Beyond culture/ethnicity: shifting debates on gender-based violence in migration: A dialogue with Giacomo Orsini and Marina Della Rocca
2026-05-28 11:00 - 12:00 (Europe/Rome) | Online on Microsoft Teams
This webinar is part of the online-series “Diversity Matters: An interdisciplinary Webinar Series” promoted by the Center for Migration and Societal Change at Eurac Research.
In this webinar, which is co-organized by the Center for Migration and Societal Change and the Gender Dynamics group of Eurac Research, Dr Giacomo Orsini (Eurac Research) and Dr Marina Della Rocca (Competence Centre for Social Work, Social Pedagogy and Social Policy -UNIBZ) critically approach gender-based violence in the context of migration.
Drawing on several studies they have conducted in diverse European contexts (e.g., Belgium and Italy), Giacomo and Marina provide alternative perspectives on the occurrence of violence within migrants’ couples and families. As gender-based violence within migration attracts growing academic and public attention, scholarly, media and political debates tend to concentrate on the culture or ethnicity of the migrants to explain the seemingly high(er) frequency of such form of abuse in migrants’ households. The webinar critically engages with these debates which culturalize/ethnicize gender-based violence in migration, to look instead at those structural constraints operating in the so-called “country of destination” to produce the conditions for such violence to happen. Administrative/bureaucratic and legal hurdles hit on migrants since they decide to emigrate up until they cross the border of the EU and (try to) settle in Europe. As showed in this webinar, by operating as in/tangible boundaries, migration policies and procedures shape profoundly the intimate love life of (racialised) migrants, increasing the sources of everyday stress and trauma and, with them, the likelihood of domestic/gender-based violence to happen. Drawing on the Personal Aspirations and Processes of Adaptation: How the Legal framework Impacts on Migrants’ Agency (LIMA) project he joined between 2018 and 2020, Dr Giacomo Orsini will discuss how (securitized/racist) migration policies operating within but also outside of family reunification in Belgium contribute (re)producing gender-based violence. Concurrently, by focusing on the everyday experience of the same policies, he also shows how migration governance operates to hinder battered migrants’ access to the available formal and informal protection services. Dr Marina Della Rocca will address the intersection between violence against women and migration from the perspective of support policies and practices. The presentation will examine the dynamics that reproduce structural barriers hindering migrant women’s efforts to leave situations of violence and will offer a critical reflection on processes of culturalization. The discussion draws on her ethnographic research in an anti-violence centre and on a study exploring understandings of violence against women and women’s empowerment from the perspective of women of different ages and backgrounds. The webinar series Diversity Matters explores the impact of migrations, diversities and mobilities on increasingly superdiverse territorial realities. Hosted by the Center for Migration and Societal Change of Eurac Research, the series is a forum for experts to share their work and expertise with an audience of fellow academics, students, decision-makers and practitioners.
Registration: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/4172ff1a-6ff7-4d0c-885d-912c462ead5e@92513267-03e3-401a-80d4-c58ed6674e3b
Event website: Diversity Matters: An interdisciplinary Webinar Series – Eurac Research

Conflicts: methods and practices within the context of climate change
2026-06-10 11:30 - 13:00 | Hybrid on MS Teams and Eurac Research, Conference Hall, Drususallee 1/Viale Druso 1, Bolzano/Bozen, South Tyrol, 39100, Italy
The event is part of the “Lecture Series on Social-Ecological Transformation – 2026 Edition”

This year’s lecture series, taking place on May 13th, June 10th, and October 14th, will explore key dimensions of socioecological transformation in the context of climate change.
Socio-ecological transformation requires continuous dialogue, meaningful participation, and strong institutional commitment across all levels of governance.
The first lecture examines climate citizens’ assemblies as bottom-up initiatives within participatory democracy, highlighting their potential to foster more inclusive and democratic climate decision-making. In addition, it will investigate limitations in advancing environmental justice and challenges to ensuring that deliberative outcomes are effectively integrated into governance and institutional processes.
The second lecture investigates conflict as a driver of transformation, focusing on how tensions among actors can generate knowledge, perspectives, and more equitable solutions.
The third lecture broadens the perspective to public participation in climate governance, emphasizing both its promises and limitations across different institutional contexts.
11:30 Welcome and introduction – Elisa Ravazzoli, Center for Climate Change and Transformation & Institute for Regional Development, Eurac Research Federica Maino, Institute for Regional Development, Eurac Research
11:30-12:00 Conflict as a Driver of Socio-Ecological Transformation – Chiara Braucher, University of TrentoThis study discusses how socio-environmental conflicts are an integral part of the socio-ecological transformation process within the context of climate crisis. They represent generative spaces for knowledge of co-production and a mechanism for democratizing climate policies. In a global landscape characterized by a dramatic increase in territorial disputes linked to mitigation and adaptation processes, the lens of political ecology allows for an interpretation of conflict as an onto-epistemological laboratory. Within this space, the contestation of topdown “green” solutions fosters the emergence of situated knowledge and alternative visions of the future, challenging the ontologies underlying technological choices. Proposing conflict as a transformative space means recognizing that the response to climate change is not only a technical challenge but a political process of renegotiating relationships—essential for a transition that is not only ecological but also just.
12:00-12:30 Preventing and Managing Environmental Conflict: The Experience of the Milan Chamber of Arbitration – Nicola Giudice, Milan Chamber of Arbitration. This lecture will present the experience developed within the Mediation Service of the Milan Chamber of Arbitration in using mediation as a tool for the negotiated management of environmental conflicts. Building on this operational practice, it will illustrate how the Chamber progressively developed a broader approach, leading to the creation of the “FacilitAmbiente” project, aimed at promoting facilitation in collective decision-making processes to prevent the emergence of environmental and social conflicts. These two complementary and still ongoing experiences highlight a key point: for sustainability to be effective and not merely declaratory, it requires continuous and structured dialogue among all stakeholders involved — businesses, institutions, communities, and citizens.
12:30-13:00 Open discussion

Moderation: Federica Maino and Jessica Balest, Eurac Research

Language: English (no translation will be provided)
Registration: no registration required
Program: 1778161029-lectureseries-2026.pdf
Event website: Lecture Series on Social-Ecological Transformation – 2026 Edition – Eurac Research
Connection link: MS Teams

Colloquium Platform Biodiversity South Tyrol
2026-06-10 18:00 - 19:00 | Museum of Nature South Tyrol, Via Bottai, Bindergasse 1, Bolzano/Bozen, South Tyrol, 39100, Italy
Vortrag in Zusammenarbeit mit EURAC und der Platform Biodiversität Südtirol – Conferenza in collaborazione con EURAC e Piattaforma biodiveristà Alto Adige
Event website: Calendario eventi – Naturmuseum Südtirol

Pathways to Future Regional Development
2026-06-11 - 2026-06-12 | Chamber of Commerce of Bolzano & NOI Techpark Bolzano
Insights on shared challenges in regional development
The Institute for Economic Research of the Chamber of commerce of Bolzano/Bozen (WIFO), the Regional Studies Association (RSA), Eurac Research, the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO), and the research network on Smart Policies for Regional Innovation, Sustainability and Transitions (SPRINT) are organizing a two-day workshop on Pathways to Future Regional Development on June 11-12,2026, focusing on the themes of regional development, innovation, sustainability, and inequality.
The first day, participants will gather at the Chamber of Commerce of Bolzano for an intensive day of presentations and discussion, bringing together approximately 50 researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to exchange insights on shared challenges in regional development. The second day will feature a visit to NOI Techpark South Tyrol, where attendees will participate in a policy panel titled “Bridging Worlds: Connecting Research, Policy, and Innovation Ecosystems”, offering a unique opportunity to see theory meet practice in an innovation hub.
Event website: Pathways to Future Regional Development – Eurac Research

Cultural Exchange and Human Development in the 21st Century
2026-06-12 - 2026-06-13 | UNIBZ – Room BX A1.36, Regensburger Allee 16 - viale Ratisbona, 16, Brixen, South Tyrol, 39042, Italy
Explore how cultural exchange, postcolonial legacies, and local knowledge shape development, education, identity, and East–West relations today.
This workshop explores the role of cultural exchange in shaping human development and East–West relations through postcolonial and decolonial lenses. It examines how historical power asymmetries continue to shape knowledge production, identity, and development trajectories.
The focus is on local agency, social change, and emerging realities related to migration, labour, gender, education, and sustainability.
The workshop provides a platform for interdisciplinary dialogue on how cultural, social, and political dynamics shape development, knowledge, and identity globally.
Event website: Cultural Exchange and Human Development in the 21st Century / Free University of Bozen-Bolzano

Cultural Exchange and Human Development in the 21st Century
2026-06-12 - 2026-06-13 | UNIBZ – Room BX A1.36, Regensburger Allee 16 - viale Ratisbona, 16, Brixen, South Tyrol, 39042, Italy
Explore how cultural exchange, postcolonial legacies, and local knowledge shape development, education, identity, and East–West relations today
This workshop explores the role of cultural exchange in shaping human development and East–West relations through postcolonial and decolonial lenses. It examines how historical power asymmetries continue to shape knowledge production, identity, and development trajectories.
The focus is on local agency, social change, and emerging realities related to migration, labour, gender, education, and sustainability.
The workshop provides a platform for interdisciplinary dialogue on how cultural, social, and political dynamics shape development, knowledge, and identity globally.
Language: English
Program: Workshop Program 06_2026_Final
Event website: Cultural Exchange and Human Development in the 21st Century / Free University of Bozen-Bolzano

ReNoN Project Workshop 2026
2026-07-10 08:00 - 17:30 | UNIBZ – B1.1.01 – NOI Techpark, via Volta-Voltastrasse 13/A, Bolzano/Bozen, South Tyrol, 39100, Italy
Powering the future through smarter, connected energy systems—discover how integrated networks can accelerate Europe’s path to climate neutrality
The ReNON Workshop 2026 aims to explore advanced methodologies, planning strategies and optimization tools supporting the transition towards decarbonized and resilient energy systems.
Achieving the European carbon neutrality targets by 2050 requires a profound transformation of traditionally independent infrastructures such as electricity grids, district heating networks, water systems, transportation and energy storage. In this context, the ReNON project introduces the “Network of Networks” paradigm, promoting the coordinated integration of multi-energy systems and the active involvement of prosumers and energy communities.
Event website: ReNoN Project Workshop 2026 / Free University of Bozen-Bolzano

Bridging Levels and Voices: Public Participation in EU Climate Governance
2026-10-14 11:30 - 13:00 | Hybrid on MS Teams and Eurac Research, Conference Hall, Drususallee 1/Viale Druso 1, Bolzano/Bozen, South Tyrol, 39100, Italy
The event is part of the “Lecture Series on Social-Ecological Transformation – 2026 Edition”

This year’s lecture series, taking place on May 13th, June 10th, and October 14th, will explore key dimensions of socioecological transformation in the context of climate change.
Socio-ecological transformation requires continuous dialogue, meaningful participation, and strong institutional commitment across all levels of governance.
The first lecture examines climate citizens’ assemblies as bottom-up initiatives within participatory democracy, highlighting their potential to foster more inclusive and democratic climate decision-making. In addition, it will investigate limitations in advancing environmental justice and challenges to ensuring that deliberative outcomes are effectively integrated into governance and institutional processes.
The second lecture investigates conflict as a driver of transformation, focusing on how tensions among actors can generate knowledge, perspectives, and more equitable solutions.
The third lecture broadens the perspective to public participation in climate governance, emphasizing both its promises and limitations across different institutional contexts.

11:30

Welcome and introduction
Lydia Pedoth, Center for Climate Change and Transformation, Eurac Research Mariachiara Alberton, Institute for Comparative Federalism, Eurac Research

11:30-12:00

Public participation in EU climate governance: promise and limitations
Prof. Sebastian Oberthür, Director of the Research Centre for Environment, Economy and Energy, and Professor for Environment and Sustainable Development at the Brussels School of Governance
Public participation in environmental decision-making is widely considered a core element of ‘environmental democracy’. It has also been heralded as a major remedy for the EU’s ‘democratic deficit’. Yet, public participation can take many forms and can produce outcomes of varying quality. This talk will take stock of what we know about how public participation can contribute to addressing the societal challenge of climate change and which factors support or undermine meaningful participation. On this basis, it will review mechanisms of public participation available for EU climate governance and how to enhance their effectiveness.

12:00-12:30

Climate Pact Ambassadors: Bridging Europe’s Governance Levels
Prof. Jale Tosun, Professor of Political Science, University of Heidelberg
As an outcome of the European Green Deal, European Climate Pact Ambassadors (ECPAs) were established to promote climate action within their networks at both a local and an EU level. This lecture focuses on the volunteers who commit to the role of ECPA and unpacks who steps up, how they advocate for policy change and what they experience along the way. Bridging political sociology, policy analysis and multi-level governance, the lecture offers a rare insight into EU-level civic participation.

12:30-13:00

Open discussion
Moderation: Mariachiara Alberton, Eurac Research
Language: English (no translation will be provided)
Registration: no registration required
Program: 1778161029-lectureseries-2026.pdf
Event website: Lecture Series on Social-Ecological Transformation – 2026 Edition – Eurac Research
Connection link: MS Teams

Eurac Research to Host the 14th Annual Conference of the Italian Society for Climate Sciences (SISC)
2026-11-02 - 2026-11-04 | Eurac Research, Drususallee 1/Viale Druso 1 – Italy, Bolzano/Bozen, Italy
Eurac Research will host the 14th Annual Conference of the Italian Society for Climate Sciences (SISC) in Bolzano from 2 to 4 November 2026, bringing the international climate science community to the heart of the Alps.
the Italian Society for Climate Sciences (SISC) will take place in Bolzano from 2 to 4 November 2026, hosted at the Eurac Research premises.
SISC is one of the leading interdisciplinary platforms in Italy dedicated to the study of climate change, its impacts, and related policies. The annual conference brings together scientists, researchers, economists, practitioners, business leaders, and policymakers working across different dimensions of climate science and climate action. The official language of the conference will be English.
The 2026 edition aims to foster dialogue across disciplines and sectors, encouraging the exchange of new research results, methodological advances, and practical experiences in the science and management of climate change. Hosting the conference in Bolzano underscores the importance of mountain and Alpine regions as key laboratories for understanding climate impacts and developing adaptation and mitigation strategies.
IMPORTANT DATES
– Deadline for abstract submission: 29 May 2026
– Notification of abstract acceptance and participation grants: 15 July 2025
– Deadline for registration for presenting author to be included in the programme: 11 Sep 2026
– Preliminary programme: Early October
By hosting SISC 2026, Eurac Research strengthens its role as an international hub for climate research and dialogue, and looks forward to welcoming the climate science community to Bolzano
More information on the conference website: https://www.sisclima.it/conferenza-annuale-2026/
