This unprecedented partnership between European, Italian and American academic institutions provided a unique opportunity to reinforce and deepen the ties of the exceptional academic community in Florence and offers a model for transatlantic university cooperation that can make a contribution to efforts to tackle global problems.

The Transatlantic dialogue brought together prominent European and American scholars, policy makers and practitioners to discuss critical issues surrounding immigration, its impact on public policy, the complex interrelation-ship between national policy and local practice, and reflections on cultural diversity and national identity, which have stirred such passion on both sides of the Atlantic.

Panelists included some of the most important immigration experts from the U.S., Holland, Germany, France, Italy and the U.K. who shared their insights and experience and raised critical questions about the way that national particularities influence the public framing of issues and the policy-making process.

New York University grounded the comparative analysis at the local level, investigating how major issues affecting immigration policy are translated in municipalities - in particular their impact on local education systems and the labor market - and explored the complex interaction between local dynamics and the policy-making process at different institutional levels.

The European University Institute hosted a keynote address by Professor Philippe Fargues entitled “Little Karachi in London or the Other Way Around? Migration and Social Change at Both Ends” that focused on current European demographic trends and the issues they raise for the future.

Syracuse University then broadened the discussion to analyze the impact of extra and intra-European migration on civil rights, citizenship, and political participation, and the rapid rise of identity politics in Europe, providing students with an important insight into some of the main issues of the European immigration debate.

The conference aimed to go beyond the scholarly agenda to promote public understanding of the issues faced both in Europe and the U.S. and to create the kind of interpersonal relationships that strengthen reciprocal understanding on both sides of the Atlantic. The conference was a resounding success, attracting strong participation by the American and European university communities, practitioners in the field of migration, and the general public. We look forward to strengthening our relationships with our partner institutions and to building on this dialogue in the coming years.

9:30 Introductory Panel
Cristina Rodriguez New York University
Cooperation and Competition between the National and the Local in US Immigration Law
Alessandro Simoni Università di Firenze
Italian Immigration Law and its Many Faces: A Review of the Interaction of Legal and Political Discourse at National and Local Levels

10:30 Introductory Remarks

Graziano Delrio Mayor, Reggio Emilia, Italy

11:00 Panel Immigrant Integration through Education
Moderator: Can Aybek European University Institute
Marcelo M. Suárez-Orozco New York University
Rethinking Integration in the Global Era
Maurice Crul University of Amsterdam
The Turkish Second Generation in Europe: What Explains Differences in School Success Across Countries?
Carla Rinaldi and Deanna Margini Reggio Children, Reggio Emilia
Reflections on Multiculturality in the Educational Service of the Town of Reggio Emilia

1:00 Lunch

2:00 Panel Immigrant Integration through the Labor Market
Moderator: David White European University Institute
Muzaffar Chishti New York University
Immigration and the Labor Market in the US: The Law, the Reality and Proposals for Reform
Maurizio Ambrosini Università di Milano
Useful Invaders: The Reluctant Import of Immigrant Workers in the Italian Labor Market
Franco Corradini Assessore for Social Cohesion, Reggio Emilia
Labor Market Integration in the Town of Reggio Emilia

3:45 Afternoon Break

4:00 Concluding Round Table
Chair: Cristina Rodriguez New York University

5:30 Day ends

6:30 Keynote Address

European University Institute
Pre-registration required

Philippe Fargues Migration Programme Director, Robert Schuman Centre, European University Institute
Little Karachi in London or the Other Way Around? Migration and Social Change at Both Ends

Migration in Europe: Rights, Partecipation and Identity

Tuesday, March 24, 2009, Palazzo Vecchio, Salonde de´ Dugento

9:00 Institutional addresses
Chair: Furio Cerutti Università di Firenze
Leonardo Domenici Mayor of Florence
Barbara Deimling Director, Syracuse University in Florence
Pier Virginio Dastoli Director, European Commission Representation in Italy

10:00 Opening Lecture
Rainer Bauböck European University Institute
Free Movement, Immigration, and Citizenship: How to Defend, Expand, and Reform the European Model

10:30 Coffee Break

11:00 Session 1 Migration and Rights: A Comparative European View
Chair: Max Guderzo Machiavelli Centre, Università di Firenze
Ettore Recchi Università di Firenze
Free-Moving Europeans: Old and New
Paul Blokker Syracuse University in Florence
Migration, Rights, and Models of Democracy

11:45 Session 2 Political Participation and Representation of Migrants in Europe
Chair: Sonia Lucarelli Università di Bologna a Forlì
Debora Spini Syracuse University in Florence
Citizenship Beyond Membership: the European Union and the Test of Pluralism  Ferruccio Pastore CESPI, Rome
The Pendulum of Immigrant Rights: Expansion and Contraction of the Sphere of Citizenship and Fundamental Rights of Foreigners in the Italian Experience (1986-2009)

12:45 Lunch

2:00 Session 3:Migrant Identities and Policy Challenges
Chair: Giorgio Natalicchi Università di Firenze
Ewa Morawska University of Essex
The Malleable Homo Sovieticus and Firm National Identities: Westbound Income-Seeking Migrants from East Europe
Samim Akgönül Syracuse University in Strasbourg
Turkish Origins in Europe: Religion, Identity and Multi-belonging Issues of a "New Minority"

4:00 Tavola Rotonda (Conducted in Italian)
Immigrazione: locale, nazionale, sovranazionale. Il punto di vista della società civile
Chair: Raffaele Palumbo Controradio

Partecipanti
Pier Luigi Vigna Magistrato
Otto Bitjoka Presidente Fondazione Ethnol
Massimo Toschi Assessore alla Cooperazione Regione Toscana
Danilo Rocca INCA Immigrati CGIL
Mario Casari Associazione Genitori Scuola “Di Donato”, Roma
Rappresentanti delle organizzazioni di migranti, imprenditori e associazioni