Official start of the EUniWell initiative on “Crisis and Conviviality in the Mediterranean”

01/08/2025 | by Emanuele De Simone | Cologne Language and Culture

Environmental pollution and degradation, climate change and the depletion of ecological resources; political, religious and ethnic conflicts, as well as state violence and social transformation processes are common challenges for the societies of the Euro-Mediterranean region. These challenges call for transnationally aligned academic research.

A map of the Mediterranean.

Last September, the Crisis and Conviviality in the Mediterranean (CCMed) initiative was officially launched. The initiative is led by the University of Cologne and is part of the EUniWell “Thematic Arena 4: Culture, Multilingualism and Well-Being” coordinated by Inalco. The aim of the CCMed initiative is to establish an interdisciplinary network of researchers working across the Mediterranean within and beyond the EUniWell Alliance. Given the ongoing common challenges facing Euro-Mediterranean societies, transnational academic research, and exchange programmes within and beyond nation-states are vital. 

The initiative focuses on five key research areas: 

  1. (Forced) Migration and (Im)mobility
  2. Multi-species Conviviality and Environmental Change
  3. Heritage and Memory Politics
  4. Religious Conviviality and Contestations
  5. Nationalism, Xenophobia and Fragmenting Publics 

During the kick-off workshop, multidisciplinary expertise was brought together thanks to participating researchers from the University of Cologne, University of Florence, University of Konstanz, Linnaeus University, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (Inalco) in Paris, the American University in Cairo, the G-EAU laboratory in Montpellier, and from the Centre Jacques Berque in Rabat. 

Based on the fruitful discussions at the kick-off workshop, the next action of the network will be staff mobility and exchanges between the participating universities involved in the initiative. The CCMed team aims to develop collaborative research with local stakeholders through temporary field laboratories and international study programmes. Researchers working on related topics are invited to join the initiative.

Further information

More details about the project can be found here.

Contact

If you would like to join the Crisis and Conviviality in the Mediterranean initiative, please contact Emanuele De Simone, Mediterranean Liminalities Research Lab, University of Cologne.

 

­Stay in touch & up-to-date!

Follow us on our social media channels:

Twitter
LinkedIn
Instagram
Facebook

And subscribe to our EUniWell newsletter for regular highlights and save-the-dates to upcoming EUniWell events delivered straight to your inbox:

https://www.euniwell.eu/news-events/newsletter

Back