AEMI CONFERENCE 2004 PROTOCOL OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION OF EUROPEAN MIGRATION INSTITUTIONS VÄXJÖ, SWEDEN 29.09.03 – 03.10.03 WEDNESDAY 29.09.04 Conference members met at 17.30 at our host institution, The House of Emigrants of the Swedish Emigrant Institute in Växjö, Sweden. They were welcomed by the Director, Dr Per Nordahl and entertained to a buffet reception. The Chairman thanked Dr Nordahl and his colleagues for their warm welcome. He read a message from the immediate past Chairman of the Association, Knut Djupdal, who for the first time in many years had been prevented by business from attending. He then introduced Hans Storhaug, editor of the AEMI Journal, who reported that the second issue of the Journal is almost ready to go to the printers. He circulated copies of the cover page and contents. The theme of this special issue is ‘Migrants and Descendants: Ambivalent Legacies and New Border-Crossings in a Changing World’ and it will contain twelve of the papers given at last year’s conference in Lisbon. Copies of the Journal should be posted to members by the end of October. The Chairman expressed thanks on behalf of the Association to contributors and especially to the editor. The founding of the Journal has been a major achievement of the last two years, thanks largely to the energy and commitment of Hans Storhaug. Having raised a glass or two to absent members, as Knut Dupedal had requested, conference members then enjoyed the convivial opportunity to explore the various fine exhibits on display in the House of Emigrants, including a temporary exhibition on the connections between Sweden and South Africa. THURSDAY 30.09.04 The Annual Meeting of the Association of European Migration Institutions was opened formally at 9.00 in the Lecture Room of the Swedish Emigrant Institute, Växjö. The morning session was divided into three parts. The first part was a series of short presentations about a range of projects currently in progress or in prospect. This was followed by discussion. In the concluding part an attempt was made to summarise the main features of the discussion and identify points for future action. The first presentation was given by Chairman on the application to the Culture 2000 programme of the European Union for a ‘European Migration Heritage Route Project’, which had been submitted in November 2003 by a group of nine AEMI members, led by the Centre for Migration Studies at the Ulster-American Folk Park, Northern Ireland. The application scored highly, as we heard in May 2004, but unfortunately not highly enough to be selected. The Chairman reminded the meeting that the project consisted of four main elements or Activities: 1. Enlargement of the network of the Association of European Migration Institutions to include at least one member institution of each European State 2. Development of a new on-line ‘European Migration Heritage Resources Portal’ 3. Establishement of a new, annual ‘European Migration Heritage Week’ 4. Establishment of the ‘European Migration Heritage Route’ as a new Cultural Route The Chairman went on to explain why the decision had been taken not to proceed with the pilot European Migration Heritage Week in October 2004 as planned. He referred to the positive responses of some institutions such as the Centre des Documentations, Luxembourg and drew attention to the excellent video presentation submitted by the San Marino Emigrant Museum and Study Center. This is a recording ‘The Voyage of the Hero’, a 90-minute multi-media stage presentation of the emigrant experience, involving 12 returned emigrants aged 60 and over and 12 students aged 18-25. This innovative project aims to ‘involve the elderly as protagonists of migration and the students as heirs of a social context modified by the work and commitment of the former in order to build a society which promotes co-existence of different identities and cultures, thus encouraging a sense of belonging to one’s own country’. He emphasized that not all ‘events’ that might be included in a Migration Heritage Week programme need be as elaborate as this. For example, a member institution that normally charged for public admission might consider marking one day in Migration Heritage Week by offering free admission. Wincie Johannsdottir of the Icelandic Emigrant Center then reported on the progress of the application which her institution is leading to the European Union’s E-Content programme for a ‘Journey’ project that will develop a ‘resources portal’ on the theme of European Migration. She explained that the application had been given a preliminary grading of ‘good’. Although no timescale has been given for a final decision, she remains hopeful that the application may be successful. Antoinette Reuter of the Centre des Documentations in Luxembourg reported on the role that her institution will be playing in the programme leading up to Luxembourg being European Capital of Culture in 2007. She plans to establish a steering committee to manage the migration aspect of this programme and will be writing about the programme to AEMI members and others who may be interested in participating shortly. The aim is to hold an international conference on the