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About the Odysseus Network

The Odysseus Academic Network

The Odysseus Academic Network is a network of experts in immigration and asylum law in Europe. It was founded in 1999 by Philippe de Bruycker, Professor at the Institute for European Studies of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), with the financial support of the European Commission at the beginning. The network brings together legal experts from all EU Members States, including Schengen associated States (Norway, Switzerland, Iceland), as well as Turkey. Its coordination team is based in Brussels.
The Odysseus Academic Network has created a pan-European community of researchers and experts in the field of EU immigration and asylum, and through this strengthened cooperation, it provides a comprehensive analysis of migration issues, both at the European and national levels. In particular, it provides support to the training of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), the studies of the European Migration Network (EMN) and makes research for the European Parliament and the European Commission under specific contracts. The network is equally a platform for the exchange of knowledge and expertise between academics, policy-makers, practitioners and NGOs in the field of immigration and asylum law and policy.

Activities

The traditional activities of the network include European thematic conferences, publication of a collection of books, studies on EU migration and asylum law, including transposition of directives and their implementation (EU Return Directive, alternatives to detention, and a comparative study on the transposition of ten EU directives by Member States, among which directives on reception conditions, qualification, and family reunification), as well as comparative law analysis between the Member States. Odysseus also organizes a well-known yearly summer school in Brussels on EU Migration and Asylum Law and Policy that has trained during the last twenty years around 2.000 persons with very diverse backgrounds coming from all over Europe. Due to the support for Jean Monnet Networks provided by the Erasmus+ Programme of the EU, the Odysseus Network has recently enlarged its activities under the Omnia project that include the regular publication of a blog on recent developments of EU migration and asylum law in Europe and a virtual platform giving access to databases and E-learning courses.

Our policy on gender, equality and inclusion

The Odysseus Academic Network is by nature an organization that brings together academics across Europe. In the 25 years of its activity, the Network has strived to promote gender, equity, diversity, and inclusion in its working environment, and in its modes of functioning and collaboration. 

The Network commits to creating an inclusive and equitable working and collaborative environment that respects intersecting identities, fosters a sense of belonging without fear of judgment, and encourages diverse views. Our aim is to provide equality and fairness to all regardless of age, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, ethnic origin, color, nationality, national origin, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation, or any other class or category. 

In addition, the Odysseus Network is strongly committed to offer mentorship and support programs specifically tailored to address the needs of underrepresented groups within academia, ensuring equitable access to opportunities and resources. We do this, for example with the Refugee’s Voices’ project during each edition of our summer school, in order to offer to forcibly displaced scholars and professionals a possibility to acquire knowledge in European immigration and asylum law and to continue their studies which might have been interrupted due to their flight from their country of origin. 

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