Chinese migration, entrepreneurship and development in the new global economy
29-30 October 2013
Organisers
PIN Polo Universitario ‘Città di Prato’ – University of Florence
Monash University Prato Centre
in collaboration with
Migration Policy Centre, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute
Business School, Wenzhou University
Program
Tuesday 29 October 2013
1.45pm-6pm Symposia sessions
Location: Monash University Prato Centre, Palazzo Vai, via Pugliesi, 26, Prato, Tuscany, Italy
6.30pm-8.30pm Welcome reception and screening of ‘L’Occupazione Cinese: Made in Prato’,
a documentary by Massimo Luconi, produced by D4 with Rai Cinema (in Italian with English subtitles)
Location: PIN Polo Universitario ‘Città di Prato’, Piazza Giovanni Ciardi, 25, Prato, Tuscany, Italy
Wednesday 30 October 2013
9am-10am
Keynote address
The social sources of migration and enterprise: Italian peasants and Chinese migrants in Prato
Authors: Dr Gary G. Hamilton, Henry M. Jackson Professor of International Studies, University of Washington, and
Mr Donald Fels, Independent scholar.
Location: Monash University Prato Centre, Palazzo Vai, via Pugliesi, 26, Prato, Tuscany, Italy
10am-5.30pm Symposia sessions
Location: Monash University Prato Centre, Palazzo Vai, via Pugliesi, 26, Prato, Tuscany, Italy
NB: Download a detailed program at the bottom of this webpage. Program last updated 27 September 2013.
Language
English
Background
Since 2007, the symposia have been held in alternate years at the Monash Prato Centre and Wenzhou University as part of the Memorandum of Understanding between these universities, the PIN Polo Universitario ‘Città di Prato’ - University of Florence, and the Prato Province. This collaboration has fostered valuable contributions to knowledge and understanding of the migrant experience, in the sending and receiving societies, by means of symposia and conferences, cultural events and the many publications in multiple languages which have resulted from our research.
About the 2013 symposia
It is common that migrants coming from the same sending areas form communities in the receiving societies, in which members are linked by social and economic networks. These networks usually extend to people who remain in the sending areas. It is also known that Wenzhou Chinese migration is characterised by a specific entrepreneurial culture (small family businesses which are often interconnected) and that Chinese communities are scattered all over the world and linked by networks. In recent decades, marked by increasing globalisation and the rise of China as an economic superpower, the role of Chinese migrants and in particular of Chinese entrepreneurs (especially transnational entrepreneurs) has dramatically changed, with important consequences for the economic, social and political contexts of both the sending and receiving areas. Despite the significance of this change, little is known about its processes and consequences. Gathering to discuss new research from an interdisciplinary perspective on these issues, the 2013 symposia aim at reaching a better understanding of Chinese migration in the present era of globalisation.
Main topics
1. Chinese investment strategies and migration: Do diaspora matter, and to whom?
2. Chinese entrepreneurship.
3. The role of returnees.
4. Chinese migrant transnational networks and cross-regional/national bridges.
5. Impact of Chinese migration for the sending area/country.
6. Impact of Chinese migration for the receiving area/country.
7. Policy experiences/implications related to Chinese migration