Hanne Beirens
Director, MPI Europe
Hanne Beirens is Director of Migration Policy Institute Europe. She specializes in European Union policies related to asylum and migration, human trafficking, labor migration, and youth.
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Prior to joining MPI as Associate Director in 2015, Dr. Beirens worked as a Lead Managing Consultant for ICF Consulting, where she focused on impact assessments, feasibility studies, and evaluations for the European Commission, with a particular focus on EU asylum and migration policy, as well as developing products within the European Migration Network (EMN), including pan-European studies and the EMN annual report. Topics covered include reception facilities for asylum seekers, unaccompanied children, and non-EU harmonized protection statuses.
Earlier, Dr. Beirens worked as a Research Fellow at the Institute for Applied Social Studies of the University of Birmingham, evaluating services, organizations, and community-based initiatives pursuing the integration of asylum seekers, refugees, and third-country nationals. She also has worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and as an independent consultant for the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO).
She holds a master's degree in race and ethnic relations (with distinction) and a PhD in sociology and ethnic relations on the participation of minors in armed conflict, both from the University of Warwick (UK).
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This event hosted by MPI Europe and the Research Unit of the Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration featured a discussion on research into legal migration pathways for work and training for low- and middle-skilled migrants.
With thousands migrants potentially traveling through the Western Balkans this year, this MPI Europe webinar explores the implications of the buttressed EU border on the bloc’s neighbors, the migrants transiting these routes, and the local communities.
The third Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion conference in Brussels, co-organized by MPI Europe with the U.S. and Canadian Missions to the European Union and the European Economic and Social Committee, explored how innovations in living situations for refugees can promote community-driven inclusion, overcome divisions, facilitate economic opportunities, and foster a sense of "home."
A discussion on the vital new research project, ChildMove, that explores the experiences of young refugees and migrants who have traveled across Europe unaccompanied by their families.
This webinar, featuring findings from an MPI Europe report, examines major challenges facing refugee resettlement peer-support projects in Europe and key lessons for Member States.
One Phase Closes for the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. Now Another Begins
Prolonged Ukrainian Displacement: An Uneasy Marriage of Reception, Integration, and Return Policies
The UK-Rwanda Agreement Represents Another Blow to Territorial Asylum
Is Europe Prepared for a Possible Large-Scale Ukrainian Displacement Crisis?
The International Community Must Develop a Well-Coordinated Protection Strategy for Afghan Refugees
The EU Pact on Migration and Asylum—A Bold Move to Avoid the Abyss?
Greece’s Moria Tragedy: The Crash Test for the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum
When Emergency Measures Become the Norm: Post-Coronavirus Prospects for the Schengen Zone
The COVID-19 Pandemic Suggests the Lessons Learned by European Asylum Policymakers After the 2015 Migration Crisis Are Fading
The Future of Refugee Resettlement: Made in Europe?
Three Things the European Union Can Do to Support Private Sponsorship for Refugees
Horst Seehofer’s Migration Plan for Germany: Another Nail in the Coffin of Europe’s Asylum System?
Children: The Forgotten Aspect of the EU-Turkey Deal