Global experts to gather in Montreal to explore how technology is reshaping migration
Jamillah Knowles & Digit / https://betterimagesofai.org / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Montreal will host leading global voices in migration, policy and technology from May 20 to 22, 2026, as the Bridging Divides Conference takes place at Concordia University. The 2026 edition is hosted by Concordia's Institute for Research on Migration and Society (IRMS) and is part of the broader Bridging Divides research program — a national initiative spanning multiple Canadian universities.
The hybrid conference, titled From Departure to Belonging: Advanced Digital Technologies Between Empowerment, Control, and Exclusion in Migration Journeys, explores how technologies like artificial intelligence and data-driven border systems are reshaping migration — raising new questions about access, power and inequality.
At a time of rising global migration and rapid technological change, it will examine how these developments are influencing key issues: from how people decide where to move, to how borders are managed, to how migrants access work, services and communities once they arrive.
Bringing together researchers from institutions such as the University of Melbourne, Universiti Sains Malaysia and the University of British Columbia, alongside policymakers and international organizations, the conference features speakers including former Calgary mayor and current Alberta New Democratic Party caucus leader Naheed Nenshi, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)’s Joey Hanna, and Oxford scholar Emre Eren Korkmaz, who will deliver a keynote on surveillance technologies and “smart borders.”
“Advanced digital technologies are transforming human mobility in profound and uneven ways,” says Mireille Paquet, University Research Chair on the Politics of Immigration and Director of the IRMS. “They are not neutral systems. What matters now is how these technologies are experienced in people’s daily lives — and who ultimately benefits from them. This is now an urgent priority for both research and society.”
The conference also highlights emerging voices in the field with a poster competition giving graduate students and early-career researchers the opportunity to present their work and engage directly with leading experts.
As migration systems face growing global pressures, the event aims to spark forward-looking conversations and collaborations across research, policy and practice.