Dear colleagues,
You are cordially invited to the Institute’s seminar featuring a talk by Lucia Mýtna Kureková from the Institute for Forecasting of the Centre of Social and Psychological Sciences, Slovak Academy of Sciences.
While African migration to the EU’s southern border has been at the centre of political debates and policy challenges, considerably less is known about its characteristics and dynamics at the EU’s eastern border. The seminar will offer a migrant-centred perspective on how highly skilled African migrants living in Slovakia respond and adapt to an unpredictable migration policy environment and an underdeveloped integration framework.
The presentation will focus particularly on migrants’ access to social rights as a key dimension of integration. It will examine how migrants respond to exclusion from these rights and how, in some cases, these experiences are linked to their decisions to remain in or leave Slovakia.
The findings are based on qualitative research involving semi-structured interviews conducted in 2024–2025 with more than 30 African migrants living, studying, or working in Slovakia. The presentation will highlight the structurally distinct features of African migration to Eastern Europe compared with migration to Southern Europe.
The findings point to an important paradox: even legal residence, a high level of skills, and substantial social capital do not necessarily protect migrants from exclusion and marginalisation. These experiences are linked particularly to restrictions on access to social rights and the lack of comprehensive integration support.
The seminar will take place on October 19, 2026, at 2:00 PM and will be held in English.
If you are interested in online participation, please fill out this simple form: https://forms.gle/fndxgspPmv3tJttr9
Link to FB event: https://fb.me/e/51VewjfyO
You will receive the access data for the online meeting on the day of the seminar.