Announcing the launch of the inaugural edition of the Oxford Monitor of Forced Migration(OxMo)--the first student authored, edited, and managed journal dedicated to protecting and advancing the human rights of forced migrants.

This issue includes short essays and academic articles from authors in Afghanistan, Australia, Brazil, Egypt, Ecuador, Hong Kong, the UK, and the USA. Our eleven contributors have drawn from first hand experiences, their own academic research and knowledge gleaned from being in the field and working in human and refugee rights advocacy.  Amongst others: in the Monitor section, Alice Taylor discusses the threat of persecution resulting from socio-political activism in Colombia and the ways in which it has critically affected the role of IDP women leaders. In First Hand, Alberto Grajales García shares his reflections on his journey towards obtaining a refugee visa. In the Academic Articles section, James Souter unpacks the parallel notions of ‘cultures of disbelief’ and ‘cultures of denial’ and examines the impact of such trends on reducing the opportunity for asylum seekers to secure protection in the UK. To access these, as well as the eight other articles please click on the image above or here.

We would also like to announce that we are expanding our forum to include a new section on our web page called ‘From Academia, Policy and Practice’, to enable the continuation of discussion and debate initiated by articles featured in OxMo. We invite academics, practitioners, and policy makers to offer responses to ideas or arguments put forth by contributing authors, in the form of a brief commentary. We also welcome short essays that delineate specific aspects or concerns that may serve to direct students towards particular issues that require further scholarship. Please send your submissions to the Editorial Team at oxmofm@googlemail.com. This will be a chance for professionals to impart their knowledge and to share their thought and experiences with students, forced migrants and others working in the field. We hope that this initiative fosters greater discourse between policy and practice, students and academics, as well as organisations and the individuals they strive to serve.

OxMo is also now accepting submissions for our second issue which will be published in September. Please have your articles to us by Friday, June 24th, 2011. To find out more click on 'Submissions'.

We hope that you find our first issue of OxMo thoroughly engaging!

Many thanks for your support,

OxMo Editorial Team