- as part of the Standing Committee “Methodological Approaches and Tools in Migration Research”
This workshop wishes to shed light on the advantages and shortcomings of action-research and participatory methods in the study of migrant individuals and communities. The discussion will draw resources from research center X23 Science in Society’s experience studying migrant entrepreneurs across EU countries. Senegalese woman entrepreneur Billo Keita, a long-time partner, program beneficiary, and research subject of our team, will present her experience as a migrant entrepreneur in Italy. The ensuing exchange activity will aim to understand the best ways to investigate her case-study while ensuring her a venue for self-representation, knowledge acquisition, and participation within the research process.
Participants will be invited to collectively examine possibilities for participatory research methods and researcher-researched collaborations that go beyond unidirectional inquiry. The expert audience’s combined knowledge and experience will generate a comprehensive outline of the promises and limitations of participatory research and action-research methods. The workshop organizers and Billo herself hope to gather valuable recommendations from such a discussion process and share their considerations with the rest of the participants, creating the premises for cross-study comparisons, mutual reviews, and effective collaborations. Additionally, this workshop is expected to unearth the novel concerns and topics of interest out of the presented case-study, beyond the themes of migration and entrepreneurship.
The workshop will open with a short introduction to action-research notions, participatory research techniques, and their combined potential. Billo will then illustrate her journey as a woman migrant entrepreneur in Italy and her multilayered collaboration with X23 Science in Society. The presenting team will illustrate the inquiry modes and choices that characterized their research partnership with Billo. Afterwards, the participants will be encouraged to cluster in small discussion units, each of which will feature at least one member of the presenting team, including Billo. Participants will thus have a chance to use their own experience and knowledge to substantiate points of favor or warning relating to action-research and participatory research techniques. We hope that each participant will share suggestions on the best ways to see and approach the study of Billo’s case, so as to maximize idea exchange within the activity. Each group will then share the outcomes of their internal discussion with the rest of the participants, ushering into a general exchange session where all will have a chance to synthesize the most promising and accurate ways to study topics as complex as the interception of migration, gender, and entrepreneurship.
Workshop Convenors: Lorenzo Maggio, Cecilia Olivieri, Davide Carminati, Jiwon Shin and Agathe Semlali
Participation: Individuals interested in participating in this workshop should contact us to express their interest and provide us with their full name, organisation and email address.
Please send an email with your information to Agathe Semlali (