Migration Governance in the Global South: The Africa Case between Continuity and Change

Panel Discussion | Migration Governance in the Global South: Setting the Scene

Speakers: Bisimwa Mulemangabo (Refugee Led Research Hub, University of Oxford) and Dr Oliver Bakewell (University of Manchester)

This first seminar sets the scene and provides a framework for this term’s COMPAS seminar series, which focuses on migration governance in the Global South. The opening seminar deals with the terminology of migration governance, its actors, and specific features in the Global South, particularly in Africa.

This seminar will be hybrid: you can join us in person at 64 Banbury Road, Oxford, OX2 6PN (the seminar room will open 10 minutes before the scheduled start time) or on Zoom (link above).

(Online) Equal Partnerships: African Intermediary Cities as Actors in Urban Migration Governance

Speaker: Dr Janina Stürner-Siovitz (Institut für Politische Wissenschaft)

Africa is witnessing an ongoing transformation from rural to increasingly plural urban societies. While this transformation has been well-documented, the focus of scholarship and policymakers has been predominantly on migration and refugee movements into major urban areas and capital cities. In contrast, between the rural and the metropolitan, intermediary cities have been largely absent in policy and academic debates. Addressing this gap becomes critical as African intermediary cities are increasingly impacted by mixed migration movements and (inter)national policies without necessarily having adequate legal mandates or financial and human resources to accommodate and protect vulnerable migrants and refugees. To address such challenges, some local authorities have begun to engage in multi-stakeholder partnerships, bringing together local, national, and international actors. Based on research collaborations of the Equal Partnerships project with intermediary cities in Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia and Uganda, this session explores central stakeholders, risks, and opportunities of such partnerships and presents policy recommendations for discussion.

This seminar will be online only; the Zoom link is above.

(Online) The Governance of Migration Data in Africa: Lessons from Different Initiatives: the African Union Migration Observatories and the African Migration Data Network

Speakers: Dr Diego Iturralde (Statistics South Africa), Kenza Aggad (Data and Policy Officer, IOM) and Dr Michel Poulain (Emeritus Professor, UCLouvain, Belgium)

This panel discusses the role of data in migration governance in Africa. It critically assesses initiatives from the African Union, International Organisations such as the International Organisation of Migration, and National governments.

This seminar will be online only; the Zoom link is above.

Panel Discussion | Migration Governance in the Mediterranean Region: Setting a New Agenda?

Speakers: Driss El Yazami (President of the Moroccan Council of Moroccans Living Abroad), Dr Katharina Natter (Universiteit Leiden) and Professor Michael Collyer (University of Sussex)

This seminar will be hybrid: you can join us in person in the Boardroom, MEC Building, St. Antony's College, 68 Woodstock Rd, Oxford OX2 6JF; (the seminar room will open 10 minutes before the scheduled start time) or on Zoom (link above).