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DAAD-Project: "Facts First: Untangling Climate Mobility Narratives in Europe"

  • Project Overview

    This 6-month project from mid-August until mid-December 2024 is part of the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (German Academic Exchange Service; DAAD) funding scheme “Hochschuldialog mit Südeuropa.” This funding scheme aims to foster collaborations between Germany and institutions in Southern Europe. The team consists of the two Principal Investigators (Ann-Christine Link from Philipps-Universität Marburg (PUM)) and Thais Franca (CIES-Iscte; University of Lisbon) and other experts (Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Brenner (PUM), Violeta Alarcão & Raquel Matias (CIES-Iscte). This project, named “Facts First: Untangling Climate Mobility Narratives in Europe,” addresses a highly relevant topic that has to do with the representation of human (im)mobility (migration, displacement, relocation, and immobility) in the context of climate in the media.

  • Elements of the project

    The project consists of three main blocks: A Fall School, Research, and a Science Slam. The Fall School took place from 21.10-23.10.2024 at CIES-Iscte, University of Lisbon. A total of 20 in-person participants, students and PhD students, as well as 50 hybrid students from all over the world, participated in the Fall School. Participants gained basic knowledge about the connections between climate and human (im)mobility as well as how it is represented in the media and policy. Participants also had the chance to conduct surveys which are part of the research element of the DAAD project.
    The research part involves expert panel discussions, surveys, and assessing the outcomes of the Science Slam. The expert discussions involve stakeholders from research, policy, arts & communications, and media. These expert panels are used to determine the predominant climate mobility narratives in media from a Global North perspective. The survey, which is predominantly conducted in Marburg and Lisbon, aims to understand why the participants associate themselves with certain narratives. 
    The Science Slam will take place on the 5 th of December 2024 from 18:00- 21:00 at the Alte Aula in Marburg (Lahntor, Marburg, 35037) to test one approach to address narratives that do not reflect scientific findings or lived realities of climate migrants and displaced people. Everyone is welcome to join this Science Slam and learn about our project, be entertained by contributions around this topic, and enjoy free snacks and drinks. If you are interested, please sign up using this link. More information can also be found on this flyer.

  • Goal of the project

    The goal of this project is to determine the predominant climate mobility narratives in the media, why people associate themselves with certain narratives, and how narratives that do not reflect the lived realities of migrants and displaced people or science can be addressed (e.g., via a Science Slam).

  • Contacts

    If you have any questions about the project or the topic, feel free to reach out to the involved experts below.


    Philipps-Universität Marburg
    Ann-Christine Link
    Department of Geography,
    WG Economic Geography and Location Research
    Ann-christine.link@geo.uni-marburg.de

    Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Brenner
    Department of Geography,
    WG Economic Geography and Location Research
    Thomas.brenner@uni-marburg.de

    CIES-Iscte, University of Lisbon
    Thais França
    Department of Sociology
    Thais.franca@iscte-iul.pt

    Violeta Alarcão
    Department of Sociology
    Violeta_Sabina_Alarcao@iscte-iul.pt

    Raquel Matias
    CIES-Iscte Portugal, Lissabon
    Raquel_Matias@iscte-iul.pt

  • Impressions

    The in-person participants and initiators of the Fall School in Lisbon in September 2024.
    The place the Science Slam will take place on December 5th 2024 - The Alte Aula in Marburg.