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Working Groups

The IV ICoMiR

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WORKING GROUP 1

Spiritual and Psychological Accompaniment in Contexts of Mobility

Sylvia Duarte Dantas

Professor of the UNIFESP, Brazil

Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Boston University. Psychoanalyst by Sedes Sapientiae. Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Paulista School of Medicine, São Paulo Federal University (UNIFESP), Brazil, where she coordinates the Research Unit on Intercultural Contact, Immigration, Mental Health, and Interculturality (CNPq). Specialization course in Mental Health, Immigration, and Interculturality and the Intercultural Psychosocial Care Project coordinator. “Intercultural Dialogues” research group vice-coordinator at the Institute of Advanced Studies of the São Paulo University (IEA-USP). Faculty of the Graduate Program in Humanities, Rights, and Other Legitimacies at USP.

Eduarda Lehoczki Boneto

PPGHDL-USP, Brazil

Eduarda Lehoczki Boneto is a clinical psychologist and Master’s student in Humanities, Rights and Other Legitimacies at the University of São Paulo (PPGHDL-USP). A specialist in Decolonial Phenomenology and Expanded Clinical Practice, her work focuses on mental health, ethnic-racial relations, Black women’s subjectivities, decolonial perspectives, and intercultural psychological care. She has experience in psychosocial care, community practices, and psychological support with migrant and refugee populations.

WORKING GROUP 2

Migrant Protagonism, Leadership and Collective Transformation

WORKING GROUP 3

Migration Governance, Deportability and Regimes of Control

Victória Barbosa

CEUB, Brazil

Victória Tezelli Moura Barbosa is an International Relations student at CEUB and an intern at Brazil’s National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), working with international scientific cooperation and researcher mobility. Her research focuses on migration, human rights and international affairs. She has conducted research on migration and humanitarian issues and has experience with the Brazilian Ministry of Human Rights, refugee assistance, and diplomatic missions in Brasília.

Ms. Shivani Dutta

Assistant Professor of Law at Dayananda Sagar University, India

Ms. Shivani Dutta is an Assistant Professor of Law at Dayananda Sagar University, Bengaluru, India, with nearly 12 years of experience in legal academia. Her research interests lie in Migration Law, Refugee Law, and Family Law. At the University’s School of Law, she is an active member of key institutional committees, including the Examinations Committee, the Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC), and the Board of Studies.

Ma. Reinna S. Bermudez

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Dr. Lucia Palpal-latoc

University of the Philippines

Dr. Lucia Palpal-latoc Tangi is a journalist and academic with over fifteen years of professional experience in the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Japan. A long-term resident of Japan, she teaches at the Department of Journalism, University of the Philippines Diliman. Her lived struggles as a migrant journalist, mother, and wife inform her research on gender and migration. She received the UP President Edgardo Angara Fellowship Award (2015) for pioneering work on Filipino women seafarers, and her study on the underground press earned a National Book Award citation (2026).

Armando Bernardo Tonela

Project Assistant at the João Batista Scalabrini Centre

Armando Bernardo Tonela is Project Assistant at the João Batista Scalabrini Centre in Ressano Garcia, Mozambique. He is graduated in Political Science and International Relations, with research focus on development, democracy and human rights, particularly migration and child rights. A former beneficiary and later collaborator of the Centre, he has assisted repatriated migrants and contributed to the protection and promotion of vulnerable children and youth. He currently supports project management. He was a speaker at the III ICoMiR, Brazil, in 2025

WORKING GROUP 4

Care, Solidarity, and Community-Based Practices in Contexts of Mobility

Maria Guzman

Professor

Maria Rosario T. de Guzman is a Professor and Adolescent Development Extension Specialist in the Child, Youth and Family Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her scholarship examines factors that support positive youth development and prosocial outcomes, as well as how families cope with and are redefined by migration. As Extension faculty, she works with community agencies and other land-grant institutions to conduct research-based programming, develop educational materials, and share information that supports the well-being and development of young people.

Lizette Therese

Miriam College, Philipines

Lizette Therese Sandalo-Cinco, RSW, MSW, is a registered social worker, educator, child protection advocate, and migrant welfare practitioner with extensive experience in social work practice, education, child protection, psychosocial support, and overseas Filipino worker (OFW) welfare. A Maryknoll/Miriam College alumna, she earned her Bachelor of Science in Social Work in 1994 and Master in Social Work in 2019. She is also a recipient of the Amazing Alumni Achiever (Triple A) Award in 2015 and was a finalist in the Miriam College 100 Teacher Awards in 2025.

Since 2020, Ms. Cinco has served as Senior Lecturer in the Department of Social Work at Miriam College. She also served as Associate Director of the Child Rights Advocacy Center and Chairperson of the Department of Social Work. Her teaching and professional interests include case management, advanced generalist practice, labor migration, child protection, psychological first aid, counseling, disaster management, and design thinking. She has also supervised UNICEF-Miriam College child protection programs and mentored social worker scholars providing psychosocial support to children, families, and communities.

Her professional experience spans child protection, community development, and migrant welfare. For many years, she served as Welfare Services Program Director of Kabalikat ng OFW, Inc., where she managed OFW welfare assistance, emergency shelter operations, case management, crisis intervention, psychosocial first aid, counseling, referrals, and reintegration services. She has also been an OWWA-accredited Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar trainer since 2006, providing OFWs with information on their rights, foreign employment laws, and available support services.

Ms. Cinco has contributed to national and international initiatives on child protection, migration, gender-based violence, and psychosocial support. She has served as a resource person for CHED, DSWD Academy, the Council for the Welfare of Children, the Philippine Commission on Women, and other organizations. She has also participated in research and presented papers on social work, migration, child protection, and the welfare of Filipina migrant workers.

Her professional journey reflects a sustained commitment to protecting children, supporting vulnerable families and migrant workers, strengthening social work practice, and building compassionate, rights-based, and trauma-informed services.

WORKING GROUP 5

Knowledge from the Field: Research, Practice, and Methodologies

Susana Martínez Martínez

Professor at the University of Brasília (UnB)

Professor at the University of Brasília (UnB). Postgraduate in Translation and Interpreting – University of Alicante, master’s degree in Gender and Development – Complutense University of Madrid and PhD in Social Sciences – Comparative Studies on the Americas -UnB. She worked at UNWOMEN in South America. Researcher for the Mobilang, GREIG and LAEMI groups. Coordinator of the Extension Project Migration and Borders: linguistic mediation as a guarantee of human rights. Research areas: sociology of language, feminist and decolonial studies, international migrations, indigenous languages.

Peret Gunat Goar

Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Nigeria

Peret Gunat Goar is a Senior Labour Officer with the Federal Ministry of Labour and
Employment, Nigeria, and a PhD researcher at Nasarawa State University, Keffi. Her
research focuses on migration, conflict, food security, gender, livelihoods, and the
resilience of vulnerable communities. She is also Executive Director of Gender
Initiative for Change and Social Transformation (GICSOT), where she works on
women’s economic empowerment, youth development, gender equality, peacebuilding, and climate resilience.

WORKING GROUP 6

South–South Migration and Emerging Routes and Shifting Regimes of Mobility

Verna Dinah Q. Viajar

University of the Philippines

Verna Dinah Q. Viajar, PhD is Assistant Professor 5, and College Secretary (Jan 2024-July 2026), of the UP School of Labor and Industrial Relations (UP SOLAIR), Diliman Quezon City. She completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science in UP Diliman and completed her Masters on Labor Policies and Globalization at the University of Kassel Germany and the Berlin School of Economics and Law in Germany. She obtained her PhD degree from the University of Osnabrueck Germany supported by the International Center for Development and Decent Work (ICDD) based in University of Kassel, Germany. She previously worked as Project Manager of the International Labour Organization Manila Country Office on 2017-2019. As a scholar activist, she was granted a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship of the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, Berlin Germany in 2020-2022. Her research and academic interests include labour and migration studies, trade union and social movements, Gender at Work, Labour policy-making and public administration, political economy, democratization and Southeast Asia politics and government. She has published her thesis dissertation, “Dimensions of Precarity: Spaces, Constraints and Tensions in Organizing Migrant Domestic Workers in Malaysia”, end of 2023.

Mercio Norberto Kossi

Consular Agent at the Consulate General of Brazil in Luanda

Graduated in International Relations from the University of Luanda, he currently serves as a Consular Agent at the Consulate General of Brazil in Luanda, with experience in consular services and assisting the Brazilian community and immigrants travelling to Brazil. He is a member of the Global South Studies Group at the Venâncio de Moura Diplomatic Academy and the CIS – Higher Institute of Social Sciences and International Relations, where he conducts research related to his academic work. He was also a member of the Football and Society Study Group at UNILAB and participated in the São Paulo Advanced School of Sciences (FAPESP/MP-USP). His research interests include South-South relations, decolonial studies, History, Political Sociology, democracy, development, and Afro-Brazilian relations.

Maurizio Ambrosini

Professor of Sociology of Migration at the university of Milan

Maurizio Ambrosini is professor of Sociology of Migration at the university of Milan,
Department of Social and Political Sciences, and gave courses on Sociology of Migrations
in other European universities. He is also the editor of the journal “Mondi Migranti”, and
the Director of the Italian Summer School of Sociology of Migrations. His research regards
mainly irregular immigration, labour markets, migration policies at national and local level,
transnational families, asylum seekers and refugees.
In English he has published Irregular Immigration and Invisible Welfare (Palgrave, 2013),
Irregular migration in Southern Europe (Palgrave 2018), Irregular immigration- a short
reader (Springer 2023, with M. Hajer), and several articles on leading international
journals.

Eric Ssali

Executive Director of The African Sunbird Network (TASN)

Eric Ssali is the Executive Director of The African Sunbird Network (TASN) and Interim Co-Chair of the Queer Forced Displacement Network (QFDN). He holds a BSc in Telecommunications Engineering from Makerere University and has extensive experience in human rights advocacy and community monitoring. His work and research focus on South-South migration, emerging mobility regimes, forced displacement, and advancing the rights and health of marginalized migrant populations across Africa.

Elvino Zacarias Nhantumbo

Senior Demography Technician at Mozambique’s National Institute of Statistics (INE)

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Twaha Bakawonga

Director Access to Justice at the African Sunbird Network

Twaha is the Director Access to Justice at the African Sunbird Network.
Holds a bachelors degree in law from Makerere University (LLB)
And a Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice in Uganda (PGDLP) from the Law Development Centre Kampala.
His first track experience has been championing, advancing, advocacy of Human Rights for migrants across Africa.

WORKING GROUP 7

Gender, Intersectionality and Power in Migration

Edna Co

University of the Philippines

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Andrea Luisa Canolin

Director, National Reintegration Center for OFWs

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Ms. Aileen Constantino-Peñas

Atikha Overseas Workers and Communities Initiative Inc.

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Mr. Jose da Costa

Migrant/Refugee from East Timor

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Keneth Gadian

DAKILA Philippines

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WORKING GROUP 8

Faith-Based Organizations, Advocacy and Institutional Responses to Migration

Edna Co

University of the Philippines

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Andrea Luisa Canolin

Director, National Reintegration Center for OFWs

(Soon!)

Ms. Aileen Constantino-Peñas

Atikha Overseas Workers and Communities Initiative Inc.

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Mr. Jose da Costa

Migrant/Refugee from East Timor

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Keneth Gadian

DAKILA Philippines

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WORKING GROUP 9

Youth, Education and Inclusion in Contexts of Mobility

Edna Co

University of the Philippines

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Andrea Luisa Canolin

Director, National Reintegration Center for OFWs

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Ms. Aileen Constantino-Peñas

Atikha Overseas Workers and Communities Initiative Inc.

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Mr. Jose da Costa

Migrant/Refugee from East Timor

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Keneth Gadian

DAKILA Philippines

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WORKING GROUP 10

Trafficking in persons, Exploitation in Contexts of Mobility

Edna Co

University of the Philippines

(Soon!)

Andrea Luisa Canolin

Director, National Reintegration Center for OFWs

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Ms. Aileen Constantino-Peñas

Atikha Overseas Workers and Communities Initiative Inc.

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Mr. Jose da Costa

Migrant/Refugee from East Timor

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Keneth Gadian

DAKILA Philippines

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WORKING GROUP 11

Labour Migration, Return and Transnational Livelihoods

Jay Lord Alden L. Estolas

University of the Philippines

Jay Lord Alden L. Estolas, MPA, is a former OFW community leader in Tokyo, Japan, who has extensive experience leading various Filipino community organizations and NGOs working with and for Overseas Filipino Workers and their families. His experience includes community leadership, OFW welfare and assistance, organizational development, and leadership learning and development. He holds a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of the Philippines Diliman. His research interests include migrant return and reintegration, migration and development, and livelihood sustainability.

Dr. Anderson V. Villa

Professor and Chair of the International Relations Department at Mindanao State University–General Santos

Dr. Anderson V. Villa is Professor and Chair of the International Relations Department at Mindanao State University–General Santos, serving concurrently as Internationalization Focal Person under the Office of International Affairs and Focal Person for Halal Research at the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, Extension, and Innovation (OVCREI). A distinguished Monbukagakusho (MEXT) scholar and current President of PHILAJAMES–Mindanao Chapter, he earned his Ph.D. in Asia Pacific Studies from Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan, and a second doctorate in Public Policy and Governance from MSU–IIT. His scholarship bridges migration, citizenship, and transnational education, emphasizing ethical and inclusive frameworks for regional development. His research explores the precarity of transnational labor mobility in Asia, focusing on irregular Filipino migrant workers in Japan, diaspora networks, human rights of left-behind children, and pre-war Japanese migration to Southeast Asia—areas often overlooked in migration literature. Professor Villa has held visiting fellowships at the University of Shizuoka’s Center for Global Studies and Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, advancing comparative studies on diaspora, migration history, and reintegration policies across East and Southeast Asia. A prolific researcher and mentor, he actively contributes to international academic networks and policy dialogues promoting sustainable and equitable progress in Mindanao and beyond.

WORKING GROUP 12

Climate Change, Mobility and Uneven Vulnerabilities

Edna Co

University of the Philippines

(Soon!)

Andrea Luisa Canolin

Director, National Reintegration Center for OFWs

(Soon!)

Ms. Aileen Constantino-Peñas

Atikha Overseas Workers and Communities Initiative Inc.

(Soon!)

Mr. Jose da Costa

Migrant/Refugee from East Timor

(Soon!)

Keneth Gadian

DAKILA Philippines

(Soon!)

WORKING GROUP 13

Migration in Academic Institutions

Edna Co

University of the Philippines

(Soon!)

Andrea Luisa Canolin

Director, National Reintegration Center for OFWs

(Soon!)

Ms. Aileen Constantino-Peñas

Atikha Overseas Workers and Communities Initiative Inc.

(Soon!)

Mr. Jose da Costa

Migrant/Refugee from East Timor

(Soon!)

Keneth Gadian

DAKILA Philippines

(Soon!)

Insight

All Article
1st ICoMiR: Johannesburg
August 12, 2026 No Comments

In December 2018, CSEM, in collaboration with Weltkirche (Hauptabteilung Weltkirche der Diözese Rottenburg-Stuttgart – Germany), the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo,
2nd ICoMiR: Tijuana
August 12, 2026 No Comments

As a continuation and development of the first conference, between 2019 and 2023, CSEM worked intensively to prepare and organize the second international conference. Marked
3rd ICoMiR: Brasilia
August 12, 2026 No Comments

The III International Conference of CSEM, titled Dialogues to Understand, Humanize, and Value People in Mobility, aimed to analyze and discuss migration trends from multiple perspectives: