On December 18, 2023, Associate Dean of the Social Sciences, Professor Khatharya Um organized a conference titled, “Life, Precarity, and Futurity In Time of The Pandemic: Health, democracy, and the experiences of immigrant and refugee communities in Europe during and after COVID,” at the National Kapodistrian University of Athens in Athens, Greece. This workshop was funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the National Kapodistrian University of Athens. There were 19 senior scholars, NGO representatives and graduate students in attendance from Denmark, France, Greece and Turkey. Participants included, Emmanuella Doussis, Professor of International Institutions, Director, Institute of European Integration and Policy at National Kapodistrian University of Athens; Maria Clara Martin, UNHCR Representative Greece; Maria Gavouneli, President, Greek National Commission for Human Rights, Professor of International Law, NKUA; Diana Yeh, Associate Dean EDI, Senior Lecturer in Creativity and Social Justice, School of Communication and Creativity City, University of London and Ya-Han Chuang, Researcher, Sciences Po Paris, France.
This one-day workshop initiated dialogue and shared insights about the immediate and longer-term impact of the pandemic on health and wellbeing of immigrant and refugee communities in Europe. In assessing the impact of the pandemic, participants focused on the differential, intersectional, and compounding nature of the challenges that refugee communities face, such as the effects of economic insecurity on mental health and family relations, the rise of anti-Asian racism and violence and impact on business recovery, community well-being, and social mobilization. Scholars also examined state, local, and community responses to these challenges.