Parallel Sessions

Wednesday, November 18, 2026

Afternoon Sessions 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM

  • Room TBC | 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM

    Session Chairs: Saara Pellander and Mika Raunio, Migration Institute of Finland

    Reshaping the intersection between development and migration studies
    Oliver Bakewell, University of Manchester

    Free Movement as a Second-Order System: Rethinking Migration Governance in the African Continental Integration Project
    Leander Kandilige, University of Ghana

    Transforming (Im)migration Systems for Skills and Knowledge: Capabilities to Orchestrate Immigration via Value-Creation Systems in Finland
    Mika Raunio, Nadja Nordling, and Saara Pellander, Migration Institute of Finland

    Beyond Protection: Strengthening Social Justice and Skills mobility in Origin and Destination Countries
    Tabe Ebob Eban Sophie, Ministry of External Relations, Cameroon

    Rethinking Skilled Mobility Partnerships: Lessons from an Indonesia–Germany Nursing Education Programme for Ethical and Development-Oriented Recruitment
    Gundula Gwenn Hiller, HdBA, Germany; Minh-Tuan Nguyen, HdBA, Germany; Anna Wendt, HdBA, Germany; Stefan Schmidt, Hochschule Neubrandenburg

  • Room TBC | 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM

    Session Chairs: Saara Pellander and Mika Raunio, Migration Institute of Finland

    Reshaping the intersection between development and migration studies
    Oliver Bakewell, University of Manchester

    Free Movement as a Second-Order System: Rethinking Migration Governance in the African Continental Integration Project
    Leander Kandilige, University of Ghana

    Transforming (Im)migration Systems for Skills and Knowledge: Capabilities to Orchestrate Immigration via Value-Creation Systems in Finland
    Mika Raunio, Nadja Nordling, and Saara Pellander, Migration Institute of Finland

    Beyond Protection: Strengthening Social Justice and Skills mobility in Origin and Destination Countries
    Tabe Ebob Eban Sophie, Ministry of External Relations, Cameroon

    Rethinking Skilled Mobility Partnerships: Lessons from an Indonesia–Germany Nursing Education Programme for Ethical and Development-Oriented Recruitment
    Gundula Gwenn Hiller, HdBA, Germany; Minh-Tuan Nguyen, HdBA, Germany; Anna Wendt, HdBA, Germany; Stefan Schmidt, Hochschule Neubrandenburg

  • Room TBC | 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM

    Session Chair: Anne Gueller-Frey, Tür an Tür e.V.  

    Strengthening Border Management and Regional Integration through MIDAS: Comparative Evidence from Ghana and Nigeria
    Ngozi Uzomah, University of Nigeria; Appiah Dwomoh, Ghana Immigration Service

    Beyond the Border Post: A Quasi-Experimental Evaluation of the ECOWAS Free Movement Protocol on Cross-Border Female Traders' Economic Resilience and Social Integration in West Africa
    Chefor Ngwenyi Meungwe Meungwe, Cameroon Economic Policy Institute

    From Containment to Cooperation: Rethinking African Mobility in an Era of Externalized Borders
    Silindile Nanzile Mlilo, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada

    The Migration-Security Nexus in Africa : The Missing Story
    Balkissa Daouda Diallo, University of the Witwatersrand

    The Criminalisation of Migration in South Africa: From Immigration Control to Penal Governance
    Molya Vundamina, University of Pretoria, South Africa; Mansah Amoah, University of Pretoria

    Development Cooperation as Bordering: Readmission and the Finland–Somalia Case
    Laura Sumari, University of Helsinki

  • Room TBC | 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM

    Session Chair: Ernestina Korleki Tetteh, University of Ghana

    Belonging for Single Migrant Men: A Cross-Country Comparative Perspective
    Gokce Yurdakul, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

    Sustainable Engineering Pathways for African Mobility: Legal Responses to Migration-Induced Economic Challenges and Gender Gaps in Infrastructure Development
    Grace Perpetual Dafiel, Thomas Adewumi University, Nigeria

    Negotiating Autonomy under Constraint: Refugee Women, Livelihoods, and the Right to Stay, Migrate, and Return in Uganda
    Chidiebere Victor Adim, University of Africa, Nigeria

    Between Migration Aspirations and Physical Immobility: Negotiating Masculinity and Opportunities in Pikine, Senegal
    Sebastian Prothmann, Independent

  • Room TBC | 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM

    Session Chair: Nana Charlotte Wrigley-Asante, University of Ghana

    Epistemic Openings and Unsettling: Recalibrating the Containment Cartographies of Contemporary Migration Research
    Loren B Landau, University of the Witwatersrand and University of Oxford; Felicity Okoth, African Migration and Development Policy Centre (AMADPOC)

    Migrants as Bargaining Chips in the International Relations of African Countries
    Fana Gebresenbet, Addis Ababa University

    Enhanced Measurement and Increased Efficiency: The Role of South-South Remittances in Development
    Tebkieta Alexandra Tapsoba, Université Joseph Ki-Zerbo; Amadou Cissé, Executive Director of the African Institute for Remittances (AIR)

    From Brain Drain to Brain Circulation: Rethinking African Mobility Through Data, Diaspora, and Digital Systems
    Daphne Simmonds, Metropolitan State University of Denver; Mansah Preko, Auburn University at Montgomery; David Simmonds, Auburn University at Montgomery

  • Room TBC | 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM

    Session Chair: Kofi Takyi Asante, University of Ghana

    The Paradox of Mobility: Xenophobia, Human Rights and the Future of African Regional Integration
    Omotola Bamidele Oluyole, Lagos State University

    Ghanaian Migrants and the Racialized Legal Status in the US
    Joseph Ewoodzie, Rice University, United States of America

    Disaggregating the Aggregates: The Diversity of African and Black Immigrants in Canada
    Abdie Kazemipur, University of Calgary, Canada; Omid Asayesh, University of Calgary, Canada; Hamid Akbary, University of Lethbridge, Canada

    Dogs, Gods and City Hall: The Racialized Legacy Of The Displaced Africville Community And The Unconscionable Actions At City Hall
    Cyrus Sundar Singh, Toronto Metropolitan University

    Migration Governance and Social Exclusion: Interrogating the Relationship Between Policy Design and Xenophobia in South Africa
    Laura Nnamdi, African Resilient Initiative for Community and Sustainable Development, Nigeria

  • Room TBC | 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM

    Session Chair: Felicitas Hillmann, TU Berlin

    Inclusive Finance for Asylum Seekers and Refugees: Institutional Mechanisms and Strategic Pathways for Sustainable Economic Integration
    Leyla Diop-Mena, Desjardins - Cooperative financial group, Canada

    Crisis of International Refugee Protection Policies in the Sahel and Global Political Society
    Sadio Soukouna, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Canada

    Promoting Inclusion and Belongingness in Cityscape: Informal Networks and Solidarity Practices Among Urban Refugees and Migrants in the City of Accra, Ghana
    Thomas Yeboah, University of Ghana; Mary Setrana Boatemaa, University of Ghana; Joseph Teye, University of Ghana

    The Possible Mirage of Economic Opportunities for Refugees in Kenya and Eastern Africa
    Laurene Oduor, Refugee Consortium of Kenya, Kenya

    Journeys Beyond the City: African Refugees Remaking Home in Regional Australia
    Eliza Crosbie, University of Wollongong, Australia

    When Refuge is Home: Sudan’s War-Affected IDPs in Gedarif State, Eastern Sudan
    Adam Babekir, University of Gadarif, Sudan; Lovise Aalen, Chr. Michelsen Institute, Norway

  • Room TBC | 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM

    Session Chair: Linda Oucho, African Migration and Development Policy Centre (AMADPOC)

    Data Gaps, Legal Recognition, and Unequal Protection: LGBTQ+ Migration in South America
    Florencia Nathalia Piñeyrúa, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas/Universidad Nacional de San Martín, Argentine Republic

    Mapping Patterns, Pathways, and Policy Gaps: Human Trafficking Across West Africa — A Comparative Multi country Analysis
    Kathy Hogarth, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada; Mblingo Alfred, RECFAM

    Human Mobility as Development and Regional Courts as Catalysts
    Victor Amadi, Centre for Comparative Law in Africa, University of Cape Town, South Africa

    At Sea But Not Outside the Law: African Human Rights Obligations in Externalised Migration Control
    Ntemesha Maseka, Nelson Mandela University, South Africa

    Living with Two Wars: Migrants’ Early Years Under Conditions of Double-War
    Ravit Talmi-Cohn, Ono Academic College; Svetlana Chachashvili-Bolotin, The Institute for Immigration and Social Integration, Ruppin Academic Center

  • Room TBC | 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM

    Session Chair: Rukayat Usman, University of Ibadan

    Quand les jeunes racontent leurs mobilités: méthodes créatives et citoyenneté urbaine en temps de crise
    Clément Honoré Angoni Angoni, Université de Yaoundé

    Mobilités juvéniles en temps de crise de Boko Haram: trajectoires Précaires et circulations multidirectionnelles à l’Extrême-Nord Cameroun
    Zainabou Mountouzache, Université de Ngaoundéré

    Youth Unemployment and Insecurity in the Sahel: Is Decent Employment Important for Sustainable Peace?
    Ngwenyi Meungwe Chefor, University of Yaoundé

    Where Movement is Restricted, She Moves Online: Digital Mobilities of Young Women in Post-Conflict Sri Lanka
    Mariyam Yumna Azeez, Centre for Equality and Justice (CEJ)

    Re-imagining Rwanda/Congo: Frantic Mobilities and the Absence of Infrastructure of Protection
    Wale Oyedeji, University of Ibadan

    “Just Like the Fulanis, They Just Made Us Another Set of Migrant Fellows, Moving Here and There from One Country to the Other”: The Inner Dialectics of the Biafran ‘Diasporic Presence’
    Osinachi Ezema, University of Ibadan

  • Room TBC | 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM

  • Room TBC | 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

    Session Chair: Gertrude Dzifa Torvikey, University of Ghana

    Agents of translocal development: Migrant entrepreneurship, food security, and diaspora engagement in the Eastern Cape
    Unati Sigodi, University of the Western Cape

    Sponsored Mobility: On Chinese Party-State Co-optation of Senegalese Individuals
    Ralph Weber, University of Basel

