The New South Institute (NSI) will host an online webinar on Tuesday, 2 December 2025, examining how Africa’s regional institutions shape the movement of people across the continent. The event is part of the Migration Governance Reform in Africa (MIGRA) research programme and will focus on whether regional and continental frameworks effectively support more regular and predictable mobility.

The discussion will be anchored in three NSI papers that analyse regional approaches to mobility and integration:

– Free Movement in West Africa – by Victor Amadi, Research Fellow at the New South Institute
– Migration Governance in East Africa – by Alan Hirsch, Head of the Migration Reform programme at NSI
– The African Union, the AfCFTA, and Continental Integration – by Victor Amadi and Alan Hirsch

Taken together, these studies consider how regional economic communities and continental initiatives, including the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), engage with free movement commitments and how far existing arrangements contribute to the regularisation of mobility in practice. All three papers are available on the NSI website for advance reading, allowing participants to engage more directly with the arguments and evidence presented.

The webinar will feature presentations by NSI researchers Victor Amadi and Alan Hirsch, who will outline the main findings from their work and reflect on how institutional design, implementation gaps, and political dynamics shape mobility outcomes in different regions of Africa. Two discussants will then respond to the research and explore its implications for policy and governance:

– Ottilia Anna Maunganidze, Head of Special Projects at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS)
– Brian Chigawa, legal, migration and trade consultant

They will consider what these findings mean for regional bodies, national governments, and other actors engaged in migration governance, and how regional institutions might align mobility regimes more closely with broader goals of trade and integration.

The event will take place online on Tuesday, 2 December 2025, at 14:30 (Johannesburg time), and will include time for questions and interaction with the speakers after the presentations and initial discussion. Interested participants are invited to register to receive the webinar link and related materials.

For further information about the event or assistance with registration, please contact the New South Institute at media@nsi.org.za or +27 78 547 4981.