20th European Research Conference on Homelessness
Date
24 September - 25 September 2026Location
Catholic University of Portugal, LisbonPrice
Standard fee: 200€ | Reduced: 100€ (presenters & PhD students)FEANTSA’s European Observatory on Homelessness and the Catholic University of Portugal are pleased to announce the 20th European Research Conference on Homelessness in Lisbon, Portugal, on 24 - 25 September 2026. This is Europe’s leading research conference on homelessness and will explore recent evidence on the broad theme of homelessness and housing exclusion from across Europe and elsewhere. Early career researchers are also invited to present their research activities. This is an in-person conference.
Please note that the call for abstracts is now closed. Registration for speakers and participants will open on 2 June.
Planned Schedule
The conference will take place on 24–25 September 2026 (Thursday and Friday). It will begin at 13:00 on Thursday and conclude at 20:00 on Friday.
Optional field visits will be organised on Thursday morning, and the conference dinner will take place on Thursday evening.
Venue and Fees
The conference will be held at the Catholic University of Portugal, Lisbon.
The conference fee is 200 EURO and includes meals, coffee breaks and the conference dinner. Presenters and PhD students benefit from a reduced fee of 100 EURO.
Registration will open on 1 July 2026. A detailed cancellation policy will be published on the registration page.
Keynote speakers
Isabel Baptista
Isabel Baptista (Portugal) is an independent researcher with over twenty years of experience specialising in poverty, social inclusion, and gender-based violence. She currently serves as the Social Inclusion Leader for the European Social Policy Analysis Network (ESPAN), where she has coordinated two major European comparative studies on homelessness. Her extensive career includes long-term roles with the European Observatory on Homelessness and the European Network of Independent Experts on Social Inclusion. She is also a member of the Women's Homelessness in Europe Network (WHEN). Beyond research, she actively collaborates with local public and private organisations to address social exclusion and policy development.
Simone Tulumello
Simone Tulumello (Portugal) is an associate research professor in human geography at Instituto de Ciências Sociais, Universidade de Lisboa, and president of the Portuguese Association of Political Economy (2025-2027). At the crossroads of human geography, critical urban studies and political economy, Simone is interested in the multi-scalar dimensions of urbanisation, with a focus on housing policy and politics, urban security and violence, and urban imaginaries.
Ana Oliveira
Ana Oliveira (Portugal) is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Human Sciences of the Portuguese Catholic University, where she coordinates the Scientific Area of Social Sciences and the Master’s and PhD programmes in Social Work. She holds a PhD in Social Work and has an extensive academic and professional background in social intervention, policy evaluation, and professional supervision. Her research and applied work specialise in poverty and homelessness, utilising strengths-based approaches to lead national studies, policy evaluations, and frontline training. By bridging academia and practice, she collaborates with public and international entities to promote rights-based strategies and integrated responses to social exclusion.
Roundtable discussants
Reflecting on 35 years of homelessness research in Europe
Joe Doherty
Joe Doherty (United Kingdom) is Emeritus Professor of Geography at the University of St Andrews, Fife Scotland. He was Co-Coordinator of the European Observatory on Homelessness, 1998-2009. He is currently a member of the International Advisory Committee of the European Journal of Homelessness.
Bill Edgar
Bill Edgar (United Kingdom) was the Co-ordinator of the European Observatory on Homelessness from 1998-2010. From 2003-2012 he was a housing consultant and produced several peer reviews and studies for the European Commission, including “Measurement of Homelessness at the European Level”. He is Honorary Research Fellow at the Architecture and Urban Planning, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design at the University of Dundee.
Eoin O'Sullivan
Eoin O'Sullivan (Ireland) is Professor in Social Policy in the School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin. He is a member of the European Observatory on Homelessness since 1992, and editor of the European Journal of Homelessness since 2009. Recent collaborative and co-edited books include Ending Homelessness? The Contrasting Experiences of Denmark, Finland, and Ireland (2020), Reimagining Homelessness (2020), Handbook of Homelessness Research (2025) and Understanding Homelessness in Ireland Since Independence: Decades in the Making (2026).