theme of migration in 2007 that will be attended ideally by two representatives from each European state. It is envisaged that the committee will meet initially in Luxembourg in April 2005. The aim will be to achieve a membership of about eight, including some AEMI members that will be representative of Europe according to type of institution and geographical location. Hans Storhaug of the Norwegian Emigrant Centre in Stavanger reported on the innovative Youth and Migration project that his institution will be leading as part of the programme associated with Stavanger being European Capital of Culture in 2008. Further details of this project can be found at on the AEMI website. Sorina Capp of the Council of Europe’s Institute of European Cultural Routes reported that the Council of Europe at a meeting in June 2004 approved in principle the idea of the ‘European Migration Heritage Route’. She explained that while this in itself does not make any new resources available to AEMI or to any of its member institutions, it does give potentially powerful support to any further funding applications that AEMI or its member institutions might make in order to develop this Route. Henning Bender of the Danish Emigrant Archives and Treasurer of AEMI reported on several funding opportunities. He urged that it would be particularly appropriate for the Association to make application to those programmes that have the support of ‘networking’ as a main objective. After the coffee break, the Chairman invited Dr Simone Eick from Germany to give a presentation about her institution, the Deutsches Auswandererhaus in Bremerhaven, which is applying this year for membership of the Association. She explained that the Deutsches Auswandererhaus is planned to open in Bremerhaven in August 2005 as a major new facility for cultural tourism with the aim of attracting over 200,000 visitors per year. Set against the authentic backdrop of the port of Bremerhaven it will aim to give the visitor through the use of spectacular models insight into the experience of crossing the Atlantic and the emotions of anguish and hope associated with heart-wenching quayside farewells. The exhibit will include a 32 metre long ship, moving in ‘real water’ at the quayside. A special feature of the facility will be a library of 7 million individual emigrant stories. The project, which is a public-private partnership, is unusual in that the same firm is responsible for the design, construction and running of the building. It was a particular pleasure that long-standing AEMI member Jürgen Rudloff of the Förderverein Deutsches Auswanderermuseum was present to speak in support of this project. He reminded the meeting that it had been his institution that had nurtured the idea of an Emigration Museum in Bremerhaven over many years and that it had been at the AEMI Annual Meeting in 2000, hosted by his institution, that the breakthrough announcement of public funding support of about €20 million had first been made. Although progress on the project had initially been slow, it was now clear that the building was on track to open in 2005 and he hoped very much that his institution would have a continuing role in some form, perhaps as a Friends organization. Dr Eick also explained that another long-standing AEMI member, Wolfgang Grams of Routes to the Roots, who played such a key role in the development of the temporary exhibition that AEMI members enjoyed visiting in Bremerhaven in 2000, will have an important role in this new project. It is envisaged that before leaving the new Deutsches Auswandererhaus, visitor will be offered support in exploring their own family history, including guidance on opportunities for visiting the places from which their ancestors came, in Germany and elsewhere in Europe. Wolfgang Grams will be involved in this further development of his pioneering cultural tourism service known as ‘Routes to the Roots’. Dr Eick also stressed how important it was going to be to the success of her new institution to develop links both with AEMI institutions and with Ellis Island. Plans are already well advanced for a temporary exhibition based on the new Bremerhaven project at Ellis Island. As well as these presentations information was circulated from Wolfgang Grams who unfortunately had been prevented by illness from attending. As well as his continuing involvement in the Bremerhaven project, members may be interested to know that he has been researching and documenting the emigration of the family of the Danube Swabian Johnny Weissmüller from Temeswar, Rumania to Chicago for the Donauschwäbische Zentral Museum, Ulm, Germany and that following the success of the Migration Heritage Map of Northwest Germany he is working with the German National Tourist Board to produce a 6-page brochure on Roots and Heritage Travel. If any members are interested in getting support for the scanning of archival holdings and the production of electronic indexes for on-line publication in association with www.MyFamily.com they may contact Wolfagang for further information at www.routes.de and routes@t-online.de. It may be noted here for future reference that information from another member institution that was unable to be represented this year, the Rozmberk Society in the Czech Republic, was received and circulated later in the meeting. Following these presentations there was further discussion. We are grateful to Gunilla Sundén of the Swedish Emigrant Institute for acting as rapporteur. Her summary of the main points of the discussion was as follows: 1. Since AEMI is a very diverse organization a secretariat is needed for practical reasons to improve information on what is going on in different countries; to take good care of new members; and to make a reality of and implement good decisions between the annual meetings. More funding is needed to strengthen the economy of the organization and there is also a need for a poster for information. 2. Support was given to the idea of a steering committee of about eight persons, including Hans Storhaug and Sorina Capp, to be led by Antoinette Reuter meeting twice a year (April and fall) between now and 2007 when Luxembourg is European Capital of Culture 3. There should be increased visibility through the AEMI website in order to make more impact on local governments 4. It is important to see the relevance of including immigration in the work of AEMI, not just emigration. 5. The work and organization of AEMI should include and attract all of Europe, from north to south and east to west. 6. There is no objection in principle to immigrant organizations applying to AEMI for membership. The requirement for membership remains that the charter of the organization should include the documentation, research and presentation of European migration. 7. Concerning the discussion on a European Migration Heritage Week, it was agreed that it is a good idea in principle to have local events taking place in every country within the same week. As a first step for the coming year it was agreed that Hans Storhaug should compile and inventory of events being held by member institutions. 8. Finally it was emphasized that migration is a long process, not just a short journey. Lunch was a dine-around in Växjö. The afternoon session was devoted to the Annual General Meeting of the Association. AEMI ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The Annual General Meeting of the Association of European Migration Institutions was convened at the Swedish Emigrant Institute, Växjö and called to order at 13.00 by Chairman Brian Lambkin 1. Election of presiding officer for the General Assembly The Chairman moved that Professor Adam Walaszek be elected presiding officer of the business meeting. The motion was agreed. Members Those present were: The Danish Emigration Archives, Aalborg, Denmark, represented by Dr Henning Bender The Institute of Migration, Turku, Finland, represented by Professor Olavi Koivujangas Génériques, Paris, France, represented by Laurence Canal Friends of the German Emigration Museum, Bremerhaven, Germany, represented by Jürgen Rudloff The Icelandic Emigration Center, Hofsos, Iceland, represented by Ms Wincie Johansdottir The Centre for Documentation of Human Migration, Luxembourg, represented by Ms Antoinette Reuter The Centre for Migration Studies at the Ulster-American Folk Park, Northern Ireland, represented by Dr Brian Lambkin The Norwegian Emigration Center, Stavanger, Norway, represented by Mr Hans Storhaug The Institute of Diaspora and Ethnic Studies, Krakow, Poland, represented by Professor Adam Walaszek The Centre for the Study of Migration and Intercultural Relations, Lisbon, Portugal, represented by Professor Maria-Beatriz Rocha-Trindade The Institute for Slovene Emigration Studies, Ljubljana, Slovenia, represented by Dr Irena Gantar Godina The Swedish Emigrant Institute, Växjö, Sweden, represented by Dr Per Nordhal The Immigrant Institute, Boras, Sweden, represented by Dr Miguel Benito The Åland Islands Emigrant Institute, Mariehamm, Finland, represented by Ms Eva Meyer There were no personal members present. The following member institutions were not represented: The Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies, Zagreb, Croatia The Danish Immigrant Museum Farum, Denmark The Archives Department, Merseyside Maritime Museum, Liverpool, England, UK The North Frisian Emigrant Archive, Bredstedt, Germany Routes to the Routes, Oldenburg, Germany The Research Center for German Emigrants in the USA, Oldenburg, Germany The John F Kennedy Trust, New Ross, Ireland The Centro Italiano di Studi Sull Emigrazione, Tramonti, Italy Centro Studi Emigrazione Roma, Rome, Italy The Norwegian-American Collection, National Library of Norway The County Archives, Sogn og Fjordane, Kaupanger, Norway The Norwegian Emigrant Museum, Ottestad, Norway The San Marino Emigrant Museum and Study Center, San Marino The National Library of Scotland, Scots abroad. Edinburgh, UK The Museum of Scotland International, National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh, UK The Slovene Ethnographic Museum, Ljubljana, Slovenia The following associated members were not present: Pier 21, Halifax, Canada. Ellis Island Immigration Museum, New York, USA Minutes of the last Annual Meeting, held in Lisbon on 30 September 2003, which had been posted previously on the AEMI website, were accepted by the meeting. 2. Chairman’s Report for 2003-2004 The Chairman spoke to his report, circulated previously on the AEMI website, highlighting the main achievements of the year: the submission of the major funding application to the Culture 2000 programme of the European Union for the European Migration Heritage Route project, and the appearance of the second volume of the AEMI Journal, which would be distributed to members shortly. He thanked those who had participated for the useful discussion which had taken place that morning. He welcomed the news that the Council of Europe has given approval to the European Migration Heritage Route concept, which he hoped would progressively become a reality through the Association working in collaboration with the European Institute of Cultural Routes. In conclusion he thanked members for their support throughout the year and also his colleagues on the Executive Board. In particular he thanked Professor Maria-Beatriz Rocha-Trindade, representing the Centre for the Study of Migration and Intercultural Relations in Lisbon, which hosted last year’s Annual Meeting, for the work of her colleague and outgoing member of the Executive Board, Professor Armando Oliveira. The Chairman concluded by thanking Dr Per Nordahl for his work as new member of the Board and host of this year’s Annual Meeting. The Chairman moved the adoption of the report. The meeting adopted the motion. 3. Treasurer’s Report (a) Financial Statement and Accounts for 2003 The Secretary and Treasurer, Henning Bender presented the Financial Statement and Accounts for 2003, as posted previously on the AEMI website. The Secretary and Treasurer moved the adoption of the Accounts. The meeting adopted the motion. (b) Budget for 2004 and Preliminary Account for 2004 The Secretary and Treasurer presented the Budget for 2004 and Preliminary Account for 2004 as posted previously on the AEMI website. The Association’s Auditor, Dr Ulf Beijbom, confirmed that he was satisfied with the Accounts for 2004 and had signed them. The Secretary and Treasurer moved the adoption of the Budget for 2004 and the Preliminary Account for 2004. The meeting adopted the motion. 4. Admission of New Members The Secretary-Treasurer presented the following applicant institution for admission to ordinary membership: Deutsches Auswandererhaus, Bremerhaven, Germany. He referred to the presentation given by Dr Simone Eick that morning and wished it well for its projected opening in August 2005. The meeting admitted the Deutsches Auswandererhaus to ordinary membership. 5. Members Projects Professor Maria-Beatriz Rocha-Trindade said that progress during the year with the new Museum of Emigration in Fafe, Portugal had been slower than expected but that Dr Miguel Montiero hoped to be in attendance at the next Annual Meeting to present his new institution for admission to membership. Antoinette Reuter reported sad news of the recent death of our contact, Antonio Perotti of the Centro Studi Emigrazione in Rome, Italy. He had been vital to the commitment of the Scalabrini Order to this work. Dr Miguel Benito of the Immigrant Institute in Boras, Sweden, reported that his institution’s website was currently receiving more hits than the equivalent government website. He explained about how December 18 has been designated ‘Day of the Immigrants’ in commemoration of the date on which the Convention on Immigrant Rights was first signed. 6. Proposed Budget for 2005-07 The Secretary and Treasurer spoke to the proposed budget for 2005-07, posted previously on the AEMI website. He explained how this represented the most prudent use of resources, given that no significant increase in subscriptions could be contemplated in the medium term, and warned that unless additional funding was obtained, the Association would be unable to maintain its current level of activities beyond 2007. The Secretary and Treasure moved the adoption of the proposed budget and the meeting accepted the motion. 7. Annual Subscription The Secretary Treasure reported on a communication received from Dr Diana Pardue of Ellis Island to the effect that the subscription for associate members was so low as to be almost equivalent to the cost of making the money transfer. He proposed therefore that the cost of annual subscription for associate membership should therefore be raised from €25 to €50. The meeting accepted the motion. 8. Appointment of Auditor The Secretary and Treasurer reported that Dr Ulf Beijbom, former Director of the Swedish Emigrant Institute, who has been the Auditor of the Association ‘since time immemorial’, had decided to resign from the post. The Secretary Treasurer took the opportunity to pay tribute to Dr Beijbom’s work over the years, not only in his capacity as Auditor but also as founding member of the Association. The Chairman also thanked Dr Beijbom and made a small presentation of behalf of the Association as a token of its appreciation of his generous year’s of service. The Secretary and Treasurer proposed Ms Eva Meyer of the Alands Emigrantinstitut, Finland for the vacant post of Auditor. There being no other nominations, the meeting accepted the proposal. The Chairman thanked Ms Meyer for being willing to undertake this service. 9. Election of Officers of the Executive Board All members confirmed that they were willing to continue serving for the third year of the present three-year term. Therefore no election was necessary. The Chairman reminded members that a representative of whichever institution is chosen to host the next Annual Meeting will automatically become a member of the Executive Board for the coming year. He again thanked Professor Armando Oliveira as outgoing member of the Board, representing last year’s host institution, and said that it will be necessary to hold elections at the next Annual Meeting to elect a new Executive Board. 10. Next Meetings The Chairman introduced Ms Laurence Canal and Ms Delphine Folliet, representatives of Génériques, Paris, France. Ms Canal said that the Director of Génériques, Dr Driss Al Yazami, had regrettably been prevented from attending the meeting in person but that he had asked herself and her colleague to convey the offer of Géneriques to host that next Annual Meeting of the Association in Paris. There being no other offers, the meeting warmly accepted the invitation. There followed discussion of the most suitable date. Taking account of representation from San Marino in particular, it was agreed that the dates of next year’s meeting will include Friday 7 October to Sunday 9 October. Precise dates of the meeting will be confirmed as soon as possible and communicated to members. It was noted that expressions of interest in hosting the Association’s Annual Meeting in 2006 or 2007 have been received from the following: Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies, Zagreb, Croatia Deutsches Auswanderermuseum, Bremerhaven, Germany Danish Emigration Archives, Aalborg, Denmark Institute of Migration, Finland A decision on the venue of the Annual Meeting in 2006 will be made at the next Annual Meeting in Paris, 2005. 11. Any Other Business There was no other business. The Chairman thanked Professor Walaszek for presiding. The Annual General Meeting concluded at 16.30. Dinner at Slott Teleborg, hosted by Mr Åke Eriksson, Chairman of the Muncipality of Växjö FRIDAY 1.10.04 The day was devoted to lectures in the Swedish Emigrant Institute on the theme of the Annual Meeting: ‘Connecting Contemporary Migration with the Past’ Professor Lars Olsson, ‘Research and Teaching on Migration in the University of Växjö: the use of oral history’ Dr Katarina Hjelm, ‘The AMER Research Profile of Migration Research at the University of Växjö Professor Jan Ekberg, ‘ Immigrants and the Welfare State in Sweden’ Dr Per Nordahl, ‘The Local, Regional and National Context of Migration Research in Sweden Dr Torbjörn Johannson, ‘The use of Information and Communications Technology in connecting contemporary migration with the past: the work of the Interactive Institute, Umea, Sweden’ Dr Dan Malmsten, ‘The EU EMIL Project: Indexing Emigrant Letters’ Dinner at Kosta Glass Factory, hosted by Eva Lövquist on behalf of the County of Kronoberg. SATURDAY 2.10.04 The day was devoted to lectures in the Swedish Emigrant Institute on the theme of the Annual Meeting: ‘Connecting Contemporary Migration with the Past’ Dr Claude Wey, ‘“We should be very happy to show you our dear Sweden a ‘meng Hunger’”: tracing an emigrant trajectory between Luxembourg and Sweden using emigrant letters’ Dr Irena Gantar Godina, ‘Slovene women intellectuals abroad, 1860-1919’ Professor Maria Beatriz Rocha-Trinadade, ‘Recent Developments in Portuguese Migration’ Professor Olavi Koivokangas, ‘Connecting contemporary migration with the past: challenges and opportunities’ Johan Svanberg, ‘Labour immigration and the ethnic division of labour in a Swedish factory’ Dr Solveig Fagerlund, ‘Trans-Atlantic emigration as part of a migratory culture: a micro historical perspective on the community of Stensjö, Sweden’ Cecilia Axelsson, ‘Keeping up? – an analysis of the website of the Swedish Emigrant Institute’ Dinner at the Palace of the Governor of the County of Kronoberg in Växjö, hosted by Claes Sjöblom, Deputy Governor. SUNDAY, 3.10.04 Final Plenary Session, 9.00 –12.00 Sorina Capp of the European Institute of Cultural Routes kindly gave a detailed on-line demonstration of the Institute’s website (http://www.culture-routes.lu ). This enabled members to appreciate more clearly the opportunities which this facility of the Institute offers for promoting the European Migration Heritage Route and how it might be used in other ways to complement the existing AEMI website (www.aemi.dk ). There was further discussion of issues arising from the meeting, particularly with regard to action points for the coming year, including new funding applications to promote AEMI networking; an inventory of AEMI member activities 2004-05; Luxembourg 2007; Stavanger 2008; the third issue of the AEMI Journal, 2005. In his concluding remarks the Chairman commented on the impressive co-operation that is evidently underway between the Swedish Emigrant Institute and the University of Växjö, and also on the strong partnership that is evident between the Institute and the City of Växjö and the County of Kronoberg. Before saying a final farewell, a small presentation was made on behalf of the Association to Per Nordahl and his colleagues for their hard work and generous hospitality.