22nd IMISCOE Annual Conference

The 22nd IMISCOE Annual Conference will take place between
 1 – 4 July 2025
Campus Condorcet
Paris-Aubervilliers & Online

The International Migration Research Network (IMISCOE) is the largest interdisciplinary network of scholars in the field of migration. The Network currently consists of 68 research institutes from different countries around the world and from various disciplines, including sociology, political science, anthropology, economics, law, demography, public administration, geography, and history. The conference will be hosted by the Institut Convergences Migrations (IC Migrations), a collaborative institute on migration that brings together leading research institutes from France. Camille Schmoll, Research Director at the EHESS / Géographie-cités ‘ Laboratory, is a member of the Host Committee.

This year’s conference invites a reevaluation of migration research, moving beyond Western-centric and immigration-focused narratives to foster a nuanced understanding of the complexities of migration. By encouraging epistemological dialogue and collective reflexivity, it aims to challenge existing methodologies and explore the social and political effects of shifting perspectives on migration issues. Particular attention will be given to the intersections of critical migration studies, diversity, and public perceptions of these fields.

The conference is open only to registered researchers (registration closed in March 2025). For those who are not researchers or were unable to register, the five plenary sessions will be available for replay on the event’s YouTube channel.

Several researchers of Géographie-cités participate to this event: 

  • On Tuesday, July 1st, between 13:00-14:30, Oriane Sébillotte (EHESS / Géographie-cités) will participate in a panel on “Local politics and struggles over immigrant integration and immigrant rights” – Online, room 2.

Abstract
« When is chapa ? » This question is frequently asked by migrants living in encampments in Paris. Since 2020, the term « chapa » has spread throughout those encampments. Originating from Pashto and conveyed by men from Afghanistan, it initially refers to a police raid, typically a violent intervention that can lead to an eviction. However, here it has acquired another meaning: that of an eviction that gives access to accommodation.

This change in definition follows the transformation of encampments eviction and sheltering operations. Initially organized to regulate the occupation of public space and accompanied by police repression, they then evolved into a less confrontational form aimed at housing people living on the streets and presented as humanitarian operations. However, they still have the stated aim of reducing the number of encampments, they continue to be supervised by the police, and the accommodation to which people are sent is usually temporary and reserved for some asylum seekers and refugees.
In this presentation, I will start my analysis from this term, formed within the encampments by people who live there, in order to gain a better understanding of the way in which they perceive, experience and also have an influence on state regulations. I will first examine what this term reveals about the ambivalent representations migrants have of this situation; then, the tactics they deploy in response to this perceived reality; and finally, I will analyse how the evolution of regulatory arrangements towards the encampments is partly due to the actions of migrants and their supporters. This research reveals an unstable context in which changes in state regulations, people and their interactions contribute to frequent redefinitions. This presentation is based on fieldwork carried out between 2020 and 2025. These observations (around a hundred) and semi-structured interviews (around fifty), conducted in encampments and day centres, are supplemented by archives from social media pages and public groups and grey literature produced by the authorities, the Parliament and NGOs.

  • On Thursday, July 3rd, between 15:00-16:30, Aline Desmas (EHESS / Géographie-cités) will participate in a panel on “Migration through generational lenses:
    Emotions, care practices, family structures and life course” – Salle 3.11, Centre des Colloques.
  • On Friday, July 4th, between 10:50–12:20, Alice Elkouby-Croisé (EHESS / Géographie-cités) will participate in a panel on ” Decentering Border Narratives: Thinking From and With Islands”- Online & On site, Salle 3.02, Centre des Colloques.
  • On Friday, July 4, from 12:30 to 14:30, Camille Schmoll will chair the closing plenary, Science as a profession, activism, and imaginaries,”

Abstract

In recent years, migration research has undergone critical evolution, shaping new scientific imaginaries and practices. This shift can be understood as a form of decentering as research increasingly moves beyond the walls of academia. It is characterized by the emergence of new topics, the adoption of innovative methodologies—creative and participatory—and the forging of renewed alliances between academia and society.
This transformation calls into question the role of research as both a profession and an area of expertise, while its relationships with activism, advocacy, and social change are being redefined. What role can researchers play in an increasingly brutal world? On which alliances can they rely? How can research be attuned to the challenges and upheavals of the present?

This 22nd IMISCOE conference will offer participants a variety of side events, most of them right within the Campus Condorcet grounds, such as roundtable discussions, film screenings, exhibitions, and cultural activities.

More Information on the IMISCEO’s website

Download Conference booklet & campus map

For questions or further information about the conference: imiscoe2025@icmigrations.fr