from
January 2005, Munich
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In January 2004 a number of European mobility researchers from Germany, the UK, Switzerland, Poland, Georgia met for a workshop in Munich. It was entitled "Mobility and the Cosmopolitan Perspective", supported by the Reflexive Modernization Research Centre (SFB 536) and organized by the Mobility Pioneers Research group at the SFB (see www.sfb536.mwn.de).

The first of the two days workshop was in the light of theoretical perspectives for mobility research in a cosmopolitan perspective. Contributions from Ulrich Beck, Wolfgang Bonss and John Urry framed a creative and committed atmosphere for discussion and reflections on a new topic of social research. It became visible that substantial considerations on cosmopolitanism in social science need a theory of mobility as a conceptual fundament. The focus on "multiple mobilities" and the emergence of a "new mobility paradigm" (see John Urry at www.cosmobilities.net) revealed how transnational, global and virtual interaction beyond time and space are possible and constitutive for all thinking on a cosmopolitan perspective of world society and globalization.

The second day focused on empirical research. Many participants from different research backgrounds and interests contributed to a discussion where many links between very different approaches became obvious. This workshop was the starting point for the CosMobilities Network and a hopeful inspiration for further cooperation and exchange.

www.cosmobilities.net - the website
This site provisionally documents the workshop and gives access step by step to all its contributions. A comprehensive documentation will be published online and as a hard copy through the next weeks. It will be available through this homepage and the www.sfb536.mwn.de website of the Reflexive Modernization Research Centre.

The network idea
But for the future the CosMobilities Network understands itself as a transnational connex between people interested in many different aspects of mobilities research. It addresses social scientists, planners, engineers, researchers interested in questions of technology, knowledge and the philosophy of science (STS), journalists and other experts in questions of mobility. They all shall give shape to the network and its activities. The aim is to develop "weak ties" by communication between "mobile people" as a fundament for activities like common workshops, publications, projects etc. The website as an information platform will support exchange and meeting each other in virtual and/or real space.

Further activities
For the future we will develop this website as a content management system where everybody gets informed about the network and its members. www.cosmobilities.net will be an information platform for all members. The internet site will help to inform each other about activities, research projects, results etc. It should be a good way for information research and to find cooperation partners or experts in the field of mobility research.
Along with these "virtual" activities the network will organize workshops, conferences, publications etc. to promote the idea of mobility research in a cosmopolitan and transnational perspective.

At the Congress of the German Sociological Association (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Soziologie, www.soziologie.de) in October 2004 there will be an ad-hoc-group on "Mobility and Social Differenciation" and a network workshop for further planning and activities. A call for papers will timely circulate and will be published on this homepage and through the CosMobilities Mailing List.