An international conference entitled „Information matters: towards positive pathways of migrants’ integration” was held on 26 October in Bratislava, Slovakia. The scientific conference was organised by DRIM, a sister Interreg project, with a number of social scientists from all over Europe and from a wide range of disciplines. Two prestigious keynote speakers, Antoine Savary from the European Commission, Migration and Home Affairs and Em. Prof. Dr. Rinus Penninx from the University of Amsterdam opened the event.

Ádám Németh, thematic expert at the YOUMIG partner University of Vienna presented the paper focused on evaluating and operationalising the challenges and potentials of youth migration for different policy fields. The paper was co-authored with Elisabeth Gruber and Heinz Fassmann. The working paper that will be presented in a final version at the end of 2017 was briefly introduced by Dr. Németh, presenting the factors triggering migration on several levels. He emphasised that youth migration can be transformed from a challenge into an opportunity, and the win-loss situation into a triple win result, which benefits the migrants, the country of origin and the country of destination, too. To achieve a triple win situation there is a need for a paradigmatic shift, and to underline his statement, Dr. Németh presented examples of relevant policy measures pointing in the direction of gaining this desired result.

The main message of the conference was that “properly designed policies and modern information channels may considerably facilitate labour market integration, improve educational outcomes and ensure the wellbeing of migrants. This is especially important in the case of newcomers facing unexpected challenges and lacking sufficient information on life and work in a new country.”

The conference was tied to DRIM’s partner meeting where a session on October 27 was dedicated to capitalisation, or liasing with other projects for mutual gains. YOUMIG Communication Manager Nóra Krokovay, who is co-leader of Thematic Pole 10 of DTP’s Capitalisation Scheme, where both YOUMIG and DRIM are present, talked about the opportunities for their projects to work together. She highlighted that Pole 10 – Migration and Inclusive Governance – relies heavily on methods to engage policy makers in connecting more with evidence-based research. In this area, on top of their research results themselves, YOUMIG and DRIM can share a lot of their experiences.

DRIM and YOUMIG both work on tasks to improve capacities to help migrants. DRIM’s main efforts are concentrated in the creation of an information tool, the Danube Compass, which offers a wealth of information in every area of life for migrants on entering a new country. YOUMIG’s focus is on youth migration, and tasks include research, both theoretical and at the local level, data improvement and policy recommendations, the latter ensuring that assistance in the management of migration can be adopted by policy makers as well as local administration in the future.