Invitation – Symposium: Forced Displacement and the City: Lessons from Germany and the MENA Region

We are pleased to announce the upcoming symposium “Forced Displacement and the City: Lessons from Germany and the MENA Region”, taking place on October 1, 2025, at the DAAD Regional Office in Cairo, Egypt.

The event is funded by DAAD within the framework of the COSIMENA Call for Funding 2025 and organized in cooperation with the Technical University of Berlin (TUB). 

This one-day symposium will explore the intersections of forced migration and urban development, addressing both challenges and opportunities from the perspectives of urban planning, sustainable development, architecture, and design. Bringing together voices from Germany and across the MENA region, the event aims to: 

  • Share experiences and lessons learned between diverse academic and professional actors, 
  • Foster dialogue on inclusive and resilient urban strategies, 
  • Encourage integration, spatial justice, and sustainable community development, 
  • Re-envision the role of architecture and design in complex processes such as refugee crisis. 

The program consists of three thematic sessions: 

  1. Refugee Neighborhoods and Planning 
  2. Refugee Housing and Shelter 
  3. Collaborative Design and Participatory Planning in Contexts of Forced Migration 

Experts from Germany, Egypt, and Jordan will contribute to the discussions, and the event will conclude with a screening of the short film “Hope” by Ashraf Osam and Ayham Dalal. 

We look forward to your participation in this exchange of ideas on how cities can respond to displacement with creativity, inclusivity, and resilience. 

Register to the Symposium here: https://www.daad.de/surveys/497521?lang=en 

Deadline for registration is on Sep 20th 2025. 

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