News

Franzisca Zanker: ERC Portraits

The German National Contact Point for the European Research Council (NKS ERC), part of the EU office of the German Ministry of Research, has featured PolMig Principal Investigator Dr. Franzisca Zanker in its ongoing series of ERC grantee portraits.
In the interview Franzisca highlights how PolMig puts an Africa-centred lens on questions of political agency, belonging, and migration, aiming to shift a field that has long been dominated by Eurocentric frameworks. Hosted at the Arnold Bergstraesser Institute at the University of Freiburg, the project is funded through an ERC Starting Grant (2024).

Participation in Workshop on Contextual Ethics and Power Relations in Leuven

Sophia Stille and Edwin Mutyenyoka were invited to participate in a workshop on Contextual Ethics and Power Relations: Rethinking Research Practices with Local Communities in May 2026 in Leuven, Belgium. This event convened researchers from multiple projects and partners and provided a safe space to collectively reflect on responsibility, power, equity and justice - beyond procedural formalities in research on/with people on the move.

PolMig in the field – insights from Malawi, Kenya, Liberia, and Ghana

The PolMig team has been conducting the first phase of fieldwork in Malawi, Kenya, Liberia, and Ghana, kicking off 2026 with new perspectives, enriching encounters and research data. Interviews were primarily conducted with migration and theatre experts in all four countries. Additionally, two pilot theatre workshops were carried out in Kenya (April 2026) and Ghana (May 2026).

PolMig at the Migration Policy Centre

PolMig’s principal investigator, Dr. Franzisca Zanker, presented the PolMig research project at the Migration Policy Centre Seminar Series, in Florence. In her talk, she explored and conceptualized one of PolMig‘s key themes: the political agency of migrants in Africa. A recording of the event is available on the MPC YouTube channel.

Participatory Research Methods Workshop

On the 27-28th November, we held a workshop on participatory research methods at the ABI aiming at learning about how such methods work in practice, in particular related to the theatre of the oppressed.

Successful Inaugural Meeting with Advisory Board

The PolMig project team is feeling invigorated following a highly successful inaugural meeting with the advisory board. The first annual advisory board meeting was dedicated in particular to joint reflections on topics related to questions of research ethics in preparation of our first fieldwork phase.

Summerschool in Basel: Honoring Mudimbe - Rethinking Research through African Thought

From 8-12 September PolMig’s PhD student Sophia Stille participated in the summer school of the Centre for African Studies (ZASB) at the University of Basel, Switzerland. The theme „Honoring Mudimbe: Rethinking Research through African Thought“ brought together seven PhD students from African and European universities to reflect on Valentin-Yves Mudimbe’s legacy and what it means for researchers in African Studies today.

Special Issue Workshop

On the 9 -10th July, the PolMig Team hosted an author's workshop for a special issue "Categorizing People on the Move in Africa," for Comparative Migration Studies and edited by Rose Jaji & Franzisca Zanker. Over two intensive days, the participants presented, discussed and developed their work, with scholars joining from Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, UK, South Africa and Germany.

Participation at IMISCOE Conference

Franzisca Zanker co-organised a panel with Amanda Bisong and Cathrine Talleraas on "Decentering African Migration (Governance) Research" speaking to the annual theme, whilst also intentionally trying to move the conversation beyond Europe.

Edwin Mutyenyoka succesfully defended his PhD

Edwin Mutyenyoka has successfully defended his PhD at the Osnabrueck University’s Institute for Migration Research and Intercultural Studies (IMIS).