Comments by Kathleen Newland on draft papers for discussion at Conference on Migrant Youth and Children of Migrants in a Globalized World, Bellagio, April24-26, 2008. Comments on Well-Being of Migrant Children and Youth in Europe.,

I found this paper much too general in its discussion of international migration in general rather than zeroing in on the migration of children and youth, or the impact of migration on children left behind. Because it covers such a vast terrain, such as the impact of migration on countries of origin and destination, it is almost impossible for it to do justice to these broad topics. As result, the paper attempts both too much (on migration generally) and too little (on migration’s impact on children and youth). My general comment is that the paper would be more useful if it were both streamlined to focus on children and youth, and fortified to tell us more about findings on that particular topic.