Conference Agenda

Migration presents distinct and complex challenges for public health, particularly concerning toxicological risks. Migrant populations are often disproportionately exposed to hazardous substances due to occupational, environmental, and systemic vulnerabilities. In this context, toxicological innovation plays a critical role in the identification, monitoring, assessment, and mitigation of these risks.

In the local context of Marche and Macerata, numerous companies employ regular migrants, many of whom undertake physically demanding tasks or work in environments with significant chemical exposure risks. The UNIMC toxicology spin-off laboratory provides comprehensive toxicological monitoring for a broad range of workers, including migrants, utilizing state-of-the-art scientific instrumentation for first- and second-level chemical-toxicological analyses. The laboratory is equipped with advanced chromatographic and mass spectrometry techniques to ensure precise and reliable detection of toxic substances. The quality and reliability of laboratory results are rigorously maintained through daily quality control procedures and active participation in external quality assessment and proficiency testing programs promoted by prestigious public institutions such as the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, the Laboratory of Environmental Hygiene and Forensic Toxicology of Mestre Hospital, and the Society of Toxicological and Forensic Chemistry. This toxicological monitoring system serves as an essential tool for public health protection, particularly benefiting migrant workers employed in local industries. By identifying high-risk populations and ensuring continuous health surveillance, it contributes significantly to preventive measures and intervention strategies, ultimately fostering a safer and healthier working environment.

The paper examines the trajectories of the migration process, how migration affects the decision-making process to migrate and provide labor mobility, and how migrants adapt to new environments in the long-term perspective.

The analysis of fundamental approaches to the effects of the decision-making process to migrate illustrates the challenges for the current institutional and structural framework of economies and societies.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has exacerbated the geopolitical risks for the global economy in 2022. The mass outflow of Ukrainian refugees abroad causes the problem of the trajectories and decision-making processes of migrants in a long-run perspective.

Vital research questions involve determining and approximating the problems of the outcome of migration flows on employment, wage dynamics, and social sustainability. The research goal will be to identify how a migrant’s priorities may evolve throughout the decision-making processes of migrants.

Research shows that conflicts and natural disasters are on the rise. These processes influence immigration, making it unpredictable, disorganized, and without a long-term plan. This leads to tensions and disagreements between locals and migrants. Taking lessons from the global crisis experience can force policymakers to develop institutional networks for migrants and enhance international cooperation and the rule of law.

The dynamics of Bulgarian emigration in the post-1989 period is high, and after the de facto EU membership in 2007 and the removal of travel restrictions, migration has been transformed into mobility. The factors can be grouped into two directions - structural, including high levels of unemployment, the risk of poverty and discrimination, the breakdown of the main social systems following political and economic changes, and those related to freedom to travel. In both sets of factors, there is also to a large extent a visible disillusionment with institutions and the state. The notorious 'voting with the feet' of the early years of democratic transition has been transformed, and today leaving Bulgaria's geographical borders does not involve a refusal to participate in the political entity. On the contrary, examples of civic engagement of Bulgarians abroad and of the formation of a new citizenship beyond place are increasingly abundant. The image of people waiting in long queues outside embassies to vote and the many initiatives in support of remote voting - by post or electronically - are among the examples of this. Another is the many initiatives related to protests against corruption and the captured state. While in political discourse emigration is presented as a "national catastrophe", the majority of people experience it traumatically, Bulgarian emigrants have shown that emigration can actually be a resource. The present paper aims to analyse precisely this process of citizenship transformation, in which Hirsch's dilemma of "exit or voice" seems to be increasingly losing its relevance.

In 2020, Bulgaria experienced a reversal of its traditionally negative migration trends, with settlement growth turning positive and increasing by 26% over the next three years. This study aims to explore the economic and social impact of returning mobile Bulgarians on the country’s development. The methodological approach combines quantitative and qualitative analyses, drawing on surveys and interviews with returning migrants, national and European statistics, and market research. The study evaluates both direct and indirect economic effects, focusing on the labour market, transfer of skills and business networks, financial flows and investments, revitalisation of economic activity, and entrepreneurial initiatives. The findings highlight the diverse socio-economic contributions of mobile Bulgarians and reveal emerging trends and the broader scope of their impact.