Centro Interdisciplinar de Estudos de Género

IV CIEG International Congress

3 and 4 June 2027

Knowledge in Action: Gender Equality, Human Rights and Democracies at Risk

Gender, Feminist and Women's Studies constitute a field of knowledge that is critical and relevant, characterised by heterogeneity, driven by questioning and oriented towards social impact. Much of the research produced has contributed to significant advances in the fields of Gender Equality and Human Rights, transforming contemporary societies and power hierarchies. The growing visibility and gains achieved in the field of equality are, paradoxically, accompanied by strong reactions from people who feel challenged or threatened by these changes and developments.

The complex coexistence of progress and setbacks in Human Rights on a global scale has been a key theme over the past decade, reflected since 2016 in the programmes and publications of the CIEG International Congresses.

In many countries, the 'Polycrisis' (Tooze, 2022) or the intertwining of observed economic, social, ecological and geopolitical crises has precipitated a profound redefinition of the ways in which knowledge is produced, circulated and legitimised. These successive and simultaneous crises have been exacerbated by global phenomena, such as the pandemic outbreak and recent armed conflicts, resulting in worsening inequalities and living conditions, with real and direct impacts on access to knowledge and its production.

We are also witnessing the growing reconfiguration of the public sphere through the expansion of digital technologies and social media, which intensify phenomena such as polarisation, disinformation and fragmentation of the public sphere. The emergence of regimes shaped by information flows, which privilege emotion and instant consumption, tests the quality of democracies and has consequences for the conditions under which critical debate and 'communicative action' (Habermas, 2012) take place.

The deepening tensions between scientific knowledge, public opinion and political decision-making have particularly affected the field of Gender, Feminist and Women's Studies, which is frequently targeted by political instrumentalisation, media simplification, conspiracy theories, or disinformation campaigns and delegitimisation of research findings and scientific evidence. In different countries, including the United States, the production and dissemination of knowledge have been subject to institutional and/or political restrictions through funding cuts, curricular constraints, and even the closure of academic courses and programmes. The persistence of these attacks, which have already been extensively documented, compromises the possibilities for public dialogue, democratic debate and even the courage to 'speak truth to power'.

Understanding the place of Gender, Feminist and Women's Studies within a contested public sphere requires us to continue systematically questioning who produces knowledge, who legitimises it, who communicates it and, fundamentally, who is heard.

In this fourth edition of the CIEG International Congress, we focus on “Knowledge in Action”, seeking to mobilise the fruitful articulation between academic research, public policies and social interventions in the defence and reinvention of contemporary democracies. The Interdisciplinary Centre for Gender Studies invites researchers from different disciplines and geographical contexts to submit proposals that contribute to advancing knowledge on social inequalities, gender equality, and the threats and challenges facing human rights and democracies.

We welcome contributions that promote critical, intersectional and interdisciplinary reflection on the relationships between knowledge, action and social transformation; present evidence on struggles for rights and better living conditions; and analyse transformations in the quality of democracies in the current context of polycrisis. Contributions presenting research findings in Gender, Feminist and Women's Studies are expected to address at least one of the following themes:

Democracies at Risk: Resist, Reinvent, Act

·         Human rights, contemporary threats and forms of resistance

·         Gender equality public policies: progress, setbacks and reconfigurations

·         Gender-based violence: between human rights, public policies and contexts of crisis

·         Anti-gender narratives, conservatisms and ideological disputes

·         Gender, peace and armed conflicts

·         Global justice, coloniality and power relations

Knowledge in Dispute: Gender, Power and Freedoms

·         Gender, Feminist and Women's Studies and power relations

·         Science, disinformation and public contestation of knowledge

·         Feminist and Queer epistemologies and methodologies

·         Education, citizenship and curricula under debate

·         Artificial intelligence and gender inequalities

Precarity, Gender Inequalities and Social Justice

·         Work, employment, precarity and the political economy of gender

·         Poverty, housing and social inequalities

·         Migration, gender and human trafficking

·         Gender, territory, environment and ecological justice

·         Intersectionalities and structural inequalities

·         Diversity, disability and citizenship

Sexualities, Diversity and Identities: Plural Existences

·         Sexual rights and reproductive justice

·         LGBTQIA+ recognition and rights

·         Bodies, health and well-being

·         Sexualities, affect and identities

·         Racialisation, voice and representation

·         Gender-based violence: practices, power and resistance

·         Transformation of intimate relationships, families and parenthood

Public Sphere, Cultural and Artistic Production, and Symbolic Power

·         Artistic and cultural production: visibility, narratives and disputes

·         Public sphere and information governance: power, control and mediation

·         Gender, media and journalism

·         Hate speech and online violence

·         Artivism: artistic and political practices 

Submission Guidelines

Communication proposals should contain a maximum of 300 words. Each person may submit a maximum of 2 abstracts as first author.

Languages accepted at the Congress: Portuguese, English and Spanish.

Important Dates:

15 November 2026 – Deadline for submission of communication proposals.

15 January 2027 – Deadline for notification of acceptance/rejection of proposals.

28 February 2027 – Deadline for registrations at the reduced (early bird) rate.

30 April 2027 – Deadline for registration of participants with accepted proposals. Participants who have not registered by this date will not be included in the Congress programme.

Registration amounts:

Proposal submission platform available here

Event Venue:

Instituto Superior de Ciências Sociais e Políticas da Universidade de Lisboa

Rua Almerindo Lessa, 1300-663 Lisboa

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