Labour Market ObservatoryPermanent Study Group on Immigration and Integration

Conference onIntegrating migrants into the labour market:

a win-win situation for all25 June 2015, 9.30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Brussels

SPEAKERS

Christa SchwengPresident of the Labour Market Observatory (LMO)

European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)

Christa Schweng has been a member of the European Economic and Social Committee (Employers’ Group, Austria) since 1998 and the President of the Labour Market Observatory of the EESC since April 2013.

She is currently Senior advisor to the Social Policy Department of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (since 1994).

Her other positions include: member of the Advisory Committee on Safety and Health at work, member of the Bureau and Governing Board of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (Bilbao) (since 1994), and Chairperson of the latter Governing board in 2001, 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2013, as well as member of the Social Affairs committee of the European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (UEAPME).

Christa Schweng holds Master of Law studies from the University of Vienna and speaks German, English, French and Spanish.

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Irini PariPresident of the Permanent Study Group on Immigration and Integration (IMI)

European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)

Irini Pari is the Permanent Delegate of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) in Brussels.

She is also a member of the Committee of Permanent Delegates at the BUSINESSEUROPE-Confederation of European Business and has been a member of the European Social Dialogue Committee since 1995.

She has been a member of the European Economic and Social Committee since 1998, where she works as part of Group I – Employers. She is currently President of the Immigration and Integration Working Group and a member of both the social and economic sections, and the Labour Market Observatory.

Her previous roles include: Vice-President of the European Economic and Social Committee responsible for communication (2008-2010), Vice-President of the Employers’ Group (2006-2008) and Vice-President of the Social Section (2004-2008). She worked as an advisor at the European Commission, for both the Secretariat General and the Directorate General for Competition on State Aid (1988-1994).

She studied political science and international relations at Panteion University in Athens and European studies at the ULB Institute for European Studies in Brussels. She was born in Kinshasa and has two children.

Maureen O'NeillPresident of the Section on Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship (SOC)

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European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)

Maureen O'Neill has been a member of the EESC for 12 years and is currently President of the SOC Section.

She has worked in the UK voluntary sector for over 30 years on issues linked with ageing, mental health, homelessness and general health issues.

Her current role as Director of Faith in Older People involves promoting the spiritual well-being of older people – an intrinsic part of a person-centred approach to health and social care.

She has previously served on the NHS Quality Improvement Board and the Scottish Social Services Council.

She is currently a member of the Royal College of Physicians' Lay Committee and is about to take up the role of chairperson for a residential care home.

Thomas LiebigSenior Administrator, International Migration Division,Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs,

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

Thomas Liebig is Senior Migration Specialist in the International Migration Division of the OECD’s Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs in Paris.

Since joining the division in 2004, he has been in charge, among other things, of the OECD's work on the integration of immigrants and their children.

The projects he has led include in-depth country studies on labour market integration in 12 OECD countries, as well as international comparative work on the children of immigrants, the socio-economic impact of naturalisation and the fiscal impact of immigration. He is also responsible for the joint EC-OECD indicators of immigrant integration, to be published in July 2015.

Mr Liebig, a German national, holds a doctorate and an MSc in Economics from the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland). His dissertation, published in 2004, dealt with the international competition for highly-skilled migrants. He also holds an MSc in International Affairs and, following studies at ESADE (Barcelona, Spain), a CEMS Master's in International Business Management.

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Prior to joining the International Migration Division, he worked as a consultant for the OECD’s Economics Department in 2000 and as a Research Associate at the Institute for Labour Economics and Labour Law at the University of St. Gallen from 2001-2004. Mr Liebig has produced a number of publications and lectures on migration and integration issues.

Heinz BeckerMember of the European Parliament

Austria, Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats)

Heinz K. Becker is a Member of the European Parliament (since 2011), Secretary-General of the Austrian Senior Citizens' Association (ÖSB - since 2001) and Vice-Chair of the European Senior's Union (ESU - since 2013).

He has also been a Member of the Political Academy's board of the Austrian People's Party since 2001 and a Member of the executive board of the Federation of Austrian Social Insurance Institutions since 2009.

