05.03.2025 | Texto por Rita Alves
Fotografias Projeto AspirE

CIES-Iscte researcher Sofia Gaspar recently took part in a meeting of researchers in Hong Kong in the context of the AspirE project, which analyzes the (re)migration decisions of aspirants from Southeast and East Asian countries to the European Union.

On February 28, 2025, the AspirE team met with Harvey Rouse, the European Union Ambassador to Hong Kong, and experts from the Education University of Hong Kong, including the Vice President for Research and Development, Professor Chetwyn Che-hin Chan, the Dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Professor Wai-Keung Li, and the Acting Head of the Department of Social Sciences and Policy Studies, Dr. Fox Zhiyong Hu. This meeting highlighted the vital collaboration between the European Union and Hong Kong, emphasizing the mutual commitment to addressing the challenges and opportunities related to migration.

This meeting also saw the third meeting of the AspirE Steering Committee, where the project team discussed the project's progress and outlined the next steps. With valuable contributions from researchers and experts, the meeting reinforced the importance of integrating diverse perspectives to create effective migration policies.

The AspirE project, funded by the European Commission, analyzes the decision-making of aspiring (re)migrants from Southeast and East Asian countries (China, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam) to and within EU member countries (Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Finland). In Portugal, the project is coordinated locally by researcher Sofia Gaspar, whose research has focused on privileged migration, mobility by investment and the social integration of the descendants of immigrants, especially the Chinese community in Portugal and Europe.

→ Follow the website: https://aspire.ulb.be/