Key information

Dates: 17-19 November, 2026

Location: University of Ghana, Accra

Format: In-person only

Call for papers: submissions open until 15 February, 2026

Call for papers

Mobility is central to Africa’s development aspirations. From reshaping labour markets, human capital flows, and innovation and technological linkages, free movement across the continent opens up the prospects of strengthening regional integration, unlocking economic transformation, and deepening cultural exchange. In response to the current socio-economic changes, Africa’s data ecosystem is rapidly expanding, offering new opportunities to understand complex flows, drivers and patterns. It is, therefore, important to implement robust, harmonized, and innovative data systems that are foundational for rethinking mobility futures. 

However, implementing these interventions creates a complex set of challenges for migration scholars and practitioners. The relationship between mobility and immobility remains significantly understudied and requires a holistic and interdisciplinary approach to unpacking the realities around development, funding, protection, resilience and durable solutions. Overall, migration governance in Africa remains a complex, multi-layered ecosystem, which is shaped by national priorities, regional commitments, and geopolitical entanglements. Within this complex ecosystem, the dominance of Western perspectives and priorities – shaped as they are by economic, political, and military might – insist on framing African mobility primarily through the lens of risk and security, overshadowing its developmental potential. This has resulted in an overemphasis on symptoms of crises – e.g. terrorism and climate-induced displacement – without adequately linking these to their structural and historical roots. 

Responding to these challenges, the conference aims to explore and reflect on the evolving landscapes of mobility in Africa, drawing on the contemporary dynamics and forward-looking scenarios, and moving toward a much-needed paradigm shift. Against this backdrop, we invite individual paper and panel submissions addressing the topic of Rethinking African Mobility: Past Lessons, Present Realities and Future Possibilities.

We encourage submissions from a wide range of disciplines, career stages, methodological approaches and geographical focuses.

There is a limited number of travel grants available for presenters joining from non-OECD countries. 

How to apply:

Individual Paper Proposals should include: a 250-word abstract (outlining the topic of the paper, methodology, and preliminary findings); name(s), affiliation(s), and contact details of the author(s); a short (max. 100 words) bio in first person. Individual papers will be grouped thematically into panels and assigned a chair. 

Panel Proposals should include, in a single document: a 250-word abstract outlining the theme of the panel, followed by 3-4 thematically interconnected 250-word paper abstracts (outlining the topic of the paper, methodology and preliminary findings); name(s), affiliation(s), contact details of each author above each abstract; short (max. 100 words) bios in first person of the chair(s), and author(s) of each paper. 

Submit a paper or panel proposal here.