As both a Member of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) and Substitute Member of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL), Mr Becker has covered a wide range of topics regarding migration and labour market issues.

Before joining the European Parliament, Mr Becker gained extensive experience in the creative industries, including advertising and media.

Jasper van LooSenior Expert

European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP)

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Jasper van Loo (1972) is a Senior Expert at the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop). Jasper holds a Master's degree in economics from Maastricht University and a PhD in social sciences from Utrecht University.

He has extensive experience researching skills, skills mismatch and obsolescence, competence analysis and employability.

He currently works on lifelong learning issues, analyses skill mismatch policies and coordinates Cedefop’s monitoring of vocational education and training policies in Europe. Previously, Jasper worked for an education and labour market research institute in the Netherlands.

Jasper has a number of articles and book chapters to his name (on lifelong learning, ageing and skills obsolescence, skill mismatch, workplace diversity and other topics). He regularly acts as a reviewer of academic journals and has organised several international events.

Luis Miguel Pariza CastañosMember of the Permanent Study Group on Immigration and Integration (IMI) and

rapporteur for numerous opinions on migration, asylum and integration

Luis Miguel Pariza Castaños has a degree in political science and sociology and is Executive of the Trade Union Confederation of Workers' Commissions (CCOO).

He joined the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in 2000 and has been a member of the following sections: ECO, SOC and CCMI.

Mr Pariza Castaños is also a member of the Bureau of the European Forum on Immigration and was a member of the CCOO Confederal Executive Commission.

Finally, he is a member of the Basque Economic and Social Council and Council of Labour Affairs.

Jean LambertMember of the European Parliament

United Kingdom, Greens/European Free Alliance

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Jean Lambert was first elected to the European Parliament in 1999 as the Green member for London, representing the views of those who want an environmentally sustainable, fairer society.

She was re-elected for a fourth term in the May 2014 European elections.

Jean is currently a full member of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs where she focuses on social inclusion, workers' rights, immigration, social security, and the European Semester process.

Jean is also a substitute member of the Committee on Civil Liberties where she works on issues related to asylum, immigration, children's rights and anti-discrimination.

In 2014, Jean was re-elected for a second term as the chair of the European Parliament's Delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia. Within this delegation, she leads on the Parliament’s external relations with Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. She is also a substitute on the India and Afghanistan delegations.

Laura CorradoHead of the Legal migration and integration unit,

Directorate General for Migration and Home affairs, European Commission

Laura Corrado has been working at the European Commission since 2001, where she has been dealing with a variety of issues related mainly to justice and home affairs policies (Schengen, borders and visa policies, data protection, immigration).

She is currently head of the Legal Migration and Integration Unit at DG HOME.

She graduated in international law from the University of Perugia (Italy) and subsequently obtained a Master in European Political and Administrative Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges (Belgium).

Before joining the Commission, she worked as an assistant in international law and international organisation at the University of Perugia and then as a researcher and lecturer on EU-related matters at the European Institute of Public Administration in Maastricht (The Netherlands).

Kashetu Kyenge

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Member of the European Parliament Italy, Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats

Kashetu Kyenge was born in Kambove (Haut-Katanga District) in the Democratic Republic of Congo on 28 August 1964.

She arrived in Italy in 1983 where she graduated in medicine and surgery at the Catholic University of Sacro Cuore in Rome before going on to specialise in ophthalmology at University of Modena. She subsequently worked as an oculist in several general outpatient clinics in the Modena and Reggio Emilia areas.

In 2002, she founded the Association for Intercultural DAWA ("dawa" is a Kiswahili word meaning "medicine"), with the aim of promoting mutual understanding of different cultures and developing processes of awareness, integration and cooperation between Italy and Africa, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Political activity

In 2004, she was elected councillor for the Democratic Party (PD) in the district of Modena. In 2009 she was elected provincial councillor in Modena for the Democratic Party (PD) and was in charge of immigration policies and international cooperation for the Emilia Romagna region.

