Travel Guide for Accra, Ghana

About the Conference

Wednesday, 18th November, 2026 

Opening Ceremony 

9:30-10:00           Arrival of Guests, Exhibition, Registration, & Ghana Dance Ensemble

10:00-10:10           Ghana National Anthem by Ghana Police Band and the African Union Anthem

Welcome Remarks

10:10-10:15           Professor Mary Boatemaa Setrana, Director, Centre for Migration Studies, University of Ghana, Ghana

10 :15-10 :20        Professor Anna Triandafyllidou, Chair, Metropolis International Network, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada 

10:20-10:25          Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, Vice Chancellor, University of Ghana

10:25-10:30         H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson, African Union Commission

Opening Remarks 

10:30-10:35         Hon. Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak Minister of Interior, Republic of Ghana

10:35-10:45         His Majesty King Mohammed VI, King of the Kingdom of Morocco 

       10:45-10:55         Artistic Performance — School of Performing Arts

Keynote Address

10:55-11:05          H.E. John Dramani Mahama — President of the Republic of Ghana 

11:05-11:15          Group Photo 

      11:15-11:20           Musical Interlude – Music Department — School of Performing Arts 

11:20-12:00          Break

Opening Plenary
Migration Governance in Africa: Current Realities and Future Directions

Migration governance in Africa remains the prerogative of the states despite significant initiatives from the African Union and from regional bodies to improve coordination and implement smooth labour and family migration across borders. Migration governance in Africa is also negatively influenced by external priorities, most notably those of the EU, which tend to make borders less permeable damaging cross border regional economic activities and trade opportunities. Future directions include more coordination at the regional level within the different African regions, aiming at mutual benefit of countries of origin and destination, recognising the importance of migration for the continent’s economic growth. This panel focuses on the potential that regional and transnational migration governance holds for Africa as well as to the need for focusing more on migrants themselves and not just on institutions.

12:00-13:30           Chair: Benard Avle, Journalist, Citi FM, Ghana 

Speakers:

Rethinking African migration narratives: Promises and pitfalls of a decolonial approach / Dr Ibrahima Amadou Dia, Director, African Centre for the Study and Research on Migration (ACSRM) 
Amb. Dr. Abdel-Fatau Musah, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, ECOWAS OR Dr Kalilou Sylla, Commissioner of Economic Affairs and Agriculture, ECOWAS 
Mr David Ofosu-Dorte, Executive Chairman, AB and David Law 
Integrating migrant experiences into migratino Governance processes/Dr Linda Oucho, AMADPOC, Nairobi 
Morocco’s Hybrid Governance of Mobility: Externalization, Border Management, and Migrant Experiences / Prof Myriam Cherti, IDRC Research Chair in Forced Displacement, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Morocco 

13:30-14:30           Lunch

14:30-16:00           Parallel Sessions 1

16:00-16:30           Break

Plenary Session 2a
Borders and the Externalization of Migration Governance

Migration controls and migration management have been increasingly externalised during the last ten years. Major destination countries withhold development aid and tie visa regimes to origin and transit countries capacity to prevent migrants from leaving. These pressures have created important challenges around the world as they have disrupted regional economies that relied on cross border movement, they have exposed migrants in transit into severe human rights violations while trapped in intermediary migration destinations, and they have enhanced the role and power of criminal networks that smuggle migrants through borders or that exploit migrants in waiting. This panel brings together experts from Latin America, North and West Africa discussing the dynamics of border externalisation and proposing alternative solutions to managing international migration.

16:30-18:00           Chair: Dr Faisal Garba, Associate Professor of Sociology, Migration and Mobility, The Africa Institute; University of Cape Town 

Speakers:

Externalization: Another brick in the wall of exceptionalism / Prof Pablo Ceriani Cernadas, National University of Lanús, Buenos Aires 
African responses to deportation pressures / Dr Franzisca Zanker, Researcher, Arnold-Bergstraesser Institute, Germany
Asylum and protection mercenarism: Effects of European externalization on African migration governance / Dr Leander Kandilige, Associate Professor, Centre for Migration Studies, University of Ghana 
Invisible walls: Externalization, governance and the US-Mexico migration nexus / Professor Silvia Núñez, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico 
Government of Burundi Representative 

Plenary Session 2b
Forced Displacement, Humanitarian Crises and Development

The last few years have been characterized by the prolongation of long-standing humanitarian crises and conflicts like in Sudan, Eritrea, but also Syria, Venezuela or in relation the Rohingya in south Asia. At the same time, new conflicts are erupting around the world, notably in Iran or Ukraine that create both internal and international displacement. While some positive developments have been noted in relation to Venezuelan or Ukrainian refugees who have offered broader protection schemes in Latin America and Europe respectively, there is a growing reluctance among major destination countries to welcome refugees. A trope of ‘responsibility’ has marked asylum and refugee debates where countries neighbouring a conflict region are expected to be responsible for hosting those displaced, civil society is also expected to fill the gaps that decreasing funding for international assistance has left, while refugees themselves are expected to be ‘responsible’ for their own lives – to be self-reliant. This panel takes stock of the dynamics from different regions including South and Southeast Asia, East and West Africa, and Europe and the Middle East to discuss what are the most important developments in the field and what are some lessons for the future.