    Can Enterprise Development Initiatives Reduce Youth Migration? Evidence from Africapitalism-Driven Programmes in Five African Countries
    Nduneche Ezurike, Global Citizenship and Migration (GCM Partners)

    Growing up and growing old in the diaspora – Somali mobilities and life trajectories
    Nauja Kleist, Danish Institute for International Studies

    “These are not mere investors, but modern-day plunderers who have come to feast on Zimbabwe’s resources”: Chinese Investment and Internal Displacements Zimbabwe 2000-2025
    Peter Uledi, University of the Free State

    Mining or Undermining the Way: does artisanal mining affect cross-border migration intentions
    Hussein Mohammed Andani and Hasan Vergil, Ibn Haldun University

  • Room TBC | 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

    Session Chair: Jean Gabin Ntebutse, Université de Sherbrooke

    Empower Women's Agency in Refugee Settlement with an innovative Digital Agripreneurship Project
    Jo Anni Joncas, Université de Sherbrooke; Jean Gabin Ntebutse,Université de Sherbrooke; Aline Niyubahwe,Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue; Wilson Tumuhimbise, Mbarara University of Science and Technology;, Angella Musiimenta,Mbarara University of Science and Technology

    The Implementation and Adoption of A Digital Agriculture Intervention among Women and Young refugees in Nakivale Refugee Settlement: Qualitative Assessment of Success Factors
    Angella Musiimenta, Mbarara University of Science and Technology; Jean Gabin Ntebutse, Université de Sherbrooke; Wilson Tumuhimbise, Mbarara University of Science and Technology; Jo Anni Joncas, University of Sherbrooke; Aline Niyubahwe, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue

    Digital Agriculture Enhances Skills, Access, Practices, and Livelihoods in Nakivale Refugee Settlement, Uganda
    Jean Gabin Ntebutse, Université de Sherbrooke; Wilson Tumuhimbise, Mbarara University of Science and Technology; Aline Niyubahwe, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue; Jo Anni Joncas, University of Sherbrooke; Angella Musiimenta, Mbarara University of Science and Technology

    The impact of the project on the well-being of refugee women and young people in Nakivale refugee settlement
    Aline Niyubahwe, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue; Jean Gabin Ntebutse, Université de Sherbrooke; Jo Anni Joncas, University of Sherbrooke; Angella Musiimenta, Mbarara University of Science and Technology

  • Room TBC | 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

    Session Chairs: Lara El Mekaui, Toronto Metropolitan University; Bernadette Klausberger, Migration Matters

    Roundtable Speakers:

    Anna Triandafyllidou, Toronto Metropolitan University

    Brenda Yeoh, National University of Singapore

    Naika Foroutan, The German Center for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM)

    Mary Setrana Boatemaa, University of Ghana

  • Room TBC | 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

    Session Chair: Mireille Paquet, Concordia University

    Déplacés Internes et Recomposition des Zones D'Accueil à l’Extrême-Nord Cameroun : entre cohabitation contrainte, fragilisation du développement local et enjeux de paix
    Zainabou Mountouzache, Université de Ngaoundéré

    Mobilités forcées dans le Grand Est camerounais : configurations spatiales et effets croisés des conflits internes et transfrontaliers (régions de l'Est et de l'Adamaoua)
    Zalem Lamido Sembe, Université de Ngaoundéré

    Les villes du Burkina Faso à l’épreuve de la migration translocale
    Abdoul-Kader Minoungou, Université Joseph Ki-Zerbo

    La juridictionnalisation de la mobilité humaine en Afrique de l'Ouest : la Cour de justice de la CEDEAO comme un vecteur de reconfiguration de la gouvernance migratoire
    Kossivi Natèba Inyéza Kossi, Clinique d'Expertise Juridique et Sociale - CEJUS

  • Room TBC | 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

    Session Chair: Alexander Oturu, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Nigeria

    Roundtable Speakers:

    Emeka Chris Obiezu, Civil Society Network on Migration and Development

    Jimoh Jimoh Yusuf, University of Abuja

    Shauna Cameron, IOM Regional Office, Dakar, Senegal

  • Room TBC | 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

    Session Chair: Sujata Ramachandran, Wilfrid Laurier University

    Examining the Linkages Between Remittances, Climate Change, and Food Security in the South Africa–Ethiopia Migration Corridor
    Mulugeta F. Dinbabo, University of the Western Cape; Sean T. Sithole, University of the Western Cape

    Migrating for Food Security and Climate Resilience: Remitting Motivations and Patterns Among Mozambican Migrants in Johannesburg, South Africa
    Godfrey Tawodzera, University of the Western Cape; Inês Raimundo, Eduardo Mondlane University

    Remittance Biographies, Household Food Security, and Somali Migrants in Kenya Africa
    Zack Ahmed, Wilfrid Laurier University; Jonathan Crush, Wilfrid Laurier University and University of the Western Cape

    Cross-Border Survival: Migration, Remittances, and Food Security Among Angolan Migrants in Namibia
    Lawrence N. Kazembe, University of Namibia; Ndeyapo M. Nickanor, University of Namibia

  • Session Chair: Izabela Grabowska, Kozminski University

    Skills as a Social Construction in Asian Migration Systems
    Gracia Liu-Farrer, Waseda University

