Theme: "Interwoven Worlds: Anthropological Engagement with the Global and Local Challenges of Climate Change and Migration"

Date: 29-31 January 2026

Hosted by ICRISAT, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

Organized by: Anthropological Association for Humankind (AAfH)

Introduction

The World Applied Anthropology Congress (WAAC) is the biennial flagship event of the Anthropological Association for Humankind (AAfH), serving as a premier platform for interdisciplinary engagement on pressing global challenges. WAAC-2026, hosted by ICRISAT, will focus on the intersection of climate change and migration—two defining issues of our time—through the lens of applied anthropology and allied sciences.

The World Applied Anthropology Congress (WAAC-2026), the biennial flagship event of the Anthropological Association for Humankind (AAfH), is dedicated to advancing applied anthropological research and practice in response to the critical global challenges of our time. Under the unifying theme Interwoven Worlds, WAAC-2026 will emphasize anthropology’s unique capacity to integrate the global and the local challenges, theory and practice, past, present, and future—through focused engagement to address the issues of climate change and migration.

Scheduled for 29–31 January 2026 at ICRISAT in Hyderabad, India, this Congress will bring together scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and activists from around the world. WAAC-2026 is designed to foster transdisciplinary collaboration, generate actionable solutions, and showcase anthropology’s potential in understanding and addressing human and environmental transformations.

WAAC-2026 will bring together anthropologists, policymakers, environmental scientists, economists, migration experts, and community leaders to foster a transdisciplinary dialogue on these critical issues. Through research presentations, policy discussions, and collaborative workshops, the congress will explore how anthropological insights can inform climate resilience strategies, sustainable adaptation models, and equitable migration policies. WAAC-2026 aims to be a transformative platform that goes beyond academic discourse to drive action-oriented solutions. By bridging global expertise with local realities, the congress will facilitate knowledge exchange, build policy recommendations, and foster collaborative networks to tackle climate change and migration challenges holistically.

Tracks & Sub-Themes:

Each track will be accompanied by a Plenary Session Speaker, fostering deep dives into interdisciplinary and applied conversations.

Climate Change-Related Tracks (1–7)

1. Climate Adaptation: Strategies, Policies, and Implementation

    - Advancing inclusive and multi-sectoral strategies for climate adaptation

    - Integrating diverse and equitable knowledge systems for climate adaptation

2. Climate Resilience: Strengthening Systems for a Changing Climate

    - Systems-based approaches to climate resilience across sectors and scales

    - Innovations, governance, and community strategies for strengthening climate resilience

3. Climate Mitigation: Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Enhancing Carbon Sinks

    - Decarbonizing systems through renewable energy, sustainable practices, and circular economy models

    - Innovative technologies and nature-based solutions for carbon sequestration and climate mitigation

4. Climate Action: Practical Implementation of Climate Solutions

- Multilevel governance, corporate strategies, and community engagement for climate action

- Technological innovation, energy transition, and impact evaluation of climate solutions

5. Climate Justice: Ethical, Social, and Human Rights Aspects

- Equity, rights, and representation in climate governance

- Integrating indigenous knowledge, gender, and justice in climate response

6. Climate Finance: Financial Mechanisms and Investments

- Innovative climate finance mechanisms and investment strategies

- Equity, accountability, and access in global and local climate finance

7. Climate Narratives & Visual Storytelling

- Narratives and media representations of climate change and migration

- Artistic, cultural, and community-based storytelling for climate engagement

Migration-Related Tracks (8–14)

8. Interwoven Histories: Archaeology of Migration and Climate Change

      - Archaeological responses to environmental and societal stress

      - Migration routes and cultural hybridity in material culture

9. Biocultural Transformations and Climate Stress

      - Biological Anthropology, adaptation, migration, population genetics, and genetic epidemiology

      - Biocultural health impacts of displacement

10. Cultural Dimensions of Climate and Migration - Diaspora and Identity

     - Diaspora and identity

     - Indigenous ecological knowledge and climate adaptation

11. Language, Communication, and Integration

    - Linguistic anthropology in contexts of displacement

    - Language revitalization, communication, and environmental storytelling

12. Technologies of Witnessing: Visual and Digital Anthropology

    - Media, digital methods, and storytelling in climate/migration research

    - Documentation, ethics, and new narrative forms

13. Anthropology of Policy and Governance

    - Climate and migration governance through anthropological critique

    - Participatory policy design and intersectionality

14. AI and Anthropological Futures

    -  Artificial intelligence in ethnographic research

    - Algorithmic governance and the anthropology of prediction