Save the Date: Metropolis International Kick-Off Event

Metropolis International Summit 2025
October 2–3, 2025 | Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada

Join us for the 2025 Metropolis International Conference, taking place at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) on October 2-3, 2025. This landmark event marks an exciting new chapter for Metropolis International as it partners with the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration (CERC Migration) program at TMU.

Over two days, global scholars, policymakers, and practitioners will convene for cutting-edge dialogue on migration and integration. The program will offer fresh insights, critical analysis, and recommendations from leading experts on topics including solidarity cities, diaspora finance, and the evolving terrain of advanced digital technologies on migration research and policy.

The event will also feature a keynote address by Dr. Alejandro Portes, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Princeton University.

Date: October 2-3, 2025

Location: Toronto, Canada

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Program and Agenda:

Thursday, October 2, 2025

8:30 AM EDT Welcome coffee

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9–9:15 AM EDT Welcome and introduction

• Anna Triandafyllidou, Toronto Metropolitan University

• Violet Roumeliotis, Settlement Services International, Australia

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9:15–10:45 AM EDT Panel 1: Solidarity Cities – Policy Frameworks, Coalitions and Challenges in the Americas

Chair: Pablo Ceriani, United Nations Committee on the Rights of Migrant Workers and Their Families

Speakers:

• Harald Bauder, Toronto Metropolitan University

• Els de Graauw, City University of New York

• Anne Güller-Frey, Tür an Tür, Integrationsprojekte GgmbH

• Gioconda Herrera, Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales Ecuador

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10:45–11:15 AM EDT Coffee break

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11:15 AM–12:45 PM EDT Panel 2: Mobilising Diaspora Finance

Chair: Jean-Christophe Dumont, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Speakers:

• Stephen Gelb, Heilbroner Center for Capitalism Studies, New School for Social Research

• Mary Setrana, University of Ghana, Accra

• Tasneem Siddiqui, Dhaka University

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12:45–2 PM EDT Lunch break

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2–2:45 PM EDT Keynote With Doors Closing: Migration and Autarchy in the Era of National Populism

Keynote Speaker: Alejandro Portes, Princeton University

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2:45–3:45 PM EDT Panel 3: Roundtable on Migration Governance in Challenging TImes

Chair: Anna Triandafyllidou, Toronto Metropolitan University

Participants:

• Naika Foroutan, German Center for Integration and Migration Research

• Eva A. Millona, Visiting Scholar, Harvard Immigration Initiative at Harvard University, Graduate School of Education. Former DHS Assistant Secretary

• Silvia Nuñez, Center for Research on North America, UNAM, Mexico

• Brenda Yeoh, National University of Singapore

Friday, October 3, 2025

8:30 AM EDT Welcome coffee

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9–10 AM EDT Keynote

Migration Governance: Perspectives from the Continent

H.E. Amb. Amma Twum-Amoah, Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, African Union

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10–11:30 AM EDT Panel 4: Migration Data in the Era of Advanced Digital Technologies

Chair: Jon Simmons, UK Home Office

Speakers:

• Meghan Benton, Migration Policy Institute, Washington, DC

• Jean-Christophe Dumont, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

• Maegan Hendow, International Centre for Migration Policy Development, Vienna

• Claudia Masferrer, Colegio de México

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11:30–11:45 AM EDT Coffee break

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11:45 AM–1:30 PM EDT Panel 5: Leveraging Advanced Digital Technologies for Supporting Migrants

Chair: Mireille Paquet, Concordia University

Speakers:

• Marla Asis, Scalabrini Centre for Migration Studies

• Hass Dellal, Australian Multicultural Foundation

• Chantal Goyette, Immigration Refugees Citizenship Canada, Ottawa

• Violet Roumeliotis, Settlement Services International

• Elana Wong, Civil Action Committee

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1:30 PM EDT Concluding remarks

Anna Triandafylloidou, Toronto Metropolitan University

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1:30–2:30 PM EDT Lunch

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