From 14–16 May, the FAiR consortium came together in vibrant Istanbul for its mid-term meeting, hosted by the Migration Research Center at Koç University (MiReKoc) under the leadership of Prof. Ahmet İçduygu. This energising event marked a key milestone in the project, offering space to reflect on progress, strengthen alignment, and refocus our shared goals.
The consortium engaged deeply with the evolving political context, including the European Commission’s Proposal for a New Pact on Migration and Asylum via a joint statement. These timely discussions helped sharpen FAiR’s policy direction and identify new opportunities to increase our impact.
Participants also got a first glimpse of findings from an EU-wide public opinion survey on alternatives to return, offering fresh insights into how citizens across Europe view this sensitive issue. These results were further explored during last week’s joint webinar with sister projects GAPs and MORE.
We were grateful for the insights provided by our Advisory Board members, Prof. Dr Florian Trauner (BIRMM/VU Brussels), Ayşegül Yalçın Eriş (ASAM), and Dr. Jonas Grimheden (Frontex), whose thoughtful contributions helped guide our work going forward. We also explored best practices for assessing cooperation on return and previewed the upcoming MIREX report, which will offer a comprehensive analysis of return and migration policy in our target countries.
Team bonding and multi-country consortiums
Importantly, the meeting also provided space for team bonding, an often overlooked but vital part of collaborative research. Informal conversations, shared meals, and moments of connection throughout the three days helped foster trust and strengthen relationships across our multinational partnership. These interpersonal ties are essential in projects like FAiR, where meaningful collaboration across borders and disciplines is key to success.
The meeting concluded with an insightful session led by our hosts at MiReKoc on Türkiye’s evolving return landscape. For more on how we’re thinking about communication and trust within our work, take a look at our recent blog post: Finding the Right Balance: Science Communication Without Losing theScience or the Communication.
The team left Istanbul reconnected, re-energised, and ready to take on the next chapter.