    African Skills Mobility: Informality, Regional Integration, and Recognition Challenges
    Amanda Bisong, European University Institute

    EU Talent Governance and the Limits of Skills Portability
    Tesseltje de Lange, Radboud University

    Vocational Education and Training as a Pathway of Skill Conversion and Stratification
    Vidmantas Tutlys, Vytautas Magnus University

    AI, Automation, and Migrant Skill Underutilisation in Europe
    Izabela Grabowska, Kozminski University

  • Room TBC | 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

    Session Chair: Leander Kandilige, University of Ghana

    From Containment to Mobility Corridors: Reframing Refugee Governance Beyond Crisis Narratives in Southern Africa
    Norman Pinduka, Africa University, Zimbabwe

    Migration Governance in Nigeria: Lessons from a Whole-of-Government, Whole-of-Society, and Human Rights–Based Approach
    Adebanke Ogun, International Organisation for Migration, Nigeria

    The inadequacy of global and regional normative frameworks to govern cross-border mobility: Ethiopian case study
    Mehreteab Ghebregergs, Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, Ethiopia

    Rethinking Global Governance Practices in African Mobility: Aligning Policy Responses with Development and Regional Integration
    Charles J Kiiza, University of Rwanda

    Policy Insights and Innovations Transforming Urban Migration Governance in the Horn of Africa: Lessons from Ethiopia
    Eyob Esatu, Organization For Innovation and Sustainable Development Africa; Yoseph Halala, Wolaita Sodo University;

    Mobility Without Mobility: Rethinking African Migration Governance in the Gulf
    Yusril Nurhidayat, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg

  • Room TBC | 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

    Session Chair: Faisal Garba, University of Cape Town

    Game Changers for Development: Strategic engagement of the African Diaspora
    Paddy Siyanga Knudsen, Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism

    Bridging research with civil society actors for dignified returns in West Africa
    Ngozi Louis Uzomah, African Non‑State Actors Platform on Migration & Development

    Trade Unions - precious partner for strategic engagement on migration governance
    Hakima Haithar, African Non-state Actors Platform on Migration & Development

    Rethinking African Mobility: Transnational Religious Organizations and Reframing of Regional Identities in West Africa
    Okey Iheduru, Arizona State University, United States of America

  • Room TBC | 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

Parallel Sessions

Thursday,
November 19, 2026 

Morning Sessions 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

  • Room TBC | 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM

    Session Chair: Mark Kwaku Mensah Obeng, University of Ghana

    Recognition as a facilitator of labor market integration – an employer perspective
    Daniel Wörndl, German Economic Institute, Germany; Katarina Culina, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy

    Document Based Recognition as a Foundation for Reliable Transparency Comparability and Mobility
    Andreas Snildal, Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills, Norway; Azra Saric, Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills, Norway

    Who Stays Beyond Five Years? Institutional Pathways and Settlement Intentions Among Foreign Workers in Japan
    Anastasya Wulandari Hasyim, Hashimoto Foundation, Japan

    Unearthing the Constraints of Migrant Workers: A Path to Strengthening the ECOWAS Free Movement Protocol
    Kwame Boateng, University of Ghana; Mohammed Adam, University of Ottawa

  • Room TBC | 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM

    Session Chair: Francis Jarawura, University of Ghana

    Climate-Induced Displacement and the 1969 OAU Refugee Convention: Lessons from the Horn of Africa for Rethinking Protection in Africa
    Ritah Kemishomo, Humanitarians at Law Research and Consulting Firm, Uganda

    The Climate-Conflict-Mobility Nexus in the Horn of Africa: Historical Lessons, Urbanization, Rural Transformation and Future Policy implications with reference to Ethiopia
     Mulu Fasigo, Woldia University

    Perceived Impact of Climate-Induced Migration Patterns on Vulnerable Communities in Southwest Nigeria
    Peter Sanjo Adewale, Osun State University; Anthony Kola-Olusanya, Osun State University; Oludolapo Olumide Oni, Lagos State University

    Fragmented Policies and the Challenges of Addressing Climate Mobility in Nigeria
    Aondowase Targba, Federal University Gusau


    Gendered Climate (Im)Mobility Intentions in Flood-Prone Coastal Ghana: Evidence from the Volta Delta
    Stephanie Tetteh, University of Ghana; Samuel N.A Codjoe, University of Ghana; Mumuni Abu, University of Ghana

    Climate, Conflict, and the Smartphone: Present Realities of Forced and Aspirational Mobility in the Sahel and Horn of Africa
    Ayobami Akinola, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Nigeria

  • Room TBC | 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM

    Session Chair: Frank Ayisi, University of Ghana

    Governing Waiting: Internal Bordering and the Production of Forced Immobility in Morocco
    Myriam Cherti, Leen De Nutte, Douaa Saffar, and Safae Wahid Wahid, University Mohammed VI Polytechnic

    Family Disintegration as a Driver of Forced Migration in Central and West Africa
    Stacey Wilson-Forsberg, Wilfrid Laurier University

    Perspectives of forcibly displaced populations on gender-based violence, safety, and rights in Ghana
    Thomas Yeboah, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology; Mary Setrana Boatemaa, University of Ghana

    Internal Displacement as a Predictor of International Forced Migration: A Bayesian and Difference-in-Differences Analysis in Sub-Saharan Africa
    Elvino Zacarias Nhantumbo, National Institute of Statistics