9:00-10:30           Chair: Prof. Mary Boatemaa Setrana, IDRC Chair, University of Ghana

Speakers:

Humanitarian approaches to educating children when schools become IDP shelters: Experiences from Gaza and Lebanon / Prof Sawsan Abdulrahim, IDRC Chair Lebanon, American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Humanitarian aid and regional development in East Africa / Prof Opportuna Kweka, IDRC Research Chair on Forced Displacement, University of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania 
From coercion-centred return governance to responsible return governance Perspective / Prof Zeynep Sahin Mençutek, IMIS, University of Osnabrueck, Germany 
Experience of Forced Displacement Go Metropolitan Governance in the IGAD Region: Challenges in Sustaining Sound Local Policy and Practice Initiatives that are Dependent on Global Finance / Prof Abebaw Minaye, IDRC Research Chair, Forced Displacement and Migration Studies Centre, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia 
Conflict, violence and climate related crisis / Amala Obiokoye, Head of the ICMPD Office in Ghana 

18:00           Day 1 Closing 

Thursday, 19 November, 2026 

8:30-9:00           Exhibition, Registration and Ghana Dance Ensemble 

Plenary Session 3
Rethinking Mobility and Skills Partnerships: Changing Global Landscape

This semi-plenary brings together policymakers, researchers, and civil society actors to critically examine the evolving nexus between mobility and skills partnerships, with a focus on African contexts. Building on insights from recent research the panel interrogates how skills are defined, valued, and governed across borders. The discussion will explore three interrelated themes: (1) how mobility systems, including Africa shape and are shaped by global skill hierarchies; (2) the role of partnerships in enabling (or constraining) skill recognition, portability, and rights; (3) the implications of demographic change, digitalization, and AI for future mobility pathways. The session will foreground African agency and regional perspectives while engaging in comparative dialogue with Europe. It aims to move beyond instrumental policy approaches toward a more equitable and forward-looking framework for mobility and skills partnerships to 2050.

9:00-10:30           Chair: Prof Dr. Izabela Grabowska, Kozminski University, Full Professor of Social Sciences, Kozminski University, Poland 

Speakers:

Dr. Jean Christophe Dumont, Head of the International Migration Division in the Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, OECD, France 
De-centering Migration Skill Corridors: Towards Fair and Reciprocal Mobility Governance / Prof Godfried Engbersen, Full Professor of General Sociology, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands 
Migrant Gold? Competing for Talent in Postmigrant Societies / Prof Naika Foroutan, Humboldt University, and Director of the German Center for Integration and Migration Research, DeZIM, Berlin, Germany
Skills Mobility Partnerships: How Do African Models Compare Globally? / Ms Maegan Hendow, Senior Researcher, ICMPD, Austria 

10:30-11:00           Health Break

11:00-12:30           Parallel Sessions 2

12:30-12:30           Lunch

13:30-15:00           Parallel Sessions 3

15:00-15:30           Health Break

Plenary Session 4
Free Movement, Labour Migration and Trade

Governments worldwide engage in a variety of treaties to regulate the movement of people, which either impose restrictions or make mobility easier. This panel considers what are different types of free movement regimes distinguishing among free movement, visa liberalisation and labour mobility schemes and how they can contribute to economic growth, trade and transnational entrepreneurship. The panel also discusses the impact of enhanced mobility regimes on combatting irregular migration and enhancing a rights-based approach to migration governance.

