Conference Theme: Solidarity in Diversity: place and practice-based approaches
Date conference: 20-22 August 2024
Location: University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Deadline call: 10 June 2024
Over the last decade, liberal democracies in Europe have been shaken to their core by the rise of the radical right and national populisms. This puts strong pressure on all forms of solidarity, especially as they cross ethnic-cultural boundaries. The increasingly successful capture of the notion of solidarity by radical right and national populist forces is testimony to this. The challenge for European societies is to identify the conditions under which solidarities in diversity can be nurtured. In this context, scholars in a variety of disciplines, notably sociology, geography and educational science, have been exploring place- and practice-based approaches to solidarity, taking the spatial proximity of citizens with different ethnic-cultural backgrounds in specific places and the joint practices they engage in as starting point.
In this closing conference of the European Training Network ‘Solidarity in Diversity’ (SOLiDi) (www.solidi.eu), our aim is to bring together academics and practitioners and experts from civil society and the public sector across Europe to foster dialogue and exchange on innovative forms of solidarity in diversity. Next to presenting the research and practice-based findings of the 15 doctoral researchers in the SOLiDi project, we invite contributions from other scholars from various disciplines, including social work, sociology, geography, political science, educational sciences and anthropology, to submit a paper that speaks to place and/or practice based understandings of solidarity in diversity.
If interested, please submit an 400 word abstract for consideration to Stijn Oosterlynck (Stijn.Oosterlynck@uantwerpen.be) and Anke De Malsche (Anke.DeMalsche@uantwerpen.be) no later than June 10, 2024. Participants will be notified by 21 June. The fee for participating in the conference will be 60 Euro.