What does it mean for a place to be welcoming? Cities in particular, as sites of migration and arrival, are often a focal point for integration, and in some cases are seen as places where national-level hostility to migration might be replaced by a welcoming approach, with some cities adopting proactive policies of sanctuary or welcome. If migration governance is understood predominantly as a national government competence, then welcoming is predominantly oriented at the local level. How do these levels of government interact, and how can we know this multi-level governance of migration and welcoming?

More broadly, how does this work function in practice? Should it be best considered through an integration lens, focusing on access to the labour market, education, and social networks, or through a more spatial approach, focusing on the role of arrival infrastructure in supporting newcomer communities through social infrastructure and the built environment (Wessendorf, 2024). Is the role of the state (at the national or local level) central, or should we instead focus on grassroots urban solidarity movements that have inspired new practices in urban citizenship (Humphris, 2025).

Cities are not homogeneous spaces and are not uniformly proactive in this space, facing different challenges and levels of demographic change. How do cities understand their role in welcoming, and how do Mayors and other actors define their leadership and convening roles?

This seminar series aims to tackle these questions of welcoming, arrival, integration and inclusion in cities – from both a municipal and civic perspective. The series is co-convened by the University of Oxford in the UK and Humboldt University in Germany, allowing for a comparative lens between two countries with contrasting approaches to integration and welcoming, as well as allowing for broader global perspectives. 

 
Convenors

This seminar series is co-convened by the Global Exchange on Migration & Diversity, University of Oxford and DeZim, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.

• Jacqui Broadhead, Director, Global Exchange on Migration & Diversity, University of Oxford
• Nihad El-Kayed, PI DeZIM collaborative project Political (In)Equality in Post-Migrant Democracy (PoMigDem), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

Schedule
 
Thurdsay, from 30, Oct – 4, Dec, 2025
3:45–5:00 pm (GMT)/4:45–6:00 pm (CET)

 
This series will be hybrid. Please take note of the in-person venues for each seminar.
 

• Thursday 30 October - online only (Register on Zoom)
• Thursday 6 November - BIM (Berlin) & online (Register on Zoom)
• Thursday 13 November - BIM (Berlin) & online (Register on Zoom)
• Thursday 20 November - Kellogg College & online (Register on Zoom)
• Thursday 27 November - Kellogg College & online (Register on Zoom)
• Thursday 4 December - Kellogg College & online (Register on Zoom)

Venues
   

• The Hub, Kellogg College, Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 6PN 
• Berliner Institut für empirische Integrations- und Migrationsforschung (BIM), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Anton-Wilhelm-Amo-Str. 40/41, 5th floor, room 507, 10117 Berlin 

Website

>online: https://www.compas.ox.ac.uk/event/welcoming-cities-arrival-infrastructure