current situation of the Cyprus conflict and its impact on the negotiations between the European Union and Turkey. Following the rejection of the Annan plan by the population of the south of the island, the Cyprus conflict has returned to the stagnation that characterised it for years. Turkey’s negotiations with the European Union over its accession began in October 2005. However, they were partially frozen in December 2006 due to Turkey’s rejection of opening its ports and airports to Cyprus. Following Professor Stavridis’ intervention, Andreas Kyriacou, an expert on the Cyprus conflict and the integration of Cyprus into the European Union, will open up the debate.

Speaker: Stelios Stavridis, Head of the Euro-Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern Studies Unit at the Institute of International Economic Relations (IDOS) in Athens, Greece.
Commentator: Andreas Kyriacou, Professor of Applied Economics, University of Girona.

Situated in the centre of the current political scene due to the controversy over its nuclear programme, Iran constitutes a key piece for the stability of the international system. Not only does it determine the situation in the Middle East and the debates in the heart of the Muslim world, but, strengthened by the possession of important energy resources, it is also consolidating itself as a key actor for Western and Asian geopolitical interests. A renowned expert on the Middle East and Central Asia, Mohammad-Reza Djalili offers us the opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge of the role Iran plays in international harmony.

Presentation by: Josep Ribera, Director of the CIDOB Foundation and José Abu-Tarbush, General Co-ordinator of the Instituto Internacional de Estudios Árabes y del Mundo Musulmán (Cordoba). Commentary by Fred Halliday, professor at the London School of Economics and Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals.

>> For further information, see the attached invitation

This seminar aspires to bring together a substantial group of representatives from the academic, business, political, military and diplomatic spheres of Spain and Turkey to reflect, in the first place, on the renewed centrality of energy issues in international politics, on the shared, or unshared, interests of Spain and Turkey and on the extent to which there exists a common European or Mediterranean interest in the area of energy. The objective is to favour mutual understanding of the concerns of two important countries like Spain and Turkey and, finally, to explore what contribution they could make to debates of a wider scope, whether they be at a European, Euro-Mediterranean or world level.

Working languages: English and Spanish, with simultaneous translation. The programme will soon be announced on the web.

Limited seating. Confirmation of attendance is kindly requested to be sent to: secretaria@incipe.org.

24 and 25 May 2007

A seminar devoted to reflecting on the world of maras that act violently in Central American countries and on the reality of the Latin American youth gangs that exist in Europe. Often they are dealt with as identical phenomena, although with few points of contact, and this seminar aims to give a response as to what causes the emergence of one kind or another and to reflect on the measures that can be developed from the democratic political systems.

This seminar aims to examine the link existing between Spain and Eastern Europe through migration flows and the consequences of these dynamics on transnational networks, economic relations and social and cultural exchanges.

Working languages: Spanish and English (with simultaneous translation)

This is a call for papers devoted to the analysis of identity-construction processes in a world of growing cross-border mobility. The works chosen will be presented in the seminar, La política de lo diverso: ¿producción, reconocimiento o apropiación de lo cultural? [The Politics of the Diverse: Production, Recognition or Appropriation of that which is Cultural?], which will take place this October at the CIDOB Foundation. The content of the articles must adhere to the subjects of the thematic blocks and panels around which the event is organised: Identities and Imaginaries as Intercultural Practice (Block I) and The Challenge of the Intercultural (Block II).

Conditions for submitting works: Submissions must be accompanied by the author’s personal information, an indication of the panel and block of preference, the title of the lecture and an abstract (500-word limit).

Deadline for the abstract: 30 May 2007. Confirmation of acceptance will be sent out by 30 June 2007.

Papers must be submitted to: Yago Mellado, e-mail: ymellado@cidob.org