Giorgia Dona profile

Professor Giorgia Dona

Professor

Professor of Forced Migration and Refugee Studies

Refugee and Forced Migration Studies; Ethnic Conflicts, Genocides and Political Violence; Child and Youth Migration; Psycho-social Humanitarian Interventions; Digital Migration, Arts-based Participatory Methodologies

Department of Innovation and Management , School of Childhood and Social Care

Giorgia Doná is Professor of Forced Migration and Refugee Studies and co-director of the Centre for Migration, Refugees and Belonging.

Qualifications

  • PhD in Basic and Applied (Cultural) Psychology, Queen’s University, Canada
  • MPhil in Social Anthropology, University of Cambridge, UK
  • MA in Basic and Applied (Social) Psychology, Queen’s University, Canada
  • BA (magna cum laude) in Psychology, Universitá degli Studi di Padova, Italy (exchange programme, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA)
  • Fellow, Higher Education Academy, UK
  • Fellow, Academy of Social Sciences, UK

Areas Of Interest

  • Refugee and Forced Migration Studies
  • Ethnic Conflicts, Genocides and Political Violence
  • Child and Youth Migration
  • Psycho-social wellbeing and interventions
  • Refugee voices and representation
  • Participatory research methodologies
  • Multi-modal (written, oral, digital and arts-based) narratives
Giorgia Dona profile

OVERVIEW

Giorgia Doná co-directs the Centre for Migration, Refugees and Belonging. She has previously held positions at Oxford University, University College Cork and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She consulted with UNICEF, IOM, governments and non-governmental organisations. Her research has been funded by, amongst others, the European Union, the Leverhulme Trust, the UK Department for International Development and the UK Department of Health.

Giorgia’s interdisciplinary and policy research in Central and North America, Eastern Africa, and Europe explores global refugee movements, child and youth migration, and recently digital migration studies.

A frequent media resource on regional and global migration policy debates, she has featured widely in the press, including the BBC, Al Jazeera, Sky News, and South Korean BSeFM.

She won awards for her work from the European Communication Research and Education Association (2019), the International Academy for Intercultural Research (2017) and the Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence (2012). In 2023, she was nominated Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences for her contribution to the development of Refugee Studies.

External roles

  • Editorial board member, International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care
  • Editorial board member, Displaced Voices: A Journal of Archives, Migration and Cultural Heritage
  • Stuart Hall Foundation Associate (academic committee)
  • The Independent Advisory Board Group on Country Information (IAGCI), member
  • Academic Fellow, Italian Psychotherapy School GITIM

 

CURRENT RESEARCH

Giorgia's areas of research expertise include:

  • Refugee and Forced Migration Studies
  • Ethnic Conflicts, Genocides and Political Violence
  • Child and Youth Migration
  • Psycho-social well-being and interventions
  • Refugee voices and representation
  • Participatory research methodologies
  • Multi-modal (written, oral, digital and arts-based) narratives
  • Giorgia is interested in hearing from potential PhD candidates wanting to research in the above areas
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Most recent research

  • Digitised Migration: Entangles and Uneven Landscapes
  • Creative methods in mobility research: Ethnographic visual encounters at the border
  • De-bordering Higher Education: Refugees, Universities and Social Justice

Selected impact activities

Giorgia's long-standing policy and applied research on Child Protection and Welfare of Displaced Children Living in Difficult Circumstances informed the Government of Rwanda's National Policy on Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children (2003) and the development of training materials produced and used by UN child protection officers and non-governmental agency staff.

This work became the Impact Case Study for the 2014 Sociology Research Excellent Framework submission, Improving the Protection and Welfare of Children Living in Difficult Circumstances in Rwanda, Bangladesh and Around the World.

The report Mapping the Rwandan Diaspora in Europe: a Comparative Analysis of Engagement with the Country of Origin was written in 2019 to inform the International Organisation for Migration and the Government of Rwanda's diaspora strategies for development.

Selected public engagement activities

  • Professor Dona appeared on the Breakfast Show with Kay Burley on Sky News discussing the Ukraine refugee situation and the 'Homes for Ukraine' scheme in the UK in March 2022.
  • Professor Dona also discussed the Ukraine situation on Times Radio.
  • Following the Rwanda-UK asylum seeker offshore processing news, Prof Dona was on BBC Radio 5 Live in April 2022.
  • In June 2022, Professor Dona appeared on Al Jazeera to discuss the latest on the Rwanda-UK deportation deal. 
  • In July 2022, Professor Dona was on the Korean radio station TBS eFM discussing the legal challenges around the Rwanda offshore processing deal.
  • Doná, G. (2020) Guest Speaker for the Indus News Lahore on France Slammed over Mistreatment of Refugees, Scope Show hosted by Waqar Rizvi, 4 July 2020 Watch the panel discussion
  • Doná, G. (2020) A Future beyond the Coronavirus Pandemic, a Future beyond the Hostile Environment, at Imagine a Better Future World Refugee Day 2020, an event co-hosted by Sustainable Communities of Initiative of Change UK and International Centre for Eritrean Refugees and Asylum Seekers - ICERAS, 23 June
  • Doná, G. (2020) Interviewed by Jennifer Sadler-Venis for the article The Humanitarian Health Crisis for the business law and human rights magazine of the International Bar Association Global Insight Read the article
  • Doná, G. (2020) SonaTalks LIVE series, Access to Higher Education for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the Wake of the Covid Pandemic 5 May See the Line up for Sonatalks
  • Doná, G. (2020) Guest Speaker for the Indus News Lahore on Europe's Refugee Crisis Amidst Covid-19, Scope Show hosted by Waqar Rizvi, 17 April Watch the panel discussion
  • Doná, G (2019) Marginalised Narratives of the Rwandan Genocide: an Interview with Giorgia Doná, Oxford Research Group 
  • Expert adviser for the online magazine 11 Press (2011- 2015) Read the article
  • Country of origin expert (Rwanda) for Refugee Legal Aid (2011-present)

FUNDING

External research grants

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  • Digitally Enhanced Advanced Services (DEAS) Network Plus: 'Principles in the Charity Sector - A Case Study of the Refugee Council's Digital Social Care Provision for Children in Vulnerable Contexts' (PI, £5K), 2020
  • Global Challenge Research Fund 'Refugee University Education in the Middle East: Supporting and Evaluating the Provision of Key Skills, Guidance and Support for Syrian Refugees' (PI, £14K), 2018-2019
  • Erasmus Plus Programme of the European Union: 'Open Learning Initiative', with Central European University, University of Vienna and European Network Against Racism (CI, £401K), 2016-2018
  • EU Cooperation for Science and Technology 'Action 1206 Femicide Across Europe Network Grant' (CI, £363K), 2013-2017
  • Leverhulme Trust Fellowship: 'Bystanders to the Rwandan Genocide: Revisiting Genocide Narratives and Reconciliation Initiatives' (PI, £30K), 2008-2010
  • European Community Action Programme to Combat Social Exclusion: 'European Port Cities: Disadvantaged Urban Areas in Transition' (CI, £134K), 2002-2006
  • President's Fund, University College Cork: 'Cross-cultural Perspectives on Children in Difficult Circumstances', (PI, £14,000) 1996
  • European Community: 'The European Community Network for Humanitarian Assistance' (PI, £9K), 1994-1995
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Impact and Public Engagement funding

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  • International Organisation for Migration: 'Mapping the Rwandan Diaspora in Europe: A Comparative Analysis of Diaspora Engagement in the Development of Their Country of Origin' (PI, £6K), 2019
  • UK Government, Department of Health: 'Evaluation of Harpweb, Health for Asylum Seekers and Refugees Portal' (PI, £10K) 2009-2010
  • Council for Assisting Refugee Academics: 'Transitional Professional Development Scheme for Assisting Refugee Academics/Scholars at Risk' (PI, £10K), 2008
  • UNICEF: 'Situational Analysis of Conditions of Children Outside Parental Care' (PI, £17K) 2001-2002
  • London Boroughs: 'Educational Experiences of Refugee Children' (CI, £8K) 2001
  • UNICEF 'Foster Care for Separated Children in Rwanda' (PI, £34K) 2000-2001
  • UNICEF 'Street Children in Rwanda' (PI, £27K) 1997-1998
  • Save the Children: 'An Impact Study of Family Reunification in Rwanda' (PI, £8K) 1997-1998
  • UK Department For International Development/Irish Aid/Trocaire: Social Protection for Children in Difficult Circumstances: Training and Research Programme with Government Personnel, the National University of Rwanda and Non-governmental Organisations, (PI, £380,000) 1997-1999
  • Radda Barnen: 'Research and Training Activities with Ethiopian Youth Workers Working with Street Children' (PI, £18K), 1997
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TEACHING

  • MSc International Relations

    Understand global politics, state and inter-state relations. Delve into international relations, global inequalities, power and environmental risks.

TEACHING

  • Introduction to Conflict, Displacement and Human Security
  • Forced Migration in the Global Area
  • Human Mobility, Forced Migration and Social Change
  • Research Methods for the Social Sciences
  • Policy and Practice of Humanitarianism and Development
  • Supervision of Master Dissertations
  • Supervision of Doctoral Students
  • MSc International Relations and Doctoral Programme

Publications

Browse past publications by year.

Full publications list

Visit the research repository to view a full list of publications

Research repository