Integration of Middle Eastern Immigrants and Refugees to Canada through Media, Information and Communication Technologies
Amira Halperin, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, Sociology, UBC
April 15, 2019
CK Choi Building, Rm. 120 at 12:15 pm
Lunch will be available starting at 11:45 am
Please RSVP by April 8 here.
Abstract – This talk will explore the impact of media and technology on immigrants and refugees. The technological revolution has transformed the experiences of refugees throughout the stages of their journeys: pre-migration, in transit, and in their new surroundings. Millions of refugees from the Middle East rely on smart phones and social media applications as survival tools during the escape process, to navigate border crossings, to receive information on political developments and on the possibilities of return, to receive information from the host states, and to counter balance fake news. As a growing number of migrants from the Middle East have entered Canada’s shores in recent years, integration has turned out to be an urgent issue. Governments and immigrant-serving agencies have gathered that mobile phones and media applications can serve as an efficient tool through the use of which to address these challenges, to provide newcomers with information and support the migrants’ efforts to settle in. As an outsider researcher, Amira Halperin has been able to achieve unprecedented access to the communities she has been researching. She conducted interviews with the following three key groups: Syrian migrants and refugees, settlement workers and communication department coordinators at immigrant-serving agencies, and policy makers. Amira will talk about her projects with the community, and the research recommendations for the Canadian Federal, Provincial and Municipal Governments, policy makers, and migrant-support organizations.
Bio – Dr. Amira Halperin is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Sociology at The University of British Columbia. She is a member of UBC Migration, where she participates in the Policy and Community – University Partnerships working groups. She has 15 years’ experience of researching marginalized populations and media, working from a community-base and using participatory methodology and an interdisciplinary approach. Her research in Canada, and recent developments in Information and Communication Technologies, take her to a new stage, following her research in Europe and the Middle East. She holds an MA in International Journalism, and PhD in Communication and Media from the University of Westminster, United Kingdom. She is the author of the book ‘The Use of New Media by the Palestinian Diaspora in the United Kingdom’, 2018. The book is based on her pioneering research on the impact of the new media on the Palestinian community, both in the Middle East and in the Diaspora. Amira worked as an Investigative Journalist and Television Correspondent. The highlight of this route was her work, in London UK, on BBC ‘Panorama’ – the longest running current affairs program. Dr. Halperin presents her research at international academic conferences, United Nations, international organizations, and governments. She has been regularly interviewing as a commentator on international media, in English, Arabic and Hebrew.