CEDEM changes its leadership and opens a new chapter in its history
On 1 October 2025, Professor Marco Martiniello (FRS-FNRS Research Director) stepped down as director of the Centre for Ethnic and Migration studies (CEDEM) at the University of Liège, which he founded in 1995. Jean-Michel Lafleur (FRS-FNRS Research Director) will succeed him as director, while Elsa Mescoli (Lecturer at the Faculty of Social Sciences) will become deputy director of CEDEM. They will be supported in their mission by Hassan Bousetta and Daniela Vintila.
The Centre for Ethnic and Migration Studies (CEDEM) is a research centre attached to the Institute for Social Science Research at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Liège. Its purpose is to conduct theoretical and empirical research in the fields of human migration, ethnic relations and racism. Since its foundation, CEDEM has grown and, as evidenced by its numerous publications and the funding it has obtained from prestigious donors, it has now become a national and international reference in the field of migration studies.
Marco Martiniello evokes : When I established CEDEM, my primary objective was to put migration research on the academic map. I was convinced that migration was a central structural component of the development of human societies.
One duo, one vision
On 1 October 2025, as part of a carefully prepared transition process, Marco Martiniello has handed over the leadership of CEDEM to Jean-Michel Lafleur, also a Research Director at FNRS and a researcher at CEDEM since 2004 : In a context where scientific discourse on migration and the humanities in general is under attack from all sides, it is more important than ever to defend research on these issues by maintaining both the highest scientific rigour and the objective of social justice that characterises CEDEM.
To achieve this goal, Elsa Mescoli, a lecturer at FaSS, will take on the role of deputy director and emphasise the importance for CEDEM to maintain its specificity in carrying out the University's three main missions of research, teaching and citizenship : CEDEM approaches migration issues from complementary and interrelated angles, focusing on the regions affected by migration, institutions, policies and the actions of individuals and groups. Our research is in constant dialogue with the actors involved in this field and feeds into the courses we offer our students.
