MiRG invites you to a public lecture on December 4 at 17.30 CET. Our invited speaker is İLKER ATAÇ (Professor at the University of Applied Sciences Fulda) who will talk about Exploring the Evolving Landscape of Urban Citizenship: A Case Study of Bern and Vienna's Civil Society. The public lecture will be hybrid, taking place both online and at the CEU Vienna campus on Quellenstraße 51, Room C-419 (4th floor). If you are not affiliated with CEU, you can receive a visitor card at the reception to be able to go upstairs.
Abstract / "Based on a published article co-authored with Sarah Schilliger, I will focus on the role of civil society organisations (CSOs) in the provision of inclusionary services for migrants with irregular status in two cities Bern and Vienna. My aim is to provide an analysis of the diversity of CSOs actively challenging policies of exclusion at the urban level. By examining the practices and organisational structures of CSOs in local welfare arrangements, the ways in which they build relationships, networks and alliances, as well as their relation with municipal and city authorities, I aim to shed light on their crucial role in the construction of an urban infrastructure of solidarity. The aim is to contribute to a more nuanced conceptualisation of urban citizenship that goes beyond the dichotomous distinction between urban citizenship practices “from above” (by municipal governments) versus “from below” (by social movements and civil society initiatives), and to show how a variety of actors co-produce and negotiate local welfare arrangements for illegalised migrants in urban settings."
BIO / İlker Ataç is a Professor of Political Science at the Department of Social Welfare in the University of Applied Sciences Fulda in Germany. Before, he has taught at the University of Vienna and at the Institute for Migration Research and Intercultural Studies, the University of Osnabrück. His research focuses on migration and social policy, civil society, politics of social work, citizenship studies and urban politics. He is on the editorial board of the journal Movements. His work has appeared in international academic journals including Citizenship Studies, Ethnic and Racial Studies, Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies, and Social Movement Studies.
To join online please log in to the Zoom meeting ID: 971 3401 2805 / Passcode: 789052.