    Post-Cessation Refugeehood and the Making of Everyday Borders: Liberian Exemption Holders in Ghana
    Joyce De-Graft Acquah, University of Cape Coast, Ghana; Francis Williams Aubyn, University of Ghana

    Climate Displacement, SRHR, and the Limits of Legal Protection in the Sahel
    Olanike Adelakun, Lead City University, Nigeria

  • Room TBC | 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM

    Session Chair: Marshia Akbar, Toronto Metropolitan University

    Discretion at the Gates: African Students’ Migration as a Contested Legal Pathway to Europe
    Veronica Federico, Università degli Studi di Firenze

    Soft Power and the Mobility of Cameroonian Students to France in a Postcolonial Context: Oblivion and Implication
    Jean Marie Etogo Assene-Nkou, Université de Poitiers

    Stuck in Time, Crossed by Borders: Temporal Dispossession as a Structural Condition of Protracted Encampment in Dadaab, Kenya
    Elizabeth Andare, OT in the Margins, Kenya; Margarita Mondaca, Umeå University; Nadine Blankvoort, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences

    Language as Mobility Infrastructure: The Architecture of African Mobility
    Honorine Ntoh Yuh, The University of Alabama

  • Room TBC | 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM

    Session Chair: Enoch Teye-Kwadwo, University of Ghana

    Integrating Mental Health into Migration Governance in West Africa: Evidence from Community-Based Interventions
    Alfred Mbinglo, Research & Counselling Foundation for African Migrants (RECFAM)

    From Security/Crisis Narratives to Development Narratives: Rethinking African Mobility Through the Lens of Health Worker Migration
    Olugbenga Samuel Falase, Lead City University

    Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Gaps in Refugee Protection in Ghana
    Angela Azimah Seidu, Independent Researcher

    Migrant Care Workers in Germany’s Health Sector: Individual and Structural Challenges and Strategies
    Anne Gueller-Frey, Tür an Tür e.V.  

    Negotiating WASH Access and Health in Displacement: Experiences of Internally Displaced Persons in Liberia
    Gifty Sarkodie Amponsah, University of Ghana

  • Room TBC | 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM

    Session Chair: Silindile Mlilo, Toronto Metropolitan University

    Free Movement or Managed Containment? The Historical Legacies and Contemporary Politics of Intra-Africa Human Mobility in the AFCTRA Era
    Wunan Elka Fungo, Federal University of Kashere

    Gendered Trajectories of Polish Migration to Algeria from the Cold War to the EU Era
    Katarzyna Górak-Sosnowska, Andrzej Zawistowski, SGH Warsaw School of Economics

    The evolution of African migration governance amidst global agendas and foreign interventions
    Oliver Bakewell, University of Manchester; Cathrine Talleraas, Chr. Michelsen Institute - CMI

    Reframing Africa-Europe Mobility: Bridging the Gap Between Diagnostic Critique and Decolonial Praxis
    Anastasia Nkhalamba, University of Leicester

  • Room TBC | 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM

    Session Chair: Marta Pachocka, Warsaw School of Economics

    Politicising displacement in/from Burkina Faso
    Jesper Bjarnesen, The Nordic Africa Institute

    On Japa(da), and Beyond: Contextualizing Nigerian Migration through Facts and Fiction
    Aissa Mboup, Humboldt University of Berlin

    Travelling and Reframing Distorted Narratives about Africa through Social Media
    Joyce Osei Owusu, Ekua Ekumah, Margaret Ismaila, University of Ghana

    Japa': Media Framing and the Global Implications of How Nigeria Narrates Its Own Migration
    Violet Ikong, The West African Transitional Justice Centre

    The Reality of Heterogeneity: Media Representation and Data Storytelling of Australia’s African Migration
    Franka Vaughan and Pui (Katy) Man Chan, University of Melbourne, Australia

    Immigrant Micro-Influencers and the Digitalization of Transnational Diasporic Life
    Masoud Kianpour, Toronto Metropolitan University

  • Room TBC | 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM

    Session Chair: Jonathan Crush, Balsillie School of International Affairs and Wilfrid Laurier University

    Harnessing the Corridor: Remittances, Governance, and Climate Adaptation across Zimbabwe and the UK
    Kavita Datta, Tim Brown, and Charlotte Brown, Queen Mary University of London

    Zimbabweans in Ontario-Canada: Remitting for Food Security and Climate Adaptation
    Abel Chikanda, McMaster University

    Beyond Digital Hype: Migrant Remittance Infrastructures and Futures within the Ghana-Canada Corridor
    Naomi Sunu, Eunice Annan-Aggrey, Balsillie School of International Affairs and Wilfrid Laurier University;

    Migrants Remittances, and Climate Change Adaptation: Empirical Evidence from Ghanaian Migrants in Qatar
    Bernard Owusu, Balsillie School of International Affairs and Wilfrid Laurier University

  • Room TBC | 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM

    Session Chair: Mary Setrana Boatemaa and Afua Boatemaa Yakohene, University of Ghana

    An Atlas of Uncertain Knowledges
    Loren B Landau, University of the Witwatersrand and University of Oxford

