Workshop & Training

BROAD-ER International Conference

BROAD-ER International Conference
Urban Spaces, Migrant Lives: Bridging Disciplinary Boundaries
24–26 September 2025 | Koç University, Istanbul, Türkiye

Venue: Founders Hall (Tower Building, Ground Floor)

Join us at the forefront of migration and urban studies! Scholars, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners are welcome to attend our conference, organized as part of BROAD-ER, an EU-funded project by Koç University, Pompeu Fabra University, and the University of Amsterdam.

The BROAD-ER International Conference offers a unique platform to bridge disciplinary boundaries, fostering dialogue and collaboration to address the complex realities of migration and urbanization.

Description

Cities are increasingly recognized as key actors in migration governance and issues in both academic and policy discussions. The BROAD-ER International Conference “Urban Spaces, Migrant Lives: Bridging Disciplinary Boundaries” aims to advance discussions on connecting migration and urban phenomena across multiple dimensions of research and policy. Bringing together scholars, policymakers, and practitioners, the conference explores the dynamic intersections between migration and urban studies, addressing pressing challenges and future pathways in research and practice. The conference will address cities’ roles as key actors in migration governance, urban responses to varying topics of migration, and innovative approaches to bridging these fields.

See below for the program and more details.

Across three days, the conference will focus on:

  1. The BROAD-ER project’s research themes, exploring cities’ expanding roles in migration governance at international, national, and local levels.
  2. Broader intersections between migration and urban studies, including urban responses to forced migration, environmental challenges, intersectional perspectives on migration by gender, class, race, and age, and the role of technology in shaping inclusion and surveillance in urban settings.
  3. Future pathways for bridging migration and urban studies, emphasizing emerging themes, comparative perspectives, and innovative methodologies to chart new directions for impactful research at the nexus of these fields.

Conference Themes

Themes

  • Cities on the International Stage
  • Local Governments and National Dynamics
  • Grassroots and Emerging Urban Actors
  • Cities and Forced Migration
  • Intersectional Perspectives on Cities and Migration
  • Population, Technology, and Climate: Shaping Urban Futures
  • Engaging Research and Policy Discussions
  • New Themes, Comparative Perspectives, Innovative Methodologies

Venue

The conference will take place at Koç University, Rumelifeneri Campus, Sarıyer, Istanbul, Türkiye.

For details about Koç University, visit https://www.ku.edu.tr

For inquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Conference Program

DAY 1 – WEDNESDAY, 24 SEPTEMBER
Theme: Cities as Actors in Migration Governance

09:00–09:30 | Registration

09:30–10:00 | Opening Remarks: Ahmet İçduygu (Koç University & MiReKoc)

10:00–11:00 | Keynote Speech: Peter Scholten (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

“Beyond the Local Turn: The De-migranticisation and Re-urbanisation of Migration Studies”

11:00–11:15 | Coffee Break

11:15–12:45 | PANEL 1: Cities on the International Stage

Chair: Ahmet İçduygu (Koç University & MiReKoc)

  • Pelin Kılınçarslan, Birce Altıok, Ceren Kulkul, Gülşen Doğan (BROAD-ER | Koç University)

“International Networks and Migration Governance: Municipal Perspectives from Istanbul”

  • Janina Stürner-Siovitz (European Philanthropic Initiative for Migration – EPIM)

“From Gridlock to Groundwork: City Diplomacy in Global Climate Mobility Debates”

  • Raffaele Marchetti (LUISS Guido Carli University)

“City Diplomacy and Humanitarian Diplomacy”

12:45–14:00 | Lunch Break

14:00–15:30 | PANEL 2: Local Governments and National Dynamics

Chair: Ricard Zapata-Barrero (Pompeu Fabra University & GRITIM-UPF)

  • Rafik Arfaoui (BROAD-ER | Pompeu Fabra University)

Urban Autonomy Under Constraints: Migration Governance, Housing Crisis, and the Politics of Solidarity in Barcelona

  • Maria Schiller (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

“State and Civil Society Relations in Local Immigrant Policymaking: Collaboration, Power and Conflict”

  •  Martin Bak Jørgensen (Aalborg University)

“Missing Municipalism? Immigrant Inclusion and Local Policy Responses in a Danish Context”

15:30–15:45 | Coffee Break

15:45–17:15 | PANEL 3: Grassroots and Emerging Urban Actors

Chair: Jan Rath (University of Amsterdam)

  • Norma Schemschat (BROAD-ER | University of Amsterdam)

“The Struggle for Recognition in the Global City: Experiences of Undocumented Migrant Domestic Workers in Amsterdam”                                                               

