The GMD Seedfund project "Whose Best Interest?" recently won the Open and Responsible Science Award for societal engagement. This project examines how strict return policies and uncertainty affect the well-being of undocumented children and their families. In this blogpost, the team highlights their public engagement and recent recognition.
Seed Fund Team
- Laura Cleton (Erasmus ESSB)
- Elina Jonitz (Erasmus ESSB)
- Elias Tissandier-Nasom (Leiden Law)
- Nour Samira Hjeij (University of Amsterdam & ESSB)
Late November, Laura Cleton and Nour Samira Hjeij got the opportunity to visit an international primary school, The British School in the Hague, to share insights from their seed-funded project “Whose Best Interests?”, awarded in 2024 to Laura Cleton, Elina Jonitz, Elias Tissandier-Nasom. with a large group of 10-year-olds. The collaborative project between Erasmus University Rotterdam (ESSB) and Leiden University (Law) centers so-called gezinslocaties: family reception centres for undocumented migrant families. The Dutch government seeks to return these families to their countries of origin but often faces difficulties in achieving this. This ensures that many of these families live in “limbo” and uncertainty for a long time, as a result of their undocumented legal status. The project investigates how these processes impact the wellbeing of children that live at these centres, from the perspective of undocumented families themselves, but also government caseworkers, lawyers and societal support organizations.
At the school in the Hague, Laura and Nour showed the 10-year-olds – who often have migrated to the Netherlands themselves as well – what life in such reception centres for undocumented families looks like, shared experiences of children's difficulties with school and making friends in a space marked by uncertainty. Nour and Laura also asked them about possible solutions for the situation of long-staying undocumented families whose return cannot be enforced. The children were curious, empathetic, and realistic - foregrounding the need to centre children's wellbeing in government decisions about them. More on this soon!
This school visit shows the importance of science communication and the many different ways in which LDE-GMD researchers can have impact with the work that they do. It is therefore great that the project won this year's Open and Responsible Science (ORS) Award from Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam in the category of "societal engagement". The jury mentioned that "the open access publications, transparent dissemination of findings with different stakeholder groups, and effective collaboration between universities made a big impression". The award will allow Laura, Elina, Elias and Nour to continue their interdisciplinary work on and awareness raising activities about children's rights and enforced return.
- For more information about the award, see: https://www.eur.nl/essb/nieuws/essb-sleept-alle-open-and-responsible-science-awards-2025-de-wacht
- For more insights about the results of this project, see also the recent article at Sociale Vraagstukken that Laura and Elina wrote: https://www.socialevraagstukken.nl/migratiesamenleving/ongedocumenteerde-migrantengezinnen-in-voortdurende-angst-en-onzekerheid/
Congratulations to Laura Cleton, Elina Jonitz, Elias Tissandier-Nasom, and Nour Samira Hjeij. This award recognises both their research and their efforts to bring the outcomes of their GMD Seed Fund work into schools and the broader community, fostering conversations about the migration challenges faced by undocumented children. We look forward to the project's next steps and remain committed to supporting meaningful interdisciplinary projects like "Whose Best Interest?"