International Migration in Europe: Welfare Policy and Practice Implications for Older People (PPIOP)

Activities

Workshops:

  • Strasbourg, France, 18-20 May 2001

  • Pisa, Italy, 9-11 November 2001

  • Madrid, Spain 22-24 March 2002

  • Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 17-20 October 2002

  • Dubrovnik, Croatia, 15-18 May 2003

  • York, England, 23-26 October 2003

Altogether 37 researchers from 12 European countries were associated in the network and attended at least one meeting.  Their interests ranged from social anthropology to regional economic development.  Most were academics, but there were also civil servants and health and social work professionals, and they have initiated several new surveys and research projects, compiled a directory of completed and published research and a bibliography on older migration.  At each of the meetings, the Network and the new members presented their research findings.  Local speakers were also invited, both researchers and those involved with social policy development and the delivery of advice and support services to older migrants.  Detailed notes of each meeting were prepared and circulated to the attenders and to the members of the Network.

More information can be found on the webpages of the Sheffield Institute for Studies on Ageing click here

Outcome

The Scientific Network’s specific objectives were: (a) to develop standardised and comparative indicators from the members’ independent projects, (b) to encourage and enable the participants to address key welfare and social rights policy and practice issues, and (c) to add value to the participants’ research by exposing our interpretations to the critical scrutiny of experts from other academic disciplines and from policy and practice communities, and by vigorous dissemination of the outputs in various modes (for academic, practical and general audiences).  These objectives have largely been met.  A set of comparative indicators and tables was developed from the six major surveys of northern European retirees resident in southern Europe.  The findings from this exercise are presented in Casado-Díaz, Kaiser and Warnes 2004.  The inclusion of social policy specialists and health services researchers in the network has focused the network’s attention on health and welfare issues, of both affluent but frail older migrants in the south, and disadvantaged ageing labour migrants in the north. 

The Network began with a narrow focus on the migration of northern Europeans for retirement to southern Europe, and was interested in both the well being of the migrants and their impact on the destination economies, societies and environments.  The six Network workshops have integrated and widened the members’ research interests, by giving attention to the circumstances of all types of older migrants.  Over the three years, academics and social welfare practitioners with complementary interests have participated in the workshops, and some became continuing members.  They included members concerned with low-income labour migrants who have become old in their adopted countries, and others studying foreign workers who return to their origin or third countries when they retire.  As a result, the publications arising from the Network will include strong contributions on social policy and health care entitlement issues in an increasingly multi-ethnic and cosmopolitan Europe.  The Network has inquired into the social consequences of the interaction between ‘mobility’ and ‘ageing’ that will have increasing prevalence and force throughout the continent for many decades to come.

Publications: