Objectives of the World Applied Anthropology Congress (WAAC-2026)

Theme: Interwoven World: Anthropological Engagement with the Global and Local challenges of Climate Change and Migration

The World Applied Anthropology Congress 2026 aims to address the multifaceted challenges of climate change and human migration through a combination of anthropological insights and interdisciplinary collaboration. It envisions fostering ethical, inclusive, and practical engagements that empower communities, inform policy, and contribute to global sustainability.

1. To Advance Anthropological Understanding of Climate Change and Migration

• Explore how cultures, communities, and identities shape and are shaped by environmental changes and displacement.
• Highlight indigenous knowledge systems, traditional ecological practices, and lived experiences as critical resources for adaptation and resilience.

2. To Promote Interdisciplinary Collaboration for Holistic Solutions

• Create a collaborative platform for anthropologists, environmental scientists, economists, urban planners, public health experts, legal scholars, and policy-makers.
• Encourage cross-disciplinary integration of methods, data, and frameworks to better address the complexity of climate-induced migration.

3. To Center Human Rights, Social Justice, and Equity in Climate Discourse

• Focus on vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by climate change—such as indigenous peoples, women, children, coastal communities, and displaced populations.
• Discuss ethical approaches to policy, governance, and humanitarian response that uphold human dignity and agency.

4. To Bridge Global and Local Perspectives

• Emphasize local narratives, community-based solutions, and bottom-up innovations while linking them to global frameworks like the UN SDGs, the Paris Agreement, and international migration compacts.
• Facilitate South-South, North-South, and inter-regional dialogue and learning.

5. To Develop Practical Strategies for Adaptation, Resilience, and Mitigation

• Identify culturally grounded, ecologically sound, and socially inclusive strategies for coping with climate variability and displacement.
• Discuss land use planning, health systems, urban resilience, livelihood transformation, and climate education.

6. To Cultivate Applied Anthropology as a Tool for Policy and Practice

• Showcase how anthropological methods—such as ethnography, participatory mapping, and stakeholder engagement—can inform policy, humanitarian programming, and climate action plans.
• Encourage collaborative research and co-production of knowledge with communities.

7. To Empower Youth, Women, and Marginalized Communities

• Facilitate active participation and leadership from youth, women, and grassroots actors in discussions, planning, and implementation of climate and migration responses.
• Promote inclusive capacity-building and community education initiatives.

8. To Produce Actionable Outcomes and Sustainable Knowledge Resources

• Publish interdisciplinary proceedings, policy briefs, toolkits, and community engagement models.
• Establish long-term networks for research, advocacy, and capacity building on climate change and migration.