European City Seminars 2010 - Ethnicity in the City

1) Ostrava (Czech Republic) and Krakow (Poland), 16 – 21 April 2010.

2) Bratislava (Slovakia) and Vienna (Austria), 14 – 18 May 2010.

3) Berlin (Germany), 18 – 21 June 2010

Historically, European cities always faced the challenge of dealing with migration; the urban much more than the rural spaces thus became the realm in which the ability to integrate, accommodate and include diverse and changing populations had to be negotiated. Any talk of inclusion should, however take note underlying power structures, and question who defines the rules of integration. How are the chances of this model´s survival in a changing economic and demographic environment, characterized by the influx of new migrants, the rising power of developers and investors, and the spread of urban areas beyond its historic borders? The uncertainty about the future of the “European city” model is maybe most visible in case of the cities of Central and Eastern Europe, which experience a process of rapid changes that affects the cities´ social and built fabric and the political steering of its development.


With these statements in mind Multicultural Centre Prague (website European City), Insitute for Public Affairs, Villa Decius Association and Rejs e.V. (magazine Plotki) invite researchers, journalists and artists to participate in a unique project that will deal with ethnic themes in central European cities. The outcome of this project will contain several case studies and media material as photo series, audiovisual recordings etc.


Selected participants will participate at the following research seminars:

1) A six day-long 'travelling' research seminar in Ostrava (Czech Republic) and Krakow (Poland), 16 – 21 April 2010. Focusing mostly but not exclusively on the two cities of Ostrava and Krakow, the participants will present and discuss their own contributions and conduct the field research in and around Ostrava and Krakow.

and/or

2) A five day-long 'travelling' research seminar in Bratislava (Slovakia) and Vienna (Austria), 14 – 18 May 2010. Focusing mostly but not exclusively on the two cities of Bratislava and Vienna, the participants will present and discuss their own contributions and conduct the field research in and around Bratislava and Vienna.

and/or

3) A four day-long research seminar in Berlin (Germany), 18 – 21 June 2010. Focusing mostly but not exclusively on the city of Berlin, the participants will present and discuss their own contributions and conduct the field research in and around Berlin.


The programme is open for everyone living in a EU member state with good knowledge of English. Researchers (senior researchers, PHD and MA students in the widest range of social science including but not limited to sociology, geography, anthropology, history, cultural studies), journalists and artists (photographers and film-makers) are especially encouraged to apply.