European Forum Alpbach 2025

Focus on global challenges: Department of Social Work discusses Africa's role between geopolitics and climate justice

At the European Forum Alpbach 2025 (EFA) under the motto “Recharge Europe,” program director Belachew Gebrewold represented our department. Together with Fatou Jeng (Clean Earth Gambia/Plant-for-the-Planet), he led the seminar “Global Politics and Influence: Africa at the Crossroad of Geopolitics and Climate Crisis.”

The seminar addressed the growing international competition for geopolitical power, its impact on the climate, institutions, and conflicts, as well as the particular challenges facing Africa—a continent that suffers disproportionately from climate risks despite its low emissions. The focus was on strategies for African agency, such as protecting national interests and actively influencing global commitments to climate justice, for example in the area of “loss and damage.”

Our head of department combines in-depth academic expertise in international relations with a clear focus on Social Work and politics. His main areas of research — European-African relations, African politics, conflict research, and migration — are also reflected in this thematically broad seminar.

With his involvement in EFA 2025, Belachew Gebrewold not only demonstrates his personal scientific relevance, but also sets a strong tone for the Department of Social Work: combining socio-political expertise with global issues such as climate justice and migration highlights MCI as a modern, interdisciplinary place of learning. The seminar not only provides perspectives for Africa and Europe, but also emphasizes the role of social policy action in a globally networked world — a central concern of Social Work.

In addition, the seminar makes a valuable contribution to the discourses of the European Forum Alpbach 2025 and underscores MCI as an agile platform for global dialogues on Social Work, politics, and sustainability. In the long term, this could promote the further expansion of international cooperation, research projects, and interdisciplinary teaching at the department.