COVINFORM Newsletter #6 | November 2022 |
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Welcome to our sixth newsletter!COVINFORM - COronavirus Vulnerabilities and INFOrmation dynamics Research and Modelling - is an EU-funded project aiming to understand the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on society in general and vulnerable groups in particular. The project assesses COVID-19 responses in a multilevel governance framework; and develops an online portal and toolkit for stakeholders in the governmental, public health, and civil society domains. Since our last newsletter in June 2022, we have published two more bi-monthly reports, one country report and several blog articles. Partners have also presented outcomes at various conferences. |
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Bi-monthly report #10: Socio-Economic Impacts of COVID-19 |
In this bi-monthly report, COVINFORM partners give examples of vulnerable groups identified and highlight the impact on different systems and how some specific consequences of the pandemic have affected more than one sector of society simultaneously. Read the report here. |
Bi-monthly report #11: Resilience in the Systems we live in: 10 European case studies |
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This bi-monthly report presents an overview of the 10 COVINFORM case studies which aim to identify vulnerability and protective factors of both vulnerable populations and the systems they are a part of, across different geographical settings. It also presents a glimpse into how the empirical research is carried out and further information on how the case studies contribute to the 7 objectives of the COVINFORM project. Read the report here. |
Country report #5: Pandemic Experiences of Minority Ethnic Groups in Swansea, Neath, and Port Talbot |
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| This report explores the experiences of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnicity (BAME) populations in the Swansea Neath Port Talbot area during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report explores differential experiences of the pandemic by these groups and considers the implications for their current and future concerns. It studies the ways in which experiences of minority ethnic populations have changed expectations around pandemic regulations and healthcare responses. Read the report here. |
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Consortium meeting in AthensIn October, COVINFORM has held its second full consortium meeting since the project started. The consortium met in Athens, Greece, for a three-day meeting. Hosted by Kentro Meleton Asfaleias, the partners discussed insights and further planned the research activities. |
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The latest news from our blog |
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| Summer holidays 2022: may the COVID be with you (hopefully not) The disappearance of specific checks to detect European travellers with COVID-19, as well as fluctuation, less communication and lack of data related to infection rates, have released the tension for European citizens to travel across Europe in the summer of 2022. |
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Monkeypox in the time of COVID-19: Are we on our way to a new pandemic? With the COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing, a second public health risk has the world on high alert: a worldwide breakout of the monkeypox virus first identified in 1958. |
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| New crises, same resilience? On 24 February 2022 at the latest, a long-simmering crisis in Europe became acute. Since this day, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has had a wide range of direct and indirect effects on people’s everyday lives across Europe. |
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Has COVID-19 changes our citites? Urban plnanning following the pandemic Will COVID-19 shape urban planning in the same way urban planning has influenced COVID-19 - with around 95% of cases reported in cities, COVID-19 is a fundamentally urban pandemic. |
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Presentations & conferences |
European Society for Health and Medical Sociology 2022 From 25-27 August, Jil Molenaar (University of Antwerp) attended the ESHMS conference organized at the University of Bologna, Italy. She presented preliminary findings from the COVINFORM case study in Antwerp, focusing on the potential of community-based initiatives to help mitigate the negative mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The qualitative interview findings she shared relate to the local-level COVID-19 pandemic impact and response in the domain of mental health-related care and services, focusing on the experiences of migrant communities in Antwerp's district of Borgerhout. |
