The 4th Roundtable on Forced Migration Studies, entitled "Exploring Ethical Questions in Forced Migration Studies", took place on June 12, 2024, at Forum Internationale Wissenschaft.

The background to the thematic focus of the event was that researchers and non-academic practitioners alike face major ethical challenges when dealing with issues in the context of (refugee) migration, not least due to the increasing politicization of the topic and the particular vulnerability of refugees. In order to do justice to the complexity of these challenges in migration research, the round table used a multi-perspective approach for joint reflection. The aim was to discuss ethical dilemmas and existing research approaches with a view to their practical implications.

Short presentations by Dirk Lanzerath (University of Bonn), Shaden Shabouni (Bonn International Center for Conflict Studies) and Jennifer Louise-Robinson (University of Osnabrück) formed the basis for the joint exchange. They provided an introduction to research ethics issues and discussed experiences of practical implementation based on specific research work on (forced) migration. In order to find out to what extent ethical issues can and should be integrated into research, discussions were held at four tables with different questions.

Table 1, moderated by Lena Laube and Sandra Gilgan, examined the role of university institutions in research ethics issues. The participants at this table considered it important that the research process is institutionally supported in order to give both sides (researchers and research participants) security.

Table 2, facilitated by Jure Leko and Bahia Amellal, focused on the role of positionalities in research. The participants emphasized that inequalities between the actors involved can have a major impact on research and should be taken into account throughout the research process.

Table 3 with the title "Nothing about us without us. Involving refugees in research and policymaking, opportunities and challenges", chaired by Maarit Thiem, Oksana Koshulko and Shaden Shabouni, dealt with ethical issues from the perspective of refugees. Among other things, it was considered important to follow ethical guidelines when working with refugees so that they are not harmed by the research (do-no-harm principle).

Table 4, moderated by Maria Ullrich and Elisabeth Kirndörfer, dealt with the question of which ethical aspects need to be considered for the Forced Migration Studies Roundtable itself from a meta-perspective. Such ethical challenges can arise, for example, if the knowledge of non-academic practitioners is not valued and possible power relations between the groups tacitly influence the discussion.

You can view the agenda for the event here.

On March 14, 2024, the 3rd Roundtable Forced Migration Studies entitled "What moves Bonn? Our city in the context of flight and migration" took place at Migrapolis in Bonn.

At this round table, academics and practitioners from migrant self-organizations, administration, NGOs and voluntary work, among others, discussed their experiences and perspectives in order to get to know the city of Bonn better in the context of flight and migration.

At this round table, academics and practitioners from migrant self-organizations, administration, NGOs and voluntary work, among others, discussed their experiences and perspectives in order to get to know the city of Bonn better in the context of flight and migration.

After inputs from Jure Leko (Bonner Institut für Migrationsforschung und Interkulturelles Lernen e.V.), Imamudin Hamdard (Afghanistan Studies & Cooperation Center e.V.) and Oleksii Nazarenk (Ukrainer in Bonn e.V.) on the civil society engagement of different actors in Bonn, the joint exchange took place at four tables with different questions in a World Café format.

Table 2, accompanied by Bahia Amellal and Sandra Gilgan, asked about needs and future dialog formats in the context of (refuge) migration in Bonn. In particular, questions of labor market access and language acquisition proved to be central from the point of view of the discussants. They also observed a distinction in local discourse between "immigrants you want" vs. "immigrants you don't want", which is also partly reflected in local welcoming practices.

Table 3 entitled "What moves us", moderated by Benjamin Etzold and Jure Leko, discussed current issues and challenges in the context of migration in Bonn. Some of the participants observed an increasing fragmentation of urban society and a polarization around immigration issues. Against this background, local collaboration between academics and non-academic actors was seen as having the potential to contribute to a more objective discourse.

You can view the agenda for the event here.