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GovInn - Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria (2026)

13/10/2026

📢 CALLING PhD STUDENTS AND EARLY-CAREER RESEARCHERS IN GAUTENG!
The African Centre for the Study and Research on Migration - ACSRM, African Union Commission (AUC), in collaboration with the SARChI Chair in the Political Economy of Migration in the SADC Region at the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation (GovInn), Department of Political Sciences, University of Pretoria, will host a Training Workshop on African Migration, Migration Theories and Methodologies, and Migration Governance.

🗓️ Dates: 29–30 October 2026�📍 Venue: Graduate Centre, Room 1-56, University of Pretoria, South Africa
RSVP: https://forms.gle/yoMNsBD2sqcpsGN66�🎓 Target audience: PhD students and early-career researchers in the Gauteng area.

The workshop will also focus on developing practical research and academic writing skills, including preparing peer-reviewed journal articles, policy briefs and working papers, alongside mentoring PhD students and early-career researchers working on migration.

This workshop offers an opportunity to strengthen migration research, develop methodological expertise, enhance academic publishing skills, and contribute to scholarship and policy debates on migration in Africa.

Faculty of Humanities: University of Pretoria Political Sciences UP University of Pretoria - TuksAlumni University of Pretoria National Research Foundation

12/10/2026

🗓️ A Reflection on Last Months Book Launch at the Network on Europe-Africa Relations, Education and Research ( -ER) International Conference “Africa-Europe Relations: Shared Prosperity in a World in Flux”, Leuven, Belgium.

Prof. Chris Nshimbi and Dr. Leon Mwamba Tshimpaka, alongside Prof. Hezron Makundi of the University of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, launched their new edited volume, “Africa and Europe: Issues in Interregional Relations in the 21st Century”, published by Routledge in 2026.

The book examines the evolving interregional relationship between Africa and Europe, exploring the diverse issues and dynamics that shape relations between the two regions. Its chapters engage with questions of trade, migration, regional integration and organisations, conflict, peace and security, culture, education, technology and innovation, as well as partnerships between African academic institutions, EU member states and state agencies, and civil society organisations.

Importantly, the volume explicitly foregrounds African perspectives, presenting original analyses of data that generate new insights into Africa’s relationship with Europe and the European Union, while offering theoretical and conceptual contributions to the study of interregionalism.
The book also calls attention to the opportunities available to Africa, the African Union and its member states, including initiatives such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and considers how strategic engagement can contribute to transforming the continent and advancing development.

In doing so, this book challenges predominantly Eurocentric approaches to understanding Africa-EU relations, while contributing new perspectives and scholarship to debates on the relationship and the broader study of interregionalism.

The launch provided an opportunity to celebrate this important scholarly contribution and to engage with the questions, debates and possibilities shaping the future of Africa-Europe relations.

Dr. Gustavo Müller (KU Leuven) moderated the launch while Dr Frank Mattheis ( -CRIS) and Ms. Kathleen Van Hove ( ) participated in the launch as discussants.

Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies European Centre for Development Policy Management United Nations University - CRIS

05/10/2026

The Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation (GovInn) contributed a range of research papers at the Network on Europe-Africa Relations, Education and Research (NEAR-ER) International Conference “Africa-Europe Relations: Shared Prosperity in a World in Flux”, in Leuven, Belgium.

The papers engaged with contemporary questions of Africa’s agency, global partnerships, peace and development, youth and civil society, energy transitions, and interregional governance.
Kgomotso Komane’s paper was on “China in Southern Africa: Understanding the Peace-Development Nexus and African Agency”, while Dr. Leon Mwamba Tshimpaka presented on ““Look at us differently, as partners rather than paternalists”: Deradicalizing Africa-EU Relations Through Partnership in the 21st Century” and “Between Revolution and Recycling: Generation Z, Civil Society”

Bokani Motsu’s paper considered “The Geopolitical Implications of Green Hydrogen (GH2) Adoption for the Global South: The Case of Africa”, while Prof. Chris Nshimbi presented one on “Institutions and Coerced Compliance in Inter-regional Relations: Governing Borders and Human Mobility in Africa-EU Relations”.

Together, these contributions reflect GovInn’s engagement with critical debates on Africa’s position in a changing global order, interrogating conventional understandings of partnership, agency and governance while examining emerging issues shaping Africa’s relations with global actors.

GovInn continues to create space for scholarship that interrogates contemporary global governance challenges through research and knowledge exchange and contributes to conversations on more equitable forms of international and interregional engagement.

Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies KU Leuven

-ER

01/10/2026

The Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation (GovInn) participated in two policy dialogues at the Network on Europe-Africa Relations, Education and Research ( -ER) International Conference “Africa-Europe Relations: Shared Prosperity in a World in Flux” Leuven, Belgium, exploring key dimensions of Africa-Europe relