Webinar: Moving back or moving forward? Rethinking return migration

2025 July 16

Return migration is more than just a demographic trend. It’s an open door to better understand regional resilience, integration challenges, and overlooked opportunities.

Join the PREMIUM_EU project for a webinar on 10 September, 13:00-14:30 CEST, exploring the complex motivations and lived experiences behind return migration. What drives people to come back, what do they bring with them, and what do policymakers get wrong and right about reintegration?

Our expert speakers will share findings from two years of fieldwork in Poland, Turkey, and Austria to help you better understand the delicate balance between inflow, outflow, and return migration.

Featuring:


Dr. Hilal Arslan (Hacettepe University) – Gender and power dynamics in the decision to return

Dr. Michal Wanke (Cracow University of Economics) – Migration capital and the invisible value of returnees

Dr. Claudius Stroehle (IIASA) – Why attraction isn’t the same as retention

This event will combine fresh empirical research and real migrant stories with live reflection and debate. It will challenge common assumptions about migration while offering practical insights for policymakers, researchers, and regional stakeholders.

Whether you're working on rural development, demographic resilience, or migration strategy, you’ll leave with sharper arguments and new perspectives.

Register here



Programme:


Welcome & Introduction: What Do We Think We Know? - Anne Katrine Ebbesen

Case Insights - Three Chapters

Turkey: When Return Isn’t a Choice - Dr. Hilal Arslan

Poland: Migration Capital Left on the Table - Dr. Michal Wanke

Austria: Attraction Isn’t Retention - Dr. Claudius Ströhle

Mini-Debate: What Should Regional Policy Let Go Of - Moderator Anne Katrine Ebbesen

Audience Q&A 

Wrap-Up & What's Next?