Swiss Conference of Migration and Mobility Studies (SCMMS) 2026: Call for Contributions
University of Neuchâtel
7 – 8 July 2026
The 1st edition of the SCMMS conference will take place from 7 to 8 July 2026 at the University of Neuchâtel.
The Swiss Conference of Migration and Mobility Studies is an international conference bringing together researchers and stakeholders in the field of migration and mobility studies. The conference offers a stimulating environment for master holders, doctoral, postdoctoral and senior researchers from across the globe. Researchers from different universities and research institutions, as well as non-academic stakeholders, have the opportunity to present original research, exchange ideas, establish networks, and initiate collaborative research.
The SCMMS is organized by the newly created Swiss Association of Migration and Mobility Studies (SAMMS) and the CUSO Doctoral Program in Migration Studies.
Building on the Neuchâtel Graduate Conference (NGC)’s legacy of the nccr – on the move (which is still co-organizing this first edition of the conference), the SCMMS is open to researchers at all career stages, with some panels intended specifically for early-career researchers.
Call for Contributions: Horizons of Hope: Imagining Emancipatory Futures in Migration and Mobility
In an era defined by crisis narratives, border securitization, and necropolitical management of human movement, the concept of hope is a radical and contested terrain. This conference seeks to move beyond the traditional framing of migration and mobility as a problem to be solved. Instead, we propose to explore migration and mobility as practices of future-making—generative forces where new political subjectivities, communities, and emancipatory horizons are actively constructed.
Focusing on ‘emancipatory futures’, we invite scholars to evaluate how migrants, refugees, and mobile citizens navigate structural constraints to reclaim agency over time, and consider the liberating narratives and practices upheld by different actors. How does mobility (or immobility) challenge existing geopolitical orders? In what ways is hope mobilized not just as an affect, but as a political resource for survival and transformation? Horizons of Hope aims to map the diverse geographies where these futures are being imagined and lived today—from the intimate space of family care to the transnational networks of solidarity and resistance.
The conference welcomes interdisciplinary contributions from fields such as anthropology, demography, economics, geography, history, law, political science, psychology, sociology, and other relevant disciplines within migration and mobility studies.
Submissions are closed.
Conference participation is subject to a fee. For exceptional cases and to encourage international participation, the conference can provide limited funding opportunities that are specifically designed for international graduate students traveling from far or without mobility funding.