In 2013, she was elected member of the Chamber of Deputies for the PD, becoming Minister for Integration in Letta's government in April 2013. In 2013, she was included, in 23rd position, in the “100 Leading Global Thinkers” list, published yearly by the American Foreign Policy Magazine.

In May 2014, she was elected Member of European Parliament where she is a member of the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee, Culture and Education Committee and vice-chair of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.

In the same year, she published the book "Ho sognato una strada" (I dreamed of a road"), edited by Piemme, about the assets that migrants bring to Italy. Since October 2014, she has been a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Migration. She is currently co-rapporteur for the European Parliament on the strategic initiative report on the “Situation in the Mediterranean and the need for a holistic EU approach to migration”.

Maria Vincenza DesiderioPolicy analyst

Migration Policy Institute

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Maria Vincenza Desiderio is a Policy Analyst at The Migration Policy Institute Europe (MPI Europe) where she specialises in the governance of economic migration (for employment, entrepreneurship and investment) and immigrant integration policy. She focuses in particular on skilled migration.

In addition to immigration and integration policies, Ms Desiderio also analyses the broader set of policy instruments and international agreements which facilitate an orderly and efficient flow of people in response to labour and economic development needs.

This includes policies to facilitate the recognition of foreign qualifications. Prior to joining MPI Europe, Ms Desiderio worked as a policy analyst at the International Migration Division of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). She was also a Research Officer at the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Her recent publications include: Attracting highly-skilled human resources across borders: a comparative study with relevance to Brazil (MDIC, 2015); Improving migrants’ labour market integration in Europe from the outset: A cooperative approach to pre-departure measures (MPI Europe, 2015); Challenges to the recognition of foreign qualifications in the EU (Centre for European policy studies CEPS, 2014); Supporting immigrant integration in Europe? Developing the governance for diaspora engagement (MPI Europe, 2014); Improving Access to Labour Market Information for Migrants and Employers (IOM, 2013); Recognition of Qualifications and Competences of Migrants (IOM, 2013, co-author); Migrant Entrepreneurship in OECD Countries (OECD, 2011, co-author).

Eva ValentovaLawyer and project-coordinator

Association for Integration and Migration (SIMI), Czech Republic

Eva Čech Valentová is a graduate of the Law Faculty at Charles University Prague and Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne. She is a specialist in European, immigration and asylum law.

Since 2009, she has worked as project coordinator and advocacy officer in the Association for Integration and Migration (SIMI), one of the Czech major human rights organisations.

Within her portfolio, she focuses on labour migration, irregular migration, gender in migration and migrant integration at the local level. Recently, she has been leader in promoting and incorporating the migrant assistant services into the structures of municipalities in the Prague region.

She is co-author of a several expert publications and monographies, both in the Czech Republic and Europeanwide context. She has organised a large number of migration related expert events in the Czech Republic and represented her organisation at various national platforms and European networks.

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In the past, she worked as an intern at the European Commission, DG Translation, as a junior lawyer for international law firms in Prague, or as a legal counsellor for non-profit organisations.

Apart from her Slovak mother tongue, she is fluent in Czech, French and English.

Klára FótiResearch Manager

European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound)

Dr. Klara Foti is Research Manager at the Living Conditions and Quality of Life unit in Eurofound (European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, based in Dublin).

Her research interest includes labour market and social policy as well as migration. Her current research focuses mainly on intra-EU mobility, leading a project on the social dimension of intra-EU mobility and its impact on public services.

She is managing another research project, entitled “Delivering public services: a greater role for the private sector?” Her work at Eurofound also includes analysing data from the 3rd European Quality of Life Survey. She is involved in the preparation of the questionnaire for the fourth European Quality of Life Survey to be conducted in 2016.

She previously worked as Senior Research Fellow for the Institute for World Economics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest. Her research focused primarily on employment developments and migration in European countries.

Adem KumcuPresident

New European Business Association (UNITEE)

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Dr Adem Kumcu has been President of the New European Business Association (UNITEE) since 2011 and is a founding member of the New European Business Confederation, which advocates the interests of entrepreneurs with a migrant background at European level.

