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- Convenor:
-
Philippe Charpentier
(Cufr Mayotte)
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- Discussant:
-
Georgeta Stoica
(Université de Mayotte (France))
- Formats:
- Panels
- Sessions:
- Wednesday 22 July, -
Time zone: Europe/Lisbon
Short Abstract:
This panel offers a critical examination of the singularities and complexities of living in the EU's ultra-peripheral regions. We invite reflection on what are the implications of being an "European" in an ultra-peripheral region and on how policies are put into practice in different contexts.
Long Abstract:
In the European arena, ultra-peripheral regions are represented by several overseas territories that are part of the European Member states (i.e. France, Spain, Portugal) located at great distances from the main "old continent". Most of them are insular regions or archipelagos and are often facing difficulties related to migration issues, economic development, environmental problems or linguistic pluralism, etc.. All this in a context that proposes a European model that hardly correspond to the local problematics. Considering that we are at a turning point in the European "construction" that is torn apart between an enlargement process and a "scheduled redrawal" (Brexit), this panel offers a critical examination of the singularities and complexities of living in the EU's ultra-peripheral regions. Proposals that address one or more of the following themes are most welcome: Different meanings of "European" identity within the European borders and in ultra-peripheral regions; Migration issues in the "other" Europe territories; Health and care practices within European "borders"; Education and "context" between ruptures and continuities; Local and national policies and politics of European norms and regulations ; Dialogue(s) between centre and periphery.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Wednesday 22 July, 2020, -Paper short abstract:
Mayotte, an outermost region since 2014, is fully confronted with European educational and normative influences as well as with difficulties linked to migration issues. This island context, as complex as it is unique, particularly affects young people.
Paper long abstract:
The situation of Mayotte, as an outermost region of Europe, questions the consequences of the decentralization of a European border at the heart of the Comorian archipelago, creating an administrative, political, educational and even social border. The specific nature of old and persistent migratory flows, criminalized by the French State which, by concentrating its efforts on the fight against illegal immigration, disregards the law and the fundamental rights of minors, leads us to question the consequences of this context on the youth. The contours of this atypical situation which sees families split up on both sides of the border, under European domination, therefore lead to question the brutality and the singularity of the juvenile migratory routes; the upheaval of educational schemes in the context of structural change; the complex relationship to otherness, to the "near stranger"; and the violation of the human rights of minors from immigrant backgrounds. By focusing here on this part of youth, with heterogeneous profiles, we will highlight the phenomena of isolation, non-schooling, wandering as well as the relationship to identity among these uprooted young people. Ultimately, their paths reveal spheres of entrenched exclusions that we will analyze.
Paper short abstract:
What does it mean to be an European citizen who lives on an island in an ultra-peripheral French region of the European Union, and what does this mean in practical terms in his daily life?
Paper long abstract:
Located in the Indian Ocean, in the Mozambique Canal, the population of Mayotte is mainly of Bantu and Malagasy origin and the majority of the population speaks Shimaoré ; derived from the Swahili, and Kibushi ; derived from the Malagasy. While it is in an economic and social central position relative to the other islands of the archipelago of Comoros and Madagascar, Mayotte is located on the periphery of Europe since it has been part of one of its ultra-peripheral regions since 2011.
From a personal experience, we search to understand what does it mean to be European for in an Ultraperipheral European Region (Schnapper, 2000, 2003, Taglioni, 2006, 2010)? What is the daily live ? (Vitalien, 2002).
Schnapper, D. (2003). La Communauté des citoyens. Paris. Gallimard.
Schnapper, D. (2000). Qu'est-ce que la citoyenneté ? Paris. Gallimard.
Taglioni, F. (2006). Les petits espaces insulaires face à la variabilité de leur insularité et de leur statut politique de, Annales géographie, n°652, p. 664-687.
Taglioni, F. (2010). L'insularisme : une rhétorique bien huilée dans les petits espaces insulaires. Dans Olivier Sevin. Comme un parfum d'île, PUF, p. 421-435.
Vitalien, C. (2002). Les régions ultra-périphériques entre assimilation et différenciation, Revue française d'administration française, n°101, p. 115-126.
Paper short abstract:
What does it mean to be far-off? This paper, informed by knowledge produced in and on places conventionally considered as distant or liminal, discusses the complexities of knowing when and how one is outside of the map. The ethnography comes from a space considered "very European".
Paper long abstract:
How can one be at the very center and still not get their point across? Perhaps the growing literature on sea infrastructures and the specific positionality of islands can tell us. This paper reads ethnography from a seemingly central place through observations that were made in and about places conventionally considered as far-off (e.g. Mediterranean islands). This literature, often informed by notions of exceptionality and liminality has a lot to say on lives of those, who seem to be located in the "center". It might be in the nature of centers to produce peripheries (and vice versa). Czech Republic is a very central European state - both in terms of narratives about geography and political journey. While it is sometimes considered peripheral ("eastern", "catching up"), its policy on migration fits the EU mainstream. In fact, it has surpassed "the West". Number of asylums awarded is glaringly low and discourses on why this is a "good thing" inform dominant policy framework. How then to think about people challenging the dominant policy and narratives? It has been a standard practice in humanities and social sciences to use concepts that emerged in the (power) center to make sense of periphery. What do so-called peripheries tell us about the center? Distance, spatial and temporal, is unlikely to be understood solely by using the metrics such as kilometers and hours. What matters is reachability, connectivity. The paper builds on ethnography of peripherals in the center and asks: what does it mean to be far-off?
Paper short abstract:
The continued marginalisation of Europe's rural regions: combining a critical evaluation of complexities faced by ultra-peripheral regions on the margins of the EU with an analysis of policies aimed at addressing issues inherent in these areas left behind by geography and capitalism.
Paper long abstract:
This paper seeks to address ways in which social, economic and cultural change in Europe continues to increasingly negatively affect the region's most marginalised geographical peripheries, those of depopulating rural areas in countries like Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal and amongst others. A suggested framework for analysis is constructed through which the complex issue may be assessed, also taking into account that the minoritization of these peripheral rural communities is being further aggravated by increasingly rapid depopulation.
The work will seek to address issues tied to the further marginalization of these ultra-peripherical rural areas of Europe, left behind by geography and capitalism. Within these peripheries, gender, diversity and inclusion are excluded from the developmental discourse, going against the grain at a time that new rights are being secured for minority groups and as sensitivity towards many different forms of difference is has heightened in past decades.
Despite wide-ranging issues mirrored across numerous nations in Europe, limited attention has been so far paid to devising policy aimed at addressing the precarious future these peripherical zones are facing, whilst much attention and substantial resources have been funnelled into the conceptual antithesis at the core of modern Europe, the burgeoning smart city. If the problem is not tackled, the tendency will be for the trend to worsen, with a 2008 United Nations report warning of a formidable 70% of global citizens to be living in cities by 2060 (up from a 50% forecast for 2010 made by the body in 2008.)