DOors and Bridges in Women REturnees’ MIgration

Socio-Cultural Implications of Women’s Return Migration: A Blended Training Programme

The University of Catania will host an innovative Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) for master’s and PhD students, lasting two weeks, with one week online and one week in person. The programme, based on the results of the WE-PROPOSE research project, explores the dynamics of migrant women returning to their countries of origin and highlights the socio-cultural implications of this process.

The BIP draws inspiration from Georg Simmel’s famous metaphor of the bridge and the door. The door represents a spatial and symbolic threshold: it defines boundaries and the identities of those entering and departing, regulating separation and belonging. The bridge, on the other hand, symbolizes connection and movement, making the link between people and places tangible.

This metaphor helps to understand the ambivalent experience of returnee women: on one side, the desire to maintain a connection to their origins; on the other, the need to detach from patriarchal and socio-economically limiting contexts in order to fully realize their identities. Just as a bridge connects different spaces, the skills and social capital acquired abroad can be brought back home, generating social and economic impact.

The first part of the course will be held online and will include lectures and seminars focused on migrant women’s empowerment pathways. Students will explore how empowerment unfolds across different dimensions, considering both the opportunities and vulnerabilities associated with the return phase. Narratives of returnee women collected through in-depth interviews will be presented, alongside qualitative and quantitative indicators of pre- and post-return conditions, such as employment status, access to services, education, civic participation, and development of specific skills.

During the in-person segment, participants will analyze the impact of return on families, communities, and local contexts, with particular attention to changes in gender roles and intergenerational relationships. Experts will also illustrate the role of public policies and civil society organizations in supporting returnees and enhancing the productive and developmental contributions of women to their home regions.

A central focus of the BIP will be knowledge transfer: women who acquired skills abroad often act as mentors and innovators, translating their migratory experience into social capital and fostering the growth of local communities. WE-PROPOSE results show that return can become an opportunity for positive change, benefiting both the women and their countries of origin.

The BIP at the University of Catania offers students a unique learning experience, combining theoretical reflection, empirical analysis, and an understanding of the complex dynamics of return migration, with a gender-sensitive perspective and a focus on valuing women’s skills.