Dr Kumcu has long combined his multiple entrepreneurial experiences with a career in academia.

He studied sociology to MA level at Utrecht University in the Netherlands and obtained a PhD in social and economic sciences from the University of Amsterdam in 2001. Moreover, Dr Kumcu has been strongly committed to civic engagement. He worked for various commissions at the Dutch ministries for foreign affairs, education, culture and science, and economic affairs between 2000 and 2006 and he was a member of the Board of Advisors of the Oranje Foundation from 2008 until 2010.

Dr Kumcu was also President of Cosmicus Foundation (2007-2010), President of the Annifer Foundation (2001-2005), President of the New European Business Foundation (1998-2002) and a member of the Board of Governors of the Soeba Foundation (1992-1995). Before joining UNITEE, Adem Kumcu worked as a Program Manager for Diversity and Integration Policy at the Municipality of Utrecht (2007-2010) and as a Strategic Advisor to the Executive Board of Utrecht University (2004-2007). He was an Urban Economist for WIBW (2003-2004) and a Scientific Researcher at the University of Amsterdam Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies (2002-2003).

Dr Kumcu is also an active promoter of social and cultural entrepreneurship. He has been invited to speak at international conferences and is the author of numerous publications on topics such as immigrant entrepreneurship and education policy. He speaks French, Dutch, English, and Turkish fluently. He is married and has three children.

Ricardo NobreManaging Director

Cross Border Talents, Germany

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Ricardo Nobre started his career at ABB Alstom Power as engineer site manager in Portugal and Thailand. He joined the international recruitment industry in 2001 having worked as country manager at Randstad Inhouse Services.

From 2007 to 2011 he worked as an international specialty manager at Randstad Holding in Amsterdam, providing strategic advice to companies operating in 44 countries.

In 2011, he became a board member at ManpowerGroup, Germany, where he worked as a Strategic Clients Director. Mr Nobre currently leads Cross Border Talents (CB Talents), a specialist recruitment consultancy with a global network of recruitment partners across Europe, the Americas, Africa and Australasia.

CB Talents provide recruitment solutions for the engineering, medical, IT and customer care sectors. By facilitating worldwide talent mobility and keeping the recruitment process short and simple, CB Talents helps to tackle the global skills shortage.

Mr Nobre holds a Master's degree in Engineering from the Instituto Superior Técnico (Lisbon), a Master Business program from Tias Business School (the Netherlands) and the University of Navarra (Spain). Additionally, he holds a qualification in strategic management and value creation from Catolica Lisbon School of Business & Economic.

Marco CilentoAdviser

European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)

Marco Cilento is an adviser at the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).

After obtaining a PhD in Labour Law from the University of Pavia, he has been involved in the trade union movement as an expert on European labour law for the Italian Confederation CISL. From 2001 to 2006, he was the EWC’s coordinator for the European Federation of Agriculture, Food Industry and Tourism sectors (EFFAT).

Since 2006 he has been an adviser at the ETUC on migration policies and the coordination of collective bargaining.

His research activities in the field of social Europe were developed during his time as Scientific Director of the Italian Research Institute Sindnova, a post he held until 2010 and he is still active within the research networks in the field of industrial relations in Europe.

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Bea DialloDeputy-Mayor of Ixelles,

Member of the Brussels Parliament and of the French Community Parliament

Bea Diallo is a Belgian politician of Guinean origin and has a degree in Economics from the Free University of Brussels.

He has been a Member of the Brussels Parliament and of the Parliament of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation since 2004.

From 2009 to 2014, he chaired the International Relations Commission and he currently chairs the Sports Committee.

In addition, he has been a councillor for the Commune d'Ixelles since 2006 in charge of the partnership and prevention agreement, social cohesion, family, youth, twinning, international cooperation, employment, social inclusion, intergenerational relations and equal opportunities.

He is President of the not-for-profit organisation Emergence-xl. Before becoming a politician, he was a top athlete who held the world boxing champion title in 1998.

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