Mecila Berlin Conference 2025: Exploring the Conviviality-Inequality Nexus: Findings and Prospects

Date: 11-13 December 2025
Location: Henry Ford Bau, Freie Universität Berlin, Garystraße 35, 14195 Berlin
Languages: German and English (with translation on December 11), Spanish and English (with translation on December 13). Presentations and discussions on December 12 will be in English only.

The Mecila Berlin Conference 2025 will address the growing challenges of inequality and division in societies today, focusing on three interconnected areas of conflict. The first is the climate emergency and the global interdependencies that complicate mitigation efforts. The second concerns the political tensions arising from the realignment of global power blocs and the rise of illiberal regimes, which threaten democracy. The third is the widening North-South asymmetries, with a focus on fostering equitable interdisciplinary collaboration through the Merian Centres.

Building on this, the event will highlight the progress of the Maria Sibylla Merian Centre Conviviality-Inequality in Latin America (Mecila), emphasizing its research on these global issues and its impact on both academic and non-academic audiences. It aims to strengthen international cooperation, with contributions from several research centres, including the Merian Centres in Accra, Delhi, Guadalajara, and Tunis, as well as the DFG Humanities Centre of Advanced Studies Futures of Sustainability and the GIGA Institute for Latin American Studies.

During the conference, MECAM will be represented by :

• Rachid Ouaissa, Philipps-Universität Marburg— MECAM’s Spokesperson
• Friederike Pannewick, Philipps-Universität Marburg / Forum Transregional Studies — Member of the German Science and Humanities Council (Wissenschaftsrat)
• Julius Dihstelhoff, MECAM — Director “Germany”
• Cyrine Kortas, Université de Gabes (Tunisia) — MECAM Fellow

Full program