2023 – Annual Conference in Tübingen, Germany

“Spiritual Care in Times of War & Displacement”

University of Tübingen, Germany

17-19 September 2023

In cooperation with the Protestant Academy of Palatinate and the Center for Islamic Theology at the University of Tübingen

Conference Description

War is a major cause of displacement and forced migration. Several million people worldwide are affected. They often flee to neighboring countries, and many take great risks to get to Europe. Once they arrive at the place of refuge, they often need psychosocial support, including care for religious and spiritual needs. This conference sheds light on different regions of the world in order to learn from the global experiences of traumatized people how best to provide accompaniment and pastoral/spiritual care. Through lectures and workshops, we will offer multiple spaces for interdisciplinary exchange.  The full conference program is below, followed by lodging information.

Conference Program

Sunday evening, 17.09.2023

5:30 p.m. Welcome
Prof. Dr. Pamela Cooper-White, New York – IASC President
Dr. Mahmoud Abdallah, Tübingen
Dr. Georg Wenz, Speyer

6:00 p.m. Religious and Spiritual Resources in Trauma Processing of Refugees
Prof. Dr. Lydia Maidl, München

8:00 p.m. Reception/Empfang

Monday, 18.09.2023

9 a.m. General Assembly IASC – all are welcome

10 a.m. Welcome
Thomas Dreher, Tübingen
Prof. Erdal Toprakyaran, Tübingen
Prof. Dr. Karla Pollmann, Tübingen

10:25 a.m. War, Trauma and Soldier`s Soul
Dr. Thomas Thiel, Ravensburg

11:45 a.m. Coffee Break

12.00 p.m. Impulses:

I First Aid – EKD Sea Watch
Rafael Nikodemus, Düsseldorf

II Ukrainian and Syrian Refugees in an Islamic Country – Egypt
Ashraf Sayed, Kairo

1 p.m. Lunch break (individually)

2:30 p.m. Workshops:

I Sacred Texts and Violence/Gewalt in Heiligen Schriften
Prof. Dr. Dan Schipani, Buenos Aires

II Persecuted women in Congo/Vertriebene Frauen im Kongo
Dr. Gisela Schneider, Stuttgart
Rose Mumbere, Kinshara, Republic of Congo

III Herausforderung Flucht und Vertreibung für islamische Spiritual Care in Deutschland

Esra Bicer, Stuttgart
Serkan Ince, Tübingen
Mustafa Sary, Adelsheim

3.30 p.m. Dealing with post-war threats: Bosnian migrants in Germany

Prof. Aid Smajic, Sarajevo

4:30 p.m. Coffee Break/Kaffeepause

4:45 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Principles for Spiritual Care? Moral Involvement and Ethical Sensibility in Dealing with Trauma

Dr. Lea Chilian, Zürich

6:00 p.m. Dinner on your own

6:30 p.m. River Punt Ride (Stocherkahnfahrt) optional

Tuesday, 19.09.2023

9:15 a.m. Islamic Spiritual Care for Refugees
Dr. Mahmoud Abdallah, Tübingen

10:30 a.m. Coffee Break/Kaffeepause

10:45 a.m. Workshops:

I Trauma, Bearbeitung und die Überwindung der Angst – Die langfristigen
Auswirkungen von Krieg, Repression und Vertreibung in Zentralamerika
Dr. Tobias Müller-Monning, Butzbach

Vilma Duque, Berlin

II Arts and their Civilizational Role in Confronting Wars

Prof. Rasha Mohamed, Kairo
Prof. Mohamed Zenhom, Kairo
Dr. Ibrahim Awad, Kairo

III Women Migrants in Times of War
Prof. Pamela Cooper-White, New York

12:00 p.m. Lunch Break (on your own)

1:30 p.m. Inherited Trauma – Transgenerational Wounds of the Shoah
Dr. Peter Pogany-Wnendt, Köln

2:45 p.m. Coffee Break

3:00 p.m. Spiritual Care for Refugees as a Social and Theological Impetus – From Empirical Explorations to Future Perspectives

Prof. Dr. Hansjörg Schmid, Freiburg

4:30 p.m. Farewell, Outlook

4:45 p.m. End of Conference