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Our conference website is currently under construction and will be continuously updated. Registration for the 4th Participation Research Congress (September 10â11, 2026, University of Siegen) is expected to open in early 2026.
4th Participation Research Congress – September 10-11, 2026 in Siegen
Organized by: University of Siegen in cooperation with the AktionsbĂŒndnis Teilhabeforschung e. V.
Even 20 years after the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) in 2006, the question remains: How can equal participation be achieved at the local level? With 192 signatories, the UN CRPD is one of the most important human rights documents â but its implementation is decided not least where people with disabilities live their everyday lives: in local communities.
What role does the local level play in achieving participation? How can local communities develop inclusive structures, processes and practices? And what contribution does participation research make to transdisciplinary learning processes for shaping inclusive communities?
The Fourth Congress on Participation Research takes the 20th anniversary of the UN CRPD as an opportunity to examine these questions from a local and global perspective and to seek ways to achieve equal participation.
- Enabling people with disabilities to lead self-determined lives based on the same choices available to all other members of society requires appropriate measures, such as the dismantling of special facilities in favour of inclusive alternatives and support services. There is a need for research and development, for example, with regard to social law reforms, the reorientation of support programmes, inclusion-oriented support services, and overall and participation planning.
- At the local level, disability policy is developing dynamically. The challenge here is to consistently align planning with the UN CRPD, to make it participatory, and to link different areas of life (including education, youth welfare, leisure, ageing) with cross-cutting issues (including mobility, accessibility, digitalisation).
- The Congress broadens the view for European and global perspectives and focuses on international cooperation in accordance with Article 32 of the UN CRPD between state and civil society actors, including self-advocacy organisations and academia, in North-South, South-North, South-South and North-North dimensions. Global frameworks such as the UN 2030 Agenda, the Sendai Framework and the New Urban Agenda emphasise the importance of âinclusive cities and communitiesâ with barrier-free infrastructure and participatory planning processes.
Beyond these focal points, the conference invites contributions from across the entire spectrum of participation research, as usual. This includes studies on work and employment, supported living, digital participation, health and rehabilitation, sport and leisure, political and cultural participation, and education and learning.
The conference welcomes a variety of methodological approaches to participation research: from quantitative studies and qualitative analyses to mixed-methods approaches, from participatory and emancipatory research designs and ethnographic work to theoretical and conceptual contributions. Innovative research approaches that involve people with disabilities as co-researchers or explore new ways of knowledge production in participation research are particularly welcome.