Conferences and summer schools

Summer School, 6 - 17 July 2026

This Summer Course will deal in detail specifically and exclusively with the European system for the protection of human rights. Although there are numerous summer courses and other special study programmes within Europe on human rights protection, this course concentrates on an integrated treatment of the various European systems and of specifically European issues of human rights protection, that is, with important matters relevant to over forty European countries with diverse political, economic, and social systems. The subject matter, therefore, includes human rights protection under the regimes of the Council of Europe (the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Social Charter), the European Community, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (Helsinki Accords), as well as that on the universal level of public international law to the extent it is relevant. The treatment of the substantive regimes and their specific rights catalogues will be set against the background of a consideration of the philosophical, historical, political, economic, and sociological aspects of human rights, and include practical institutional matters such as complaint procedures as well as developments such as in the area of ‘New Rights’.

Practical and contemporary issues, such as the protection of human rights in situations of war or civil disorder, will also be addressed.

This comprehensive course has been organised by and will be presented by a dedicated group of experienced experts and teachers from universities in eleven European countries, co-ordinated by the Viadrina European University Frankfurt (Oder) (Germany). The other participants are the Universities of Poznań (Poland), Barcelona (Spain), Rotterdam (The Netherlands), Aberystwyth, Milton Keynes, Lancaster (United Kingdom), Bochum (Germany), Maribor, Kranj (Slovenia), Szeged (Hungary), Vienna, and Salzburg (Austria).

Venue: European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)

Transsectoral Summer School Viadrinicum, 16 to 30 August 2026

Viadrinicum is an annual summer school at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), devoted to the countries of the Eastern Partnership and the larger context of Central and Eastern Europe. Building on the discussions around the notion of learning city during the previous editions, in 2026 the school will focus on the modes of cooperative action that (pro)claim the city as a common good.

It invites students, young researchers, civil society activists, artists and cultural workers to critically interrogate the political-economic foundations of the city as a contested entity in-the-making, shaped by regimes of urban planning and governance, property relations and dwelling practices. Invoking the concept of urban junctions, the school aims to look into practices of collective (self-)organisation and bottom-up institutional design, which enable more equitable futures.

Venue: European University Viadrina and different places in the city of Frankfurt (Oder)

Language: English

Conference, 7–8 September 2026

The 16th Global Governance & Integrity Forum brings together researchers, compliance experts, policy-makers and specialists in the fields of governance and integrity from Europe and beyond. The conference provides a platform for interdisciplinary exchange on current challenges and developments in the fields of governance, compliance, ethics and corporate integrity.

Participants can look forward to a varied programme featuring international speakers, specialist presentations and discussions on current topics, as well as a wide range of opportunities for exchanging experiences and networking across academia, business and the public sector.

Venue: European University Viadrina, Logensaal, Logenhaus, Logenstraße 11, Frankfurt (Oder)

Language: English

KIU Summer School, 7 to 18 September 2026

The international summer school is part of the Viadrina’s MA certificate program in Interdisciplinary Ukrainian Studies and will bring together students and scholars interested in historical, cultural, social, political, economic, law-based and conflict-related questions on and about Ukraine.

Participants are invited to discover Ukraine’s impressive ethnic, religious and cultural diversity and to learn more about its more than 100 minority and indigenous groups, their history and culture, and their situation in today’s Ukraine – including against the backdrop of Russia’s war of aggression. Communities such as Crimean Tatars, Roma and Sinti, Hungarians, Romanians, and Jews contribute significantly to Ukraine’s multilingual and multicultural landscape. Since 2014, and particularly after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, minority groups have confronted increasing challenges related to displacement, security, and the safeguarding of human, social, and cultural rights. In territories under temporary Russian occupation, communities including the Crimean Tatars as well as the North Azovian Urums and Roumeans face systematic persecution and violence.

Through a series of intensive modules lasting between two and four academic units, the summer school will provide detailed and in-depth knowledge of minorities, nationalities, and collective identity in Ukraine in both historical and contemporary perspectives. Courses will focus on the multifaceted impacts of culture, diversity, heterogeneity, resistance, self-empowerment, and transnational integration on Ukrainian identity.

Venue: European University Viadrina

Language: English

Conference, 17–18 September 2026

The COST Action CRICULT (CA24125) invites contributions to an international conference dedicated to the role of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) in times of crisis and its impact on tangible heritage. Cultural heritage is increasingly affected by a wide range of crises, including climate change, armed conflict, forced migration, political instability, and rapid socio-economic transformation. While much attention has been devoted to the protection of tangible heritage, the loss, transformation, and instrumentalisation of intangible heritage—including traditions, languages, rituals, and knowledge systems—remain underexplored, despite their fundamental role in shaping cultural identity and sustaining material heritage.

Within CRICULT, Working Group 4 (WG4) focuses on the crisis of intangible heritage, emphasizing how the erosion of cultural practices and knowledge systems can directly impact the preservation, meaning, and continuity of physical heritage environments. A special focus of this conference will be on Intangible Religious Heritage, addressing the specific
challenges arising at the intersection of religious practices, legal frameworks, spatial environments, and processes of secularisation, transformation, and politicisation. To complement the academic discussions on Intangible Religious Heritage, a research trip to Neuzelle Abbey will be organized, offering participants the opportunity to engage directly with a significant site where intangible religious pract ices and tangible heritage are deeply interconnected.

This conference aims to bring together scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to explore how crises affect intangible heritage and to contribute to the development of interdisciplinary frameworks and policy-oriented solutions, in line with CRICULT’s objective of building crisis and solution matrices for cultural heritage protection.

Venue: Collegium Polonicum Słubice, Poland

Language: English

Final Conference from 29 September to 2 October 2026

As an overarching research initiative under the leadership of the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), the project is dedicated to the current challenges facing the European Union and examines possible counter-strategies. The project entitled "ValEUs. Research & Education Network on Contestations to EU Foreign Policy" is funded by the EU Commission as part of the Jean Monnet Policy Network (JMPN) for three years from January 2024 with 1.2 million euros.

The ambitious project, which involves 20 partner institutions from 17 countries on five continents, analyses the foreign policy of the European Union and its contested values. The third and final conference of the research initiative will take place at the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder). More information will follow.

Venue: European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)

Language: English

Save the Date: Conference, 10-12 September 2026 (postponded until March 2027)

Participation - Opportunities, Challenges and Limits of a Democratic Mediation Practice

Objectives, content, methods and forms of history education are on the programme of the interdisciplinary conference of the Viadrina Center of Polish and Ukrainian Studies (VCPU) for multipliers of historical-political education in museums, memorials, schools and universities.

Venue: European University Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder)