Call for Papers: THREAD Conference 2026 on Diaspora, Development and the Albanian Experience, Shkodra, Albania (No Registration Fee)

The University of Shkodra "Luigj Gurakuqi" is holding an international interdisciplinary conference titled THREAD Conference: Diaspora, Development and the Albanian Experience on 3 and 4 December 2026 in Shkodra, Albania. It is organised jointly by the University of Shkodra "Luigj Gurakuqi", READ AADF (Albanian American Development Foundation) and the Municipality of Shkodra. The Scientific Committee is drawn from the organising institutions together with invited international experts in diaspora and migration studies.

The call sets out the reason for the conference in plain numbers. Albania has one of the highest emigration rates in Europe: on INSTAT estimates roughly 2.2 million Albanians live outside the territory of Albania, against a resident population of around 2.4 million. The organisers treat that dispersal not merely as a demographic fact but as a force shaping the country's economy, cultural life, institutional development and prospects for sustainable growth.

The framing is deliberately contested rather than celebratory. The call describes the diaspora-development nexus as multi-dimensional: economic (remittances, investment, entrepreneurship), social (transnational family life, care, identity), political (civic engagement, governance, dual belonging) and cultural (language preservation, knowledge transfer, intercultural mediation). It states that understanding these connections requires interdisciplinary inquiry that goes beyond any single field or methodology, and invites dialogue spanning the social sciences, natural sciences, humanities, law, economics, education and the arts.

Thematic area 6 is Migration, Law and Human Rights, and the call expressly invites legal scholars and practitioners to examine the normative frameworks governing migration, from immigration law through to international refugee protection. The listed topics are:

• Legal status, documentation, and access to rights in destination countries
• Asylum law and refugee protection in Europe and Albania
• Trafficking in human beings: legal frameworks and prevention
• Anti-discrimination law and migrants' rights
• The legal dimensions of diaspora investment and property rights
• Migration and constitutional law: citizenship, statelessness, and belonging
• International private law and cross-border family matters

Several of these travel well beyond the Albanian case. Comparative work on citizenship and statelessness, anti-trafficking frameworks, conflict of laws in cross-border family disputes, or the property and investment rights of non-resident nationals gives an Indian researcher a genuine entry point, and the governance track separately invites comparative diaspora policy across sending and receiving countries.

Submissions of individual papers and panel proposals are invited across eight areas, and the call states these are indicative rather than exhaustive:

• 1. Diaspora, Remittances, and Economic Development — remittance flows and household impacts; diaspora investment, entrepreneurship and business networks; brain drain, brain gain and brain circulation; financial inclusion, banking and diaspora financial instruments; labour market integration of return migrants and second-generation diaspora; tourism, visits, real estate and heritage tourism.
• 2. Governance, Policy, and Diaspora Engagement — Albanian diaspora policy and its instruments; comparative diaspora policy across sending and receiving countries; dual citizenship, transnational voting rights and political participation; diaspora organisations and their relations with the state; EU accession and migration governance; international legal frameworks for the protection of migrants' rights; local governance at the municipal level.
• 3. Social Cohesion, Family, and Wellbeing — transnational families, separation and reunification; children left behind; migration and gender; ageing and intergenerational transmission; social protection for migrants and returnees; mental health and psychosocial wellbeing; social work interventions.
• 4. Education, Identity, and Cultural Transmission — heritage language maintenance and Albanian schools abroad; educational trajectories of second- and third-generation youth; integration and educational outcomes; intercultural and multicultural education; cultural identity in the diaspora; diaspora literature and art; digital media and community formation.
• 5. Environment, Climate, and Mobility — environmental migration and climate-induced displacement in Albania and the Western Balkans; land use, agriculture and rural depopulation; diaspora investment in green transitions; natural hazard risk in high-emigration communities; urban-rural dynamics; water, food security and migration in the Shkodra region.
• 6. Migration, Law, and Human Rights — set out in full above.
• 7. Languages, Communication, and Intercultural Mediation — Albanian language variation in diaspora communities; translation, interpreting and language access for migrants; multilingualism; intercultural communication and social inclusion; foreign language learning and diaspora youth identity; discourse analysis of media representations of Albanian migrants.
• 8. Research Methodologies in Diaspora and Migration Studies — quantitative and qualitative methods; participatory and community-based research; digital methods including social media analysis and online ethnography; research ethics with vulnerable migrant communities; mixed-methods and interdisciplinary design; conducting research across borders.

The call states that the conference is open to everyone with an interest in the topic: scholars, researchers, students, and faculty of the University of Shkodra "Luigj Gurakuqi" and other institutions, as well as representatives of public institutions, civil society organisations, the diaspora community, and the general public. It sets no nationality, residence, institutional or enrolment condition, and the Scientific Committee includes invited international experts.

Submissions are welcome in Albanian and English. Each individual paper abstract must contain:

• An abstract of 250 to 300 words describing the paper's main argument, theoretical framework, methodology and expected contribution
• The title of the paper
• The name, institutional affiliation and contact details of every author
• A brief biographical note of no more than 100 words for each author
• An indication of the thematic area most relevant to the submission
• The preferred language of presentation, Albanian or English

Panel proposals are invited alongside individual papers. Abstracts are reviewed by the Scientific Committee on academic quality, relevance to the conference themes, and potential to contribute to interdisciplinary dialogue. Authors of accepted abstracts will be notified by 15 October 2026.

The call directs all enquiries and abstract submissions to the Conference Secretariat at diaspora2026@unishk.edu.al. The notice refers to a conference submission platform and carries a "Website:" line, but that line is left blank on the university's published call, so at present the Secretariat's email address is the only submission route the organisers have made public. Applicants should send the abstract and the biographical note to that address, and may write to the same address to ask whether a dedicated platform has since opened.

Alongside the academic paper sessions, the programme will include four initiatives reflecting the priorities of the co-organising institutions:

• Shkodra Ambassadors: Diaspora Professionals and Researchers — a panel profiling professionals, academics and researchers of Shkodra origin working in universities, research institutions and international organisations abroad, who will discuss their trajectories and routes to continued engagement with the city.
• Shkodra 2030: An Academic Showcase — a session on Shkodra's potential in tourism, economic development and environmental sustainability, intended to introduce diaspora participants to local investment opportunities and to launch partnerships, including joint grant and project applications, between the University of Shkodra and institutions where the diaspora is active.
• Diaspora Voices — selected discussion panels accompanied by short videos featuring diaspora contributors and their connection to Shkodra.
• Youth Forum: Identity and Heritage — a forum engaging students and younger members of the diaspora on identity, cultural heritage and belonging.

The call states plainly that there are no registration fees for this conference. It is equally plain about what is not covered: the organisers are not able to meet participants' travel, accommodation or other related expenses, and those remain the responsibility of each participant. Anyone travelling from India should budget on that basis and factor in the Albanian visa position for their passport before committing.

Authors of selected papers presented at the conference will be invited to submit extended versions for consideration in a peer-reviewed edited volume or a special journal issue. The call states that details of the publication outlets will be communicated after the conference, so no named journal or press is on offer at the point of submission.