15:30-17:00          Chair: Prof Dr. Felicitas Hillmann, Technical University Berlin; Coordinator, NUPS Network 

Speakers:

Defining and Comparing Free Movement Regimes Globally. Lessons for Africa and Beyond / Dr Diego Acosta, University of Bristol, UK; Scientific Coordinator, FREEMOVE Project 
H.E. Chileshe Mpundu Kapwepwe, Secretary General, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) 
Dr Sabelo Mbokazi, African Union, AU-ILO-IOM Joint Program on Labour Migration Governance for Development and Integration in Africa 
H.E. Wamkele Mene, Director General, African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, Accra 
Representative, Government of Kenya 

17:00           Day 2 Closing

Friday, 20 November, 2026

8:30-9:00           Exhibition, Registration & Ghana Dance Ensemble

Plenary Session 5a – Migration as Development 

Migration contributes to socio economic development at both origin and destination countries. For countries of origin, migration generates financial remittances which support households at communities of origin as well increased business and investment networks and transnational trade. A missing link though remains in the form of channeling diaspora investment at countries of origin and mixed initiatives involving states of origin and diaspora business networks. For countries of destination migration brings much needed talent and skills (developed through education investments at countries of origin) while it also counteracts demographic ageing. This panel aims at highlighting how migration contributes to development at both origin and destination and considers what could be innovative ways for making the most of migration as a lever for reciprocal growth.

9:00-10:30           Chair: Amb. Amr Aljowaily, Director, AUC Citizens and Diaspora Directorate (CIDO)

Speakers:

Mr Amadou Cisse, Interim Executive Director, AU African Institute of Remittances (AIR) 
The Role of Remittance in the Migration-Development Nexus / Prof Joseph Mensah, Global Geography Program, York University, Canada 
Inter-connected drivers of internal migration in the context of climate change / Prof Tasneem Siddiqui, University of Dhaka, Founding Director, Refugee & Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU)
Migration and development under constraint: Unlocking the full potential of social and financial remittances for inclusive growth / Dr Bilesha Weeraratne, Research Fellow, Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, Colombo 

Plenary Session 5b - Migration Governance in an Uncertain World 

The world is experiencing an increasingly uncertain future: Conflicts are proliferating around the world and so are extreme weather events as well as environmental degradation. There is a multiplication of AI powered technologies while regulatory systems lag behind. The recent pandemic has exposed the fragility of migration governance regimes and their inability to cope with crisis. This panel discusses what a resilient and sustainable governance would look like, which stakeholders need to be mobilised and how we can build such a governance system in different world regions or globally.

9:00-10:30           Chair: Prof Anna Triandafyllidou, Chair, Metropolis International Network, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada 

Speakers:

African Migration Governance in an Uncertain World: Agency, externalisation, and the politics of regional mobility / Dr Amanda Bisong, Policy Leader Fellow, European University Institute, Italy 
Emergences as a trigger for change in urban migration governance? 
Dr Marta Pachocka, SGH Warsaw School of Economics & Centre of Migration Research, University of Warsaw, Poland 
Why does immigration divide democratic societies, and is there anything we can do about it? / Dr Andrew Selee, President, Migration Policy Institute, United States of America 
Asia’s migration regime: New dynamics, new uncertainties / Prof Brenda Yeoh, Raffles Professor of Social Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 
Digital technologies across migration journeys: Governance and regulatory challenges / Prof Mireille Paquet, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada 

10:30-11:00           Health Break

11:00-12:30           Parallel Sessions 4

12:30-13:30           Lunch 

Plenary 6 - Roundtable: Migration and Health 

Migration and health are closely intertwined. On one hand, migrants are healthier than the average population at destination. On the other, they face significant mental and physical health stressors and reduced access to health systems. There is still limited understanding of the intersectional factors that affect migrants’ health and their access to health systems. This panel brings experts from around the world to discuss the migration and health nexus and propose relevant initiatives that can address health vulnerabilities and improve migrants’ access to health in Africa and other world regions.

13:30-15:00           Chair: Peter Mudungwe, Technical Advisor, AUC 

Speakers:

Navigating new shores: Mental health, lived experiences and the healing power of community in the African and Caribbean diaspora / Dr Stephanie Fletcher Lartey, Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Sydney, Australia 
Dwelling on the fringes: African Australians – navigating our place and our role through colonial structures shaping health in community / Ms Juliana Nkrumah AM, Manager, Gender Equality and Women’s Safety at Settlement Services International, Australia 
What right to healthcare? Advocating for migrants’ health in an era of xenophobia / Ms Elana Wong, Coordinator of the Civil Society Action Committee and the Global Forum for Migration and Development Civil Society Mechanism, UK 
Representative from Ghana 
Africa Centre For Disease Control  

15:00-15:30           Health Break

15:30-17:00           Parallel Sessions 5

Conference Closing Ceremony 

17:00           Professor Mary Boatemaa Setrana, Director, Centre for Migration Studies, University of Ghana, Ghana
Vice Chancellor, University of Ghana
Chairperson, African Union Commission 
Ms Violet Roumeliotis AM, CEO, Settlement Services International, Australia

Sponsorship Opportunities