To kick off the event at Hochschule RheinMain (HSRM) last Friday, Prof. Dr. Andreas Brensing, Vice-President for Research, Entrepreneurship and Science Communication, reported on current developments in the funding research landscape. He also presented the results of the HAW_WiNS study on the qualification conditions for doctoral students at Hessian universities of applied sciences. With regard to the future framework conditions for research at the HSRM, Prof. Dr. Brensing held out the prospect of continuing the funding of junior researchers through the transfer of funds (FZ_WiN) to the research centers.
The two co-heads of FoRM, Prof. Dr. Catrin Dingler and Prof. Dr. Sabine Meier, invited the audience to consider current social polarizations in the migration and welfare state debate in the context of the global strengthening of authoritarian movements and the questioning of international aid in their short opening contribution. The topic of the research day was discussed in two presentations followed by a discussion.
The humanitarian system under pressure
Jens Schwalb from the Advocacy unit of Johanniter International Assistance reported on the increasing disregard for humanitarian principles and the constant danger of political instrumentalization of aid projects in war regions under the title "The humanitarian system under pressure". The termination of international solidarity in the form of far-reaching budget cuts has dramatic consequences for the suffering populations, and not just in the short term.
International women's movements
Dr. Esther Kronsbein, interim professor of International Social Work in the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, spoke about the importance of "Women's Movements in Germany and Rwanda" and their influence on "Shifts in (inter)national scope". Although feminist groups in the Global South are often still dependent on financial support and political lobbying, it is important to highlight the common issues of women's movements and promote decolonial approaches to professionalize Social Work.
The photo exhibition "Women on the move: a binational collage", which was created as part of a research project with students from the master's degree program in Social Work under the direction of Dr. Kronsbein, made it clear to the participants of the research day that it is also important to draw motivation for future Social Work projects from the international exchange of women's movements.