  • Chiara Milan (Scuola Normale Superiore)

“Contesting Migration at the Border: The Mobilization of Pro and Anti-Immigrant Grassroots Groups in the Border Town of Trieste”

  • Marco Perolini (London School of Economics and Political Science)

“Activism and Human Rights from Below: Racialized Migrants Challenging Border Regimes in Berlin”

18:00 | Dinner

DAY 2 – THURSDAY, 25 SEPTEMBER
Theme: Urban Responses to International Migration: Addressing Challenges Beyond Governance

09:30–11:00 | PANEL 4: Cities and Forced Migration

Chair: TBC

  • Annaelle Piva (UMR Géographie-cités Paris)

“Wandering in Paris, Residential Trajectories of Precarious Exiles”

  • Charalampos Tsavdaroglou (University of Amsterdam)

“Decolonize Mapping, Seeing the City Like Undocumented People in the Case of Thessaloniki”

  • Hossam Elbeltagy (Koç University)

Territorialized Migrant Solidarity Networks: In the Pursuit of a Humanitarian Residence Permit in Turkey

11:00–11:15 | Coffee Break

11:15–12:45 | PANEL 5: Intersectional Perspectives on Cities and Migration

  • Deniz Yükseker (İzmir University of Economics) & Zafer Çeler (İstanbul Kent University)

“Reimagining Gender and Migration through Youth Narratives in Istanbul’s Working-Class Neighborhoods”

  • Max Bloem (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

“Neighborhood Ethnic Diversity and Wellbeing: The Role of Sense of Safety and Community Among Older Migrants and Natives”

  • Pooja Priya (University College Cork)

“Exploring Nigerian and Congolese Migrants’ Intersectional Urban Negotiations Towards Belonging: From a Gendered Ethnography in Delhi, India”

12:45–14:00 | Lunch Break

14:00–15:30 | PANEL 6: Belonging, Participation, and Mobility

Chair: TBC

  • Diletta Marcucci (Pompeu Fabra University)

Intercultural Participation of Chinese Migrants in the Chinese New Year Festival: Case Studies from Barcelona and Amsterdam

  • Esin Özkılıç & Tüzin Baycan (Istanbul Technical University)

“The Role of Ethnic Capital and Second-Generation Bosnian Migrant Entrepreneurship in Urban Transformation”

  • Goranka Lalić Novak & Teo Giljević & Drago Župarić Iljić (University of Zagreb)

“Bridging Communities: The Impact of One-Stop Shop on Migrant Inclusion in Zagreb”

  • Maryam Lashkari & Jeremie Molho (Toronto Metropolitan University)

“Complex Migration in Global Cities: Skilled Migrants in Creative Industries Navigating Toronto”

15:30–15:45 | Coffee Break

15:45–17:15 | PANEL 7: Engaging Research and Policy Discussions

Chair: TBC

  • Gemma Pinyol-Jimenez (Instrategies & GRITIM-Pompeu Fabra University)

“From Competences to Incumbencies: Rethinking Multilevel Migration Governance Through the Role of Spanish Cities”

  • Marie McAuliffe (PoliSync Centre for International Policy Engagement, Geneva)

“Identity, Geopolitics and Urban Migration Governance in Transition: Saving International Geneva”

  • Monique Kremer (Advisory Council on Migration & University of Amsterdam)

“Haven in a Heartless World? Amsterdam and the Tensions between and within the Local and the National”

  • Murad Tiryakioğlu (Afyon Kocatepe University)

“Beyond Migration: Inclusive Resilient Urbanization”

DAY 3 – FRIDAY, 26 SEPTEMBER
Theme: Future Pathways for Integrating Migration and Urban Studies

09:30–11:00 | PANEL 8: New Themes, Comparative Perspectives, Innovative Methodologies

Chair: TBC

  • Asya Pisarevskaya (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

“Comparing Cities of Migration through Qualitative Comparative Analysis”

  • Amin Moghadam (Toronto Metropolitan University)

“Transnational Homeownership as an Intermediated Process in Toronto and Istanbul”

  • Madalena Corte-Real & Duygu Cihanger Ribeiro (ISEC Lisboa; CHAM – Centre for the Humanities & Middle East Technical University)

“Migration as a City-Making Dynamic: Territorial Transformations in Lisbon’s Mouraria

  • Ricard Zapata-Barrero (Pompeu Fabra University & GRITIM-UPF)

Bridging Cities of Migration and Memories Studies

11:00–11:15 | Coffee Break

11:15–12:45 | Closing Remarks