Dissemination

Silvia Viegas participates in the Annual COST Action DATAMIG Conference at the University of Ljubljana

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Researcher Sílvia Leiria Viegas from CIAC is participating this week in the Hybrid Annual Conference 2025 of COST Action 22135 – Data Matters: Sociotechnical Challenges of European Migration and Border Control (DATAMIG), which takes place on June 5–6 at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. The event is organized in partnership with the Peace Institute and includes both in-person and online sessions.

Sílvia Leiria Viegas is part of Working Group 3 (WG3) of the COST Action and will present, within the panel “Cases of Critical and Creative Engagements with Datafied Migration and Border Control,” a talk entitled “Mobile homes and caravans in the Algarve (Portugal): analysis of an irregular immigrant camp to create a digital roadmap.”

The presentation is part of her ongoing research project at CIAC, “Refugee Research for (Post)Covid-19. National Policies and Local Actions in the Algarve: A Digital Tour for Access to Adequate Housing and Living Conditions” (2022–2028), funded by FCT. This work focuses on housing access for immigrants in the Algarve region, centering on a recent and paradigmatic case study involving an irregular camp with approximately 500 residents living in precarious conditions.

Through the analysis of this case, the researcher proposes the creation of a digital roadmap that articulates three main dimensions: subversive spatial practices challenging uneven geographies, migrants’ political actions in contexts of exclusion, and digital flows that construct counter-narratives in response to discrimination and fear. This critical reflection aims to give visibility to marginalized realities and contribute to a more just and inclusive urban future.

COST Action DATAMIG brings together researchers from diverse European institutions and seeks to critically examine the sociotechnical challenges associated with migration and border control in Europe, promoting interdisciplinary and innovative collaborations around the datafication of human mobility.

More information:

Projeto de Investigação no CIAC/UAlg

COST Action 22135 – Data Matters

Conferência Anual DATAMIG 2025

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