Slovenia

The Slovenian Migration Institute ZRC SAZU (SMI ZRC SAZU) is a Department of the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. It is engaged in interdisciplinary research on migration processes in Slovenia and internationally. 

Researchers focus on studies of emigration and immigration, return migration, ethnicity, migration and integration policies, the cultural and artistic production of emigrants/immigrants, and various methodological and theoretical approaches to migration research. Its work draws from multiple humanities and social sciences disciplines – historiography, literary history, art history, ethnology, anthropology, geography, sociology and cultural and political sciences. SMI ZRC SAZU has been involved in numerous national, bilateral, and international projects related to global migration and strives to compare their research with similar research in Slovenia and abroad. Along with the project and research work, the Institute actively supports asylum seekers and refugees in several areas: education, labour market, employment, housing, and psychosocial aid. In the last six years, the Institute has collaborated in almost 20 AMIF, Interreg, Erasmus+ and EU for Citizens projects, many of which centred on the social and economic integration of migrants and refugees to Slovenia, especially promoting social entrepreneurship of asylum seekers and refugees in social spaces through special teaching programs. SMI is a valuable expert and academic partner with a broad stakeholder network, including several national and international integration networks, bottom-up civic initiatives, collaborations with several local authorities, recognised national integration stakeholders, and national and governmental bodies.