About: In recent years, Lithuania has been undergoing a transformation in terms of international migration. We are shifting from being a migrant sending country to migrant receiving country. Changing migration flows are altering the social fabric of society and prompting a re-examination of the foundations of belonging to the social and civic community. Migration is also shaping a new agenda for politics, policy  and governance: from the management of migration flows and the safeguarding of human rights to the development of systems for the adaptation and integration of migrants and ensuring the effectiveness of those systems.

In the public sphere and the political arena, discussions on migration range from migration as an opportunity and a benefit to migration as a burden, from migration as a demographic and economic inevitability to migration as an existential threat to collective coexistence. Yet the present and future of migration in Lithuania cannot be defined by these dichotomies. Both society and politicians need a multi-layered understanding of migration processes, the factors that cause them, and their consequences.

The aim of the conference is to examine the shifts in international migration processes in Lithuania and Europe, to discuss their causes and potential demographic and social consequences, experiences and challenges in migration policy, as well as new opportunities for monitoring and researching migration processes. Particular attention will be paid to the experience of Germany and Lithuania, the experiences of Ukrainian war refugees, and strategies for the long-term stay and return of migrants from Belarus.

Languages of the conference: English and Lithuanian