European Association of Social Anthropologists Conference 2022 Viktoria Adler, Diotima Bertel (SYNYO Research) and James Edward (SINUS Markt- und Sozialforschung) presented findings from the COVINFORM project at this year's EASA conference. Their paper critiques the ways in which vulnerability has been defined in the COVID-19 management of the past two years. In particular, they critiqued the strong emphasis on health vulnerability and the neglect of social vulnerabilities which are on the rise as the pandemic goes on. The authors draw on expert interviews conducted with government, public health and CSO practitioners conducted in Austria and Germany. |
European Public Health Conference 2022 From 10-12 November, Jil Molenaar (University of Antwerp) attended the EPH conference hosted in Berlin, Germany. She represented COVINFORM in the workshop "Preparedness & response for emergency situations: joined forces of H2020 projects in the PREPARE cluster". In a round table discussion, COVINFORM and four other projects from the PREPARE cluster briefly presented their contributions to the crisis preparedness and resilience of European countries. Key topics in the round table discussion included common findings related to building trust, health inequalities, training and capacity building, and addressing stakeholder diversity; as well as the dissemination and exploitation of the results to the general public, to researchers, (public) health professionals and policymakers. The next day, Jil also presented findings from a recent COVINFORM deliverable: a review of available official evaluations of COVID-19 responses in 10 countries, with a focus on the needs of vulnerable groups. |
Italian Association of Urban History 2022 The AISU conference was held at the Polytechnic of Turin (Italy) from the 6 to the 10 of September 2022. Donatella Strangio, Elena Ambrosetti (University La Sapienza of Rome) and Diotima Bertel (SYNYO Research) co-organised a session devoted to presenting the preliminary results of COVINFORM project (session 8.03) within strand 8 of the conference "The impact of the crisis". The session had the following 4 presentations: - Alessandra De Rose, Maria Felice Arezzo, Marta Pasqualini, Vulnerabilità e disuguaglianze nella salute mentale: una valutazione dell’impatto della pandemia di Covid-19 (Vulnerabilities and inequalities in mental health: an assessment of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic)
- Sergei Shubin, Diana Beljaars, Louise Condon, Pandemic subjects in Wales: vulnerability, rationality, marginalisation,
- Marco Teodori, Prima del Covid-19. Caratteri ed effetti a livello locale della prima grande pandemia influenzale del Novecento: la “spagnola” a Roma nel 1918-1919 (Before Covid-19. The local effects of the first great influenza pandemic of the twentieth century: the “Spanish flu” in Rome in 1918-1919)
- Marina Zannella, Giorgio Alleva, Elena Ambrosetti, Gloria Anderson, Massimo Fantoni, Rita Murri, Donatella Strangio, Alessandra De Rose, Sara Miccoli, Gli operatori sanitari durante la pandemia: risultati preliminari di un caso studio realizzato a Roma (The health care workers during the pandemic: preliminary finding of a case study implemented in Rome)
Researchers from University La Sapienza of Rome Elena Ambrosetti, Donatella Strangio, Alessandra De Rose) and Swansea University (Sergei Shubin and Diana Beljaars) participated in the conference and the COVINFORM session. |
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Critical Times - Austrian Sociological Association's Congress 2023 From July 3-5 2023, the Congress of the Austrian Sociological Association will take place at the University of Economics in Vienna. At the congresses participants "will discuss in an open-ended way what explanatory content the striking phrase ”critical times” has for the current constellation, which developments are to be seen as a serious test of society’s endurance, and which constructions of relief can be found. In a series of plenary events, ad hoc groups and section events, the sociological content of the basic thesis of a turning point in time will be put up for discussion." Applications for ad hoc groups may be submitted until February 1st, 2023. Click here for more information. |
PodcastThe final episode of the podcast "Beyond numbers: COVID-19 and society" will present insights from our fieldwork with civil society organisations (CSOs) and NGOs. It will present lessons learned on the role of CSOs in the pandemic response as a 'bridge' between the governments and vulnerable or marginalised groups. |
Outcome summariesWe are currently working to produce high-level summaries of our research outcomes and insights. These summarise the most interesting findings in an easy-to-read format. |
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| Follow us and get in touch to learn more about our activities and outcomes. We are looking forward to your message! |
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Copyright © 2022 COVINFORM, all rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you've shown an interest in the COVINFORM project, or opted in at our website to receive our COVINFORM newsletter. If you wish to unsubscribe, click here. |
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| This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 101016247. |
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