International School on Climate Migration 2022

In its first year, the International School on Climate Migration was co-hosted by Earth Refuge and SOAS University of London and brought together 17 leading experts to unpack how we problematize climate migration in order to respond to it in the 21st century through weekly lectures and seminars over the course of five weeks.  

80 participants graduated from the newly-launched ISCM. 76% of our participants came to us from academia – institutions such as Addis Ababa University, American University, King’s College London, the University of Delhi and the University of Nigeria – and 14% were working with NGOs – such as the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, IOM – UN Migration, the African Migration and Policy Development Centre. Our participants contributed from across the world, with the majority tuning into lectures and seminars from India, Italy, the United Kingdom, Bangladesh and Nigeria.

They came to the ISCM to gain knowledge in their fields of study, research or advocacy; to learn more about climate migration with intrigue and urgency with many participants noting that their communities at home are increasingly facing climatic threats and related displacement; and, to connect with others working in the climate mobility space. Before participating in the ISCM, our participates rated their understanding of climate migration an average of 55%. By the time they completed our course, that average skyrocketed to 82%. We want to keep the impact coming next year and in the many to come. 

Five topics that were covered during the five week programme:

  • Climate Migration, Health, Livelihoods and (Under)Development
  • Unpacking Coloniality: Gender, Race, Class, Indigeneity and Climate Migration
  • Protection Politics: Climate Migration, Human Rights and Refugee Law
  • The Climate Migration, Conflict and Violence Link
  • Mobilities and Mitigation: Disaster Risk and Resilience-Building
Five things I Learned From the International School of Climate Migration

Testimonials

“It was one of the most refreshing program[s] with diverse themes, current issues anchored in a range of complex social, political, economic and environmental dynamics”

Dr. Kebede Kassa Tsegaye
Senior Coordinator for Education, Science, Technology & Innovation, leader of the Regional Universities Forum and member of the Technical Steering Committee of the IGAD Regional Scientific Conference on Migration and Displacement, IGAD (Ethiopia)
“For me, ISCM was a very interesting and inspiring experience. I learned a lot, got to know new perspectives and discovered new horizons, for which I am very grateful. I enjoyed the excellent presentations of the speakers from all over the world and the discussions with the participants across continents”

Katja Simke
Open Society Foundations (Germany)  
“I was to able to learn about the historical experiences of climate change impacts, and how the conflict, and human mobility aid us in understanding the challenges and help us in preparing a meaningful conflict prevention, resolution, peacebuilding, and protection response”

Muhammad Arif Goheer
Researcher on climate change, agriculture and food security at the Global Change Impact Studies Centre (Pakistan) 
“Before attending ICSM, I had an academic interest in climate migration but my knowledge on the topic was very limited and surface level. ICSM helped me connect with practitioners and researchers from the field who are doing amazing work, and within a span of 5 weeks, it helped me build nuanced opinions on the complexity of climate migration from an interdisciplinary lens”

Aakansha Jain
PhD candidate in International Relations, American University Washington DC (India)
“As I am working now on a study discussing climate migration in Sudan, The ISCM provided me with rich links of literature concerning study pillars, allowing me to network with those who are proficient in my study core. On the other hand, the interaction with presenters and participants was very interesting and motivated me to participate in the next school”

Manara Babiker Hassan Eltayeb
PhD Candidate in International Relation, University of Khartoum (Sudan) 
“I wanted to broaden and deepen my knowledge on climate migration, as I wish to keep researching and working with the issue in the future…. It [the ISCM] was enriching, insightful and challenging, and I’ll certainly use the things I learnt from the seminars, readings and discussions in future research projects and work practice” 

Gaia Hasse
Lawyer and IOM, UN consultant (Brazil)
“What a remarkable venue for bringing together climate and migration researchers and practitioners from across the globe, opening spaces for sharing insights, experiences, and outstanding questions from multiple perspectives from the personal to the legal and everything in between”

Dr. Jeremiah D. Osborne-Gowey
Lecturer in Environmental Studies, University of Colorado Boulder (USA) 
“I have loved my time with the ISCM. I feel that I have learned so much, outside my usual comfort zone and be surrounded by distinguished minds pioneering meaningful conversations surrounding climate migration and other aspects that intertwine with it”

Astri Nyambura Kagwanja
Law student at King’s College London (Kenya)