    Art as an Urban Invitation
    Carina Tenewaa Kanbi, University of the Witwatersrand

    Uchawi: An atlas of urban sorcery
    Caroline Wanjiku Kihato, University of the Witwatersrand and University of Oxford

    Boundary Making in an Accra No-Man’s Land
    Danchen Xu, University of Oxford

    Posterizing Power in Central Accra
    Jeffrey W. Paller, University of San Francisco and Uppsala University

    Migrant Peasants in Ghana’s Cityscape: A Critical Perspective
    Gertrude Dzifa Torvikey, University of Ghana; Sylvia Ohene Marfo, Union for African Population Studies

  • Room TBC | 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM

Parallel Sessions

Thursday,
November 19, 2026 

Afternoon Sessions 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM

  • Room TBC | 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

    Session Chairs: Franzisca Zanker and Jamila Hamidu, Arnold-Bergstraesser Institute

    Exploring bilateral labour migration deals (BLMAs): the case of Malawi
    Sophia Stille, Arnold-Bergstraesser Institute

    Beyond Asymmetry? Centering African Expertise in Migration-Related Development Cooperation
    Onike Shorunkeh-Sawyer, University of Göttingen

    Politicisation Processes of Somalis in Kenya: Integration, Tokenism or Political Strategy
    Edwin Mutyenyoka, Arnold-Bergstraesser Institute; Franzisca Zanker, Arnold-Bergstraesser Institute; Rose Jaji, German Institute of Development and Sustainability - IDOS

    The drivers of migration aspirations among West African youth
    Jorgen Carling, PRIO, Norway

    Citizenship and Identity in West Africa: Regional Mobility and Belonging under ECOWAS
    Olajumoke Amoo, Lagos State University, Nigeria

    Conditional Settlement and the Reshaping of Migrants’ Trajectories: The Study of Nigerians in Morocco
    Damilare Oladimeji, Université Internationale de Rabat, Morocco

  • Room TBC | 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

    Session Chair: Peter Narh, University of Ghana

    Causes, Challenges, and Opportunities of International Migration: A Search for Policy Options
    Hana Woldekidan Azmete, Policy Studies Institute; Halefom Yigzaw Nigus, Policy Studies Institute;
    Abebaw Minaye Gizie, Addis Ababa University; Haileeyesus Ayele Mullaw, Policy Studies Institute;

    Migration Policy Disjuncture in the 21st Century: Unpacking Challenges in the Migration-Development Nexus 
    Emmanuel Quarshie, IOM; Joseph Mensah, York University; Mary Setrana Boatemaa, University of Ghana; Emmanuella Nyamekye Aggrey, Johns Hopkins University; Emmanuel Ansah Otabil, University of Ghana; Albert Duodu, Aalto University; Kingsley Laar, Ghana Employers Association

    African Extra-Continental Mobility in a Besieged International System and Subdued Multilateralism:

    The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration in Perspective
    Poem Mudyawabikwa, Independent Researcher

    Why Integration Fails in Practice: Making Interaction Breakdowns Visible in Migration Contexts
     Esra Emre, Independent Researcher, Turkey

    “They are Aliens First and any other thing Second”: Rethinking the “Shifting Regimes” of Strangers' and Migrants' Identities in African Migration Realities
    Olawale Yemisi, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

    Recognition as Digital Public Infrastructure in African–European Mobility – How Public Administration Promotes the Comparability of Training Standards Worldwide 
    Daniel Wörnd, Gesina Leininger, German Economic Institute

  • Room TBC | 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

    Session Chair: Westy A. Egmont, Boston College

    Migration patterns in Burkina Faso: Factors influencing translocality
    Komi Ameko Azianu, Joseph Ki-Zerbo University

    From Aspiration to Precarious Mobility: Family Instability, Livelihood Insecurity, and Structural Vulnerabilities in West African Migration
     Adamu Babagana, Doshisha University Kyoto, Japan; Nabila Anas, Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit - NFIU

    Mobility as Livelihood: Informal Economies and the Paradox of Movement in West Africa
    Damilola Olajide, Lagos State University, Nigeria

    Beyond Migration as Adaptation: Mobility Histories, Entrapment and Migration Aspirations in Ghana’s Volta Delta
    Jonas Horlali Dzeble, Samuel N. A. Codjoe, Mumuni Abu, Regional Institute for Population Studies, University of Ghana

  • Room TBC | 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

    Session Chair: Ashika Niraula, Toronto Metropolitan University

    Unfolding Migration Dynamics in Bangladesh: A Multidimensional Approach to Flows and Drivers
    Tasneem Siddiqui, University of Dhaka

    Religion and International Migration among Nigerians in Context of West Africa
    Olayinka Akanle, University of Ibadan

    Involuntary Immobility: A Neglected Angle of Migration Dynamics and Human Development
    Doudou D. Gueye, Assane Seck University of Ziguinchor

    Complex Gendered Migration Drivers into, within, and out of Ghana
     Francis Aubyn, Richard Seyram, Mary Setrana Boatemaa, Joseph Kofi Teye, Thomas Yeboah, Francis Williams Aubyn, University of Ghana

  • Room TBC | 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

    Session Chair: Pablo Rojas Coppari, International Organization for Migration, Switzerland

    Sahelian Africa: When Land Transforms, Human Trajectories Shift
    Baltazar Atangana, Climate Mobility Africa Research Network, Cameroon

    From political alignment to legal action: Implementing the Kampala Ministerial Declaration on Migration, Environmental and Climate Change through African human rights framework
    Ana Ruiz Verdugo, “Gregorio Peces-Barba” Institute of Human Rights, Carlos III University of Madrid, Spain

    Policy responses to climatic and governance challenges facing cross-border fishery mobilities in West Africa
    Iddrisu Amadu, Wageningen University, Netherlands; Nana Kweig, Ghana Canoe and Fishing Gear Owners Association

    Discussant: Aondowase Targba, Federal University Gusau and CMARN

  • Room TBC | 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

    Session Chair: Geraldine Asiwome Ampah, University of Ghana

    Homecoming: African Return Migration from the U.S.
    Dialika Sall, Lehman College-CUNY, United States of America

    Rethinking Return Migration in Africa: Labour Market Constraints, Skills Systems, and the Limits of Reintegration in Nigeria
    Nkiru Perpetua Duru, Centre for Youths Integrated Development, Nigeria

    Crossing Borders: A Critical Analysis of Structural Barriers to Inclusive Futures for West African Young Migrant Women
    Mirian Ngozi Alike, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Nigeria

    Is return migration a profitable investment for home Subsaharan African countries?
    Danièle Philomène Amozo, Honoré Bidiasse, University of Douala, Cameroon

  • Room TBC | 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

    Session Chair: Oliver Bakewell, University of Manchester

    Roundtable Speakers:
    Farouk Braimah, People’s Dialogue on Human Settlement, Accra

    Linda Oucho, AMADPOC

    Rufaro Mushonga, African Cities Research Consortium

    Temilade Sesan, African Cities Research Consortium

    Cecilia Tacoli, Institute for Environment and Development, London

  • Room TBC | 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

    Session Chair: Kwabena Opoku Agyemang, University of Ghana

    Born Here, Still Foreign: Narrative Citizenship and the Racialisation of Belonging among Ghanaian Fulani
    Daniel Kyereko, University of York; Kwabena Opoku-Agyemang, University of Ghana; Benedict Arko , University of Education, Winneba; Araba Osei-Tutu, University of Ghana; Richard Boateng, University of Education, Winneba; Mary Setrana Boatemaa, University of Ghana

    Learning Without Schooling: Gender, Informal Knowledge, and Aspirations among Out-of-School Fulani Girls and Young Women in Southern Ghana
    Daniel Kyereko, University of York; Kwabena Opoku-Agyemang, University of Ghana; Benedict Arko, University of Education, Winneba; Araba Osei-Tutu, University of Ghana; Richard Boateng, University of Education, Winneba; Mary Setrana Boatemaa, University of Ghana

    Between Migration and Memory: Oral Traditions, Pulaaku, and the Intergenerational Transmission of Fulbe Cultural Knowledge in Southern Ghana
    Daniel Kyereko, University of York; Kwabena Opoku-Agyemang, University of Ghana; Benedict Arko, University of Education, Winneba; Araba Osei-Tutu, University of Ghana; Richard Boateng, University of Education, Winneba; Mary Setrana Boatemaa, University of Ghana

    Authorized Access, Withheld Voice: The Consent Gap and Gendered Opacity in Qualitative Research
    Daniel Kyereko, University of York; Kwabena Opoku-Agyemang, University of Ghana; Benedict Arko, University of Education, Winneba; Araba Osei-Tutu,  University of Ghana; Richard Boateng, University of Education, Winneba; Mary Setrana Boatemaa, University of Ghana

Parallel Sessions

Friday,
November 20, 2026

Morning Sessions 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

  • Room TBC | 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM

    Session Chair: Christopher Gore, Toronto Metropolitan University

    Migration and the Speed of Demographic Change
    Daniela Ghio, University of Catania, Italy; Víctor M. García-Guerrero, El Colegio de Mexico; Claudia Masferrer, El Colegio de Mexico

    From Invasion Arrows to Visual Storytelling: Ethical Data Design for Communicating West African Migration Dynamics
    Gabby Resch, Ontario Tech University, Canada

    State actors, Insecurity and Migration in West Africa
    Olayinka Akanle, University of Ibadan

    Visual storytelling using NVivo to unleash multifaceted migration journey barriers and facilitators of West Africans to Metro Vancouver
    Astou Thiam, University of British Columbia; Suzanne Huot, University of British Columbia

  • Room TBC | 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM

    Session Chair: Silvia Núñez García, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

    Rethinking mobility in a changing climate: How intersectionality shapes mobility, agency and futures in Northern Ghana
    Sandra Obiri-Yeboah, University of Ghana, Ghana

    Migration-Driven Urbanisation in West Africa: Past Patterns, Present Evidence Gaps, and Implications for Climate-Resilient Urban Futures
    Hamissou Saminou Harouna, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria

    Beyond Openness: The Future of African Mobility
    Kachi Madubuko (IOM), Victoria Fajemilehin, African Development Bank - AfDB

    African Migration Futures: From Predictive Models to Scenario Based Foresight
    Lara El Mekaui, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada

  • Room TBC | 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM

    Session Chair: Pablo Rojas Coppari, International Organization for Migration, Switzerland

    Returning Angolan Emigrants Residing in Luanda and their Socioeconomic Reintegration
    Isaías Tchirica Falau, Centro de Estudos Africanos do CIS-CEACIS, Angola

    From visibility to engagement: Exploring pathways to leverage the diasporas economic potential for local development in the Republic of Moldova
    Cristina Chirvas, School of Legal and Economic Sciences, Moldova

    From risk to resilience: strengthening adaptive social protection for an inclusive disaster response in Peru
    Antonella Tucto Delgado, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) Peru

    Bridging the social protection gap in Nepal’s bilateral labour migration agreements
    Anjali Shrestha, Central Department of International Relations and Diplomacy, Tribhuvan University

  • Room TBC | 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM

    Session Chair: Ulrike Schultz, Friedensau Adventist University

    Shadows of return: forced mobilities, political subjectivation, and the social construction of the Tounga (adventure) in Mali
    Almamy Sylla, Université Yambo Ouologuem des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines de Bamako; Susanne U. Schultz, Bielefeld University

    American at Birth, But Ghanaian by Choice: The Ambivalent Belonging of American ‘Jackpot Babies’ in Ghana
    Ada Adoley Allotey, Human Settlement Unit of the Environmental Protection Authority

    Categorizing Return Migrants: Juxtaposing Reintegration and Return Labels in Sub-Saharan Africa
    Kwaku Arhin-Sam, Friedensau Adventist University

    Labeling people on the move. The case of South Sudanese moving between Khartoum, Juba and Kampala
    Ulrike Schultz, Friedensau Adventist University

    Return Migration and Reintegration in Nigeria: Institutions, Identities and Policy Effectiveness
    Amaka Metu, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Nigeria

  • Room TBC | 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM

    Session Chair: Kasim Salifu, University of Business and Integrated Development Studies, Ghana

    Between hope and sorrow: Exploring Burundian refugees’ everyday struggles and aspirations in Chatsworth Township in Durban, South Africa
    Tackson Makandwa, Maheshvari Naidu, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

    Between Servitude and Strategic Conduct: Migrant Domestic Workers and Food Insecurity in Southeast Asia
    Brenda Yeoh and Theodora Lam, National University of Singapore

    ‘Beyond the Delicacy’: Foodscapes as platforms of connectivity and solidarity among Zimbabwean Migrants in Cape Town, South Africa
    Godfrey Tawodzera, University of the Western Cape, South Africa

    Informality and digitalization: Migrant informal traders navigating exclusionary practices through digital platforms in Durban and Cape Town, South Africa
    Nomkhosi Amanda Mbatha, University of the Western Cape, South Africa

    From Belonging to Development: Hometown Attachment, Remittances, and the Changing Dynamics of African Mobility
    Francis Yaw Kafui Adzraku, Freedman Delali Woledzi, Stella Effah, Janet Apambire, University of Ghana

    Routes of Care, Horizons of Return: West African Youth Mobility and the Making of Continental Futures
    Doris Niragire Nirere, Université de Neuchâtel, Switzerland

  • Room TBC | 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM

    Session Chair: Akosua Keseboa Darkwah, University of Ghana

    Reframing migration research in Africa: foregrounding migrant and practitioner knowledge in approaches to data collection, dissemination and analysis
    Damian Otieno, Red Cross Red Crescent Global Migration Lab - Africa Migration Research Hub, Kenya

    Reimagining African Perspectives on Migration and Remittances: A Shift Beyond Numbers
    Adeoye O. Akinola, University of Johannesburg

    Categorization and Migration Research in Africa
    Oliver Bakewell, University of Manchester

    Navigating immobility through creative practice: Sudanese artistic communities
    Katarzyna Grabska, The Graduate Institute, Geneva, Switzerland

    Decentering Migration Narratives: African Mobility to Turkey and the Rise of “Middle” Migration Regimes
    Deniz Sert, Ozyegin University

  • Room TBC | 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM

    Session Chair: Joseph Mensah, York University

    Border Governance, Irregular Migration, and Security Dynamics in West Africa
    Kwasi Opoku Apau, Ghana Immigration Service, Government of Ghana

    Climate Change and Human Mobility in Africa: Emerging Risks and Policy Responses
    Richard Seyram, University of Ghana

    Regional Integration And Free Movement: Opportunities And Constraints In West Africa
    Desmond Obeng Mensah, Ghana Immigration Service, Government of Ghana

    Digital Migration Governance and The Future Of Mobility In Africa
    Appiah Dwomoh, African Institute for Migration and Security Research

  • Room TBC | 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM

    Session Chair: Ebenezer Nikoi, University of Ghana

    Building Artificial Intelligence (AI) Capacity In Migration Governance Institutions
    Perfect Mazani, University of the Western Cape); Victor Koswana, University of the Western Cape; Mulugeta F. Dinbabo, African Union Commission

    Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, and Migration Data Governance
    Emmanuel Quarshie, Stanley Egenti, Mulugeta F. Dinbabo, African Union Commission

    Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Future of Labour Mobility in Africa
    Oluwaseyi Agboola, Bezawork Kassa, Mulugeta F. Dinbabo, African Union Commission

Parallel Sessions

Friday,
November 20, 2026

Afternoon Sessions 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM