SC Families, Welfare, Care and the Life Course
SC FamWeLC is a relatively new group within IMISCOE (established in 2024). The SC aims are to advance a life-course perspective in migration studies and to draw wider attention to the inter-connections between families, welfare and care, and their changing contexts. The SC has an active PhD and ECR representation, as well as four thematic working groups:
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Informal care and social support;
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Healthcare and social services;
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Financial welfare and welfare regimes;
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Migration and life-course transitions.
PhD researchers:
The Standing Committee (SC) has created a short online form for PhD members (and those not yet members) to better understand their interests, needs and ideas, with the aim of strengthening the PhD community and organising meaningful activities. Access the form: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/EsbGnFATtN
Recent Events:
20 May 2026: Webinar. Decolonization and Critical Intercultural Education: Bridging Practices from the Global South to the Global North, facilitated by Tatiana Edith Vergara (Universidad Nacional del Chaco Austral, Argentina), Eduardo Andrés Martin (Universidad Católica del Maule, Chile), Julio Cesar Tovar Galvez (Universidad a Distancia de Madrid, Spain), and Martha Montero-Sieburth (UMass-Boston, USA). Co-hosted with Thais França and Jens Schneider, coordinators of the Standing Committee on Education and Social Inequality. [Watch recording here]
5 October 2026: Webinar showcasing IPUMS, the world’s largest accessible database of census microdata and health survey data, co-hosted with the Gerontological Society of America (GSA).
Further information about these events will be posted on the SC FamWeLC webpage: https://www.imiscoe.org/research/standing-committees/families-welfare-care-and-the-life-course
Fill in the form here to join SC FamWeLC and stay updated with their activities.
You can also follow the SC LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/famwelc-imiscoe/
SC Reflexivities in Migration Studies (Reflexivities)
The SC Reflexivities is pleased to announce that twelve contributions to our blog series VISIONS FOR MIGRATION have now been published on the SC Reflexivities website and social media channels (find all contributions in Blogs section of the IMISCOE website). The SC warmly invites you to read and share them.
The SC Working Group on Activism, interested in the link between migration research and social justice struggles, has also been engaged in a collaborative process of reflection. What began as a dialogical writing format was further developed during the well-attended and inspiring workshop, Beyond Exceptionalism: Normalizing Engaged Research and Questioning Its ‘Non-Engaged’ Counterpart, at the 2026 Annual Conference. Building on these exchanges, the working group will continue this endeavour, including through new formats. If you are interested in joining this – or any other – SC working group, please get in touch.
The SC PhD representative, Marina Lazetic, is launching a new autumn series of the PhD Sessions, where early career researchers can present their work, exchange feedback, debate methodological and theoretical challenges, and expand their networks with peers interested in reflexive migration research. Running for a fourth year, these online sessions are a supportive environment for young scholars eager to explore alternative research approaches, mindful of the power dynamics in knowledge production about migration and striving to de-nationalize and de-migranticize studies of mobility and diversity. If interested to join in, please contact
In the coming months, please keep an eye on the SC website and social media accounts. The SC is aiming to release a call for funding which can be applied for to organise an event which aligns with the mission and work areas of the SC Reflexivities. The SC looks forward to welcoming exciting and engaging ideas.
Finally, please remember that you can subscribe to the SC Reflexivities Newsletter via the following link or apply to become a member via their website.
SC Gender and Sexuality in Migration Research (GenSeM)
The SC GenSeM is delighted to announce its activities taking place over the next few months.
Migration Dialogues
🗓️ Oct 23rd 12-1.30 (UK time) Queer Migrants Reclaiming Belonging Through Silence and Voice. Karine Duplan (University of Geneva) and Sarah Scuzzarello (University of Sussex). Online.
Registration https://GenSeM_Queer_belonging.eventbrite.co.uk
🗓️ Nov 4th, 2-3.30 (CET). Men, migration and emotions. Rik Huizinga (Utrecht University), Mastoureh Fathi (University College Cork) and Francesco Cerchiaro (Radboud University).
Online. Registration https://GenSeM_Masculinities.eventbrite.co.uk
🗓️ Nov 25th, November 1- 2:30 pm (UK time) Transits and transitivities: trans refugees in/from Brazil.
Prof. Isadora Lins França, University of Campinas, Brazil. Hybrid, University of Sussex, Arts C, 333 and online. Registration https://GenSeM_trans_Brazil.eventbrite.co.uk
ECR committee
A four-part workshop to demystify the job application process for ECRs and PhD candidates.
1. November 13th, 4 pm (UK time). Preparing CVs for the third sector. Speaker: Careers Adviser for Postgraduate Researchers, Dr Holly Prescott.
2. December 9th 9.30 (UK time). Networking for consultancy jobs. Speaker: Dr Darshan Vigneswaran from Impact Studio.
Additional sessions focused on CV preparation for teaching roles and postdoctoral positions will take place in the Spring Semester.
PhD Students committee
Shut up & Write sessions:
1. October 27, 15:00-17:00 GMT/WET;
2. November 24, 15:00-17:00 GMT/WET;
Upcoming ethics workshops with Reflexivities Committee (dates to be confirmed)
SC Forced Migration and Refugees (FMR)
An inclusive forum for forced migration research
Established at the IMISCOE Annual Conference in Lisbon in 2024, the SC for Forced Migration and Refugees (SC FMR) provides an interdisciplinary forum for research, debate and knowledge exchange on forced migration and refugee issues. The SC approaches forced migration and refuge broadly, welcoming diverse theoretical, normative and methodological perspectives, as well as research on different forms and experiences of displacement. Its mission is to connect researchers across the Global North, South and East while strengthening engagement with refugee communities and refugee-led organisations.
Throughout 2026, the SC has brought together more than 170 members, colleagues from the wider IMISCOE network and participants from beyond academia through meetings, conference sessions and public events. Particular attention has been given to PhD students and early-career researchers, creating opportunities to exchange ideas, develop collaborations and discuss the challenges of conducting forced migration research.
Recent events
On 15 June 2026, the SC held its first expert panel discussion with refugee-led organisations (RLOs), creating space for dialogue on their perspectives, experiences and roles in responding to forced displacement. The discussion brought together RLOs from across the world, including the South Africa Refugee-led Network (South Africa), the Tafawol Association for Social Needs and Development (Egypt), the Greek Forum of Refugees (Greece), the Refugee Advisory Board (Germany), and CoLaboratory for Innovation and Social Inclusion (CoLibres, Mexico). The event enabled these organisations to discuss their work, operational challenges, community needs and engagement with academic and policy institutions.
At the IMISCOE Annual Conference in Girona, the SC organised two sessions: “Im/Mobility and Immobilisation: Addressing an Under-Explored Phenomenon” and “Forced Displacement and Local Migration Governance: How to Promote Sustainable Policy Solutions?” These sessions addressed contemporary challenges while revisiting the work and legacy of the SC’s predecessor, the IMISCOE Research Group on Refugees in European Localities. They also provided an opportunity to reflect on how earlier research on refugees and local governance can inform the SC’s evolving research agenda.
Forthcoming activities
The SC is preparing two guaranteed-slot sessions for the forthcoming IMISCOE Annual Conference in Brussels in July 2027, including through open calls for contributions. The panel “Deportations as Forced Migration” will explore how deportation can be understood within forced migration studies. The workshop “From Recognition to Representation: Refugees and Refugee-led Organizations in Forced Migration Governance” will examine the involvement of refugee-led organisations in shaping governance, policy and practice.
The SC also seeks to strengthen collaboration with forced migration scholars beyond the IMISCOE network. As part of this effort, the SC plans to co-organise a panel at the 2027 conference of the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM) in Yerevan, bringing perspectives from the Global South and Global East into dialogue.
Alongside these conference activities, the SC is developing a series of online seminars, including a PhD student seminar series open to the general public.
Finally, the SC board has been working closely with the Bonn International Center for Conflict Studies (bicc) in Germany to organise the 2028 IMISCOE Spring Conference on “Forced Migration and Refugee Studies”. The conference will provide an opportunity to take stock of existing research, address knowledge gaps and advance perspectives beyond conventional or fashionable approaches. It will create space for research on neglected cases and regions, underrepresented groups and methods, as well as gendered perspectives. It will also facilitate cross-regional and cross-thematic dialogue, including discussions of unequal attention to different displacement contexts, exchanges between the Global South and Global East, and critical postcolonial reflections.
SC Arts, Culture and Migration (DIVCULT)
The SC Arts, Culture and Migration (DIVCULT) has had a particularly active period, with new opportunities for exchange, collaboration and knowledge-sharing across the network. On 25 June, the SC organised its Spring Webinar, “Participatory and Visual Methods”, bringing together six presentations exploring creative, participatory and arts-based approaches to migration research. Researchers working across Europe, Syria, Türkiye and Latin America shared experiences of using photography, filmmaking, digital diaries, theatre, mapping and printmaking. The discussion prompted rich reflections on how visual and participatory methods can offer new ways of understanding mobility, borders, racism and belonging, while also drawing attention to the ethical questions and dilemmas that arise in research practice. With more than 50 participants, the webinar provided a valuable opportunity to exchange experiences and connect researchers working across different contexts and disciplines.
Building on this engagement, the SC’s Autumn Webinar, scheduled for 12 November at 15:00 CET, will focus on “Doing Migration Research Beyond Academia: Collaborating with Artists and through Art”. The presentations will explore the relationships between the different actors involved in research processes, with particular attention to the challenges and opportunities of collaborating with artists and working through art-based practices. The webinar will also consider community-based knowledge co-creation and ways of sharing research beyond academia through artistic means. In doing so, it will continue discussions that were central to the more than 50 DIVCULT contributions at the IMISCOE Annual Conferencein Girona, including individual papers, workshops and panels. It will further explore the methodological and theoretical interdisciplinarity emerging in art-based practices while sharing experiences and good practices from the field.
The SC’s activities are also expanding beyond webinars. The DIVCULT Newsletter is currently in preparation and is scheduled for launch after the winter break as a new space for communication and exchange within the SC and with the wider community of migration researchers. The newsletter builds on the SC’s growing online presence, including the recently launched DIVCULT Blog on the IMISCOE website and its LinkedIn channel, which has already attracted more than 500 connections. Together, these platforms reflect the growing community around the SC, which now has more than 150 members, and provide spaces to share activities, research, calls and opportunities. The DIVCULT Blog will also feature research presented through the webinar series and create opportunities for external contributors to engage with and reflect on themes central to the SC’s work.
The SC has also launched DIVCULT Project Incubators, a new initiative designed to help members turn research ideas into collaborative funding proposals. Through regular online sessions, early-career researchers can pitch ideas, meet potential collaborators, supervisors and host institutions, and explore upcoming Horizon Europe and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) opportunities, as well as European Research Council (ERC) and COST Actions. Each session will combine brief member pitches, targeted matchmaking and an “opportunity radar” highlighting forthcoming calls and deadlines. Alongside open incubators, focused sessions will address specific programmes and themes, including how to translate fieldwork into fundable project designs. The sessions will be scheduled around funding deadlines, giving members time to develop partnerships, build consortia and prepare competitive applications.
Finally, the SC is celebrating the funding of JAMM – Justice, Arts, Memory, Migration: Creating Solidarities across Borders, a COST Action that grew directly out of a DIVCULT internal initiative led by Gülay Ugur Goksel. This is a significant achievement for the SC and an illustration of what can emerge when ideas, expertise and collaborations come together within the network. Bringing researchers, artists, practitioners and other stakeholders together across Europe, JAMM will explore the potential of arts-based approaches to migration research while fostering interdisciplinary exchange, co-creation and new forms of knowledge and solidarity. The development of this DIVCULT initiative into a funded COST Action marks an important milestone, and its progress and impact will be of considerable interest to the SC and the wider network.
To become a member, visit the IMISCOE Standing Committees page.