Besançon 2008

A workshop in Spanish, by the Spanish for the Spanish! Thank goodness I had my appointed translator: thank you Marion! This workshop dealt essentially with the presentation of the results of monitoring by ACCEM of immigrants across the whole of Spain.

Julia Fernandez Quintanilla, director of ACCEM in Madrid, started with a presentation of the network of immigration observatories, recounting the history, the methods put in place, and the partnerships put in place over time with, among others, the University of Franche-Comté in Besançon.

Following this, Isabel Mahé presented the “Manual”, a guide to ACCEM’s work which facilitates a better understanding of the mechanisms and techniques used.

Braulio Carles Barriopedro presented the observatories put in place in Guadalajara (OPEGU a group of 22 partners http://www.opegu.es) and in Sigüenza (OPASI http://www.opasi.es).

Then Javier Mahia presented the Asturies ODINA observatory to us. A project focusing on 6000 migrants from outside the European Uniona and which includes 37 partners.

The presentations were concluded with a presentation of the Léon observatory: created in 2006 and made up to 35 partners, this observatory focuses on one city where the percentage of imigrants is particularly high (particularly since the 1990s).

The workshop proceeded with a rich discussion amongst the participants, particularly in order to better understand recent advances in the field, this shows the participative dynamism of those working in the field.

After the workshop, everyone was allowed a brief break before attending the closing session chaired by Jean-Jacques Girardot.