Research Institute for Migration
and Forced Displacement Management Open main menu
[Translate to English:]

Events

Here you'll find information about our conferences, presentations, workshops, and other events, as well as all the latest dates.

Save the Date: Symposium on December 16, 2026

To mark the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention and as part of Human Rights Day on December 10, the Vienna Centre for Migration and Law (VCML), UNHCR Austria, and the Research Institute for Migration and Refugee Research and Management (FORM) are organizing the symposium “75 Years of the 1951 Refugee Convention: Human Rights, Effectiveness, and Enforcement.”

The symposium will focus on human rights-based and effective refugee protection, highlighting the practical and legal challenges involved in its implementation. The symposium consists of two panel discussions: An opening session will establish the thematic framework and address the integration of human rights into international refugee law as well as its effectiveness. A subsequent panel discussion will bring together various perspectives from legal practice, the judiciary, and on-the-ground work to discuss challenges in enforcing international protection standards.

  • Date and Time: Wednesday, December 16, 2026, 2:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

  • Location: WU Vienna, Gallery, Library and Learning Center (LC), Welthandelsplatz 1, 1020 Vienna

  • Organizers: Vienna Centre for Migration and Law (VCML), UNHCR Austria, and the Research Institute for Migration and Forced Displacement Management (FORM)

  • Language: English

More information about the program, the speakers, and registration will be posted shortly. Please mark your calendars—we look forward to welcoming you.

Panel Discussion at the 9th Annual Conference on Migration Research in Austria

Moderator: Judith Kohlenberger, Research Institute for Migration and Refugee Research and Management (FORM), Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU)

Panelists: Rainer Bauböck, EUI, Florence; Marcus Engler, German Center for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM), Berlin; Solmaz Khorsand, journalist, author, and podcaster, Vienna; Wiebke Sievers, Institute for Urban and Regional Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW), Vienna; Peter Webinger, Ministry of the Interior, Vienna

Never before has so much knowledge about migration been generated as it is today. Nevertheless, this knowledge finds only limited entry into public debate and political decision-making processes. The panel will therefore examine the causes of the growing gap between migration research, politics, and the media—and explore how it can be narrowed. Migration researchers from Austria and Germany will join representatives from the media and government to discuss the contribution of scientific findings to policy, successful forms of collaboration, and structural barriers to a knowledge-based approach to migration. At the same time, the panel will examine gaps, challenges, and future developments in migration research in the German-speaking world and beyond.

When: Monday, September 14, 2026, 6:00–7:30 p.m.

Where: University of Vienna