The Kellogg Institute for International Studies and the Pulte Institute for Global Development, both part of the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs, will embark on a virtual teaching series examining the realities of migration from Central America. “Beyond the Border: The Realities of Migration from Central America” is a three-part series hosted on the ThinkND platform; sessions will be held on Wednesdays at 1 pm EDT beginning Sept. 29 and ending Oct. 13.
Migration from Central America to the US continues to make headlines and drive policy discussions. This series will use research-based evidence to go beyond the typical narrative and discuss the issues behind the root causes of migration from the region. Researchers, practitioners and policymakers from the US and Central America will come together in conversation to explore how we can promote safe paths to prosperity and dignity at home and abroad.
The series will be led by Tom Hare, senior researcher with the Pulte Institute and an expert in democracy, rule of law, and human rights programming in Central America. Hare will facilitate discussion among faculty members, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to consider questions such as:
- What are the true drivers of migration from Central America, and how do issues such as climate change, violence and education play a role?
- How can civil society, governments, academia and the private sector work together to improve regional development in Central America?
- What is and should the US government be doing in Central America, and how has that strategy evolved over the past few years?
- What is the response of the Church to current migration issues?
- What can we, as US citizens, do to help make migration a more dignified process?
The series is made possible through the Pulte Institute’s new Central America Research Alliance (CARA), a partnership network that focuses on evidence-based advocacy in the region.
“Our goal with this series – and more broadly with CARA – is to use evidence to put the issue of migration and development in the region into context, and to give special priority to marginalized voices from Central America,” said Hare. “If we can make the issues surrounding migration more accessible, then we can spur action for meaningful change. ThinkND and the Kellogg Institute are excellent partners to help us achieve this goal.”
"These issues of migration raise fundamental questions of human dignity, align with our emphasis on integral human development and bring academic research into dialogue with policy in a way that is important to the Kellogg Institute and our distinctive mission," said Kellogg Institute Executive Director Donald Stelluto."We’re delighted to be partnering on this series."
The Beyond the Border series will include a combination of short faculty presentations, guest panel insight and lively group discussion via weekly interactive Zoom sessions. This is the second series as part of the larger “Conversations on Poverty and Inequality” program from the Pulte Institute, which aims to create open dialogue on topics relevant to alleviating global poverty and inequality.
The program is free and open to all and is hosted exclusively on ThinkND, Notre Dame’s open, online learning community. Click here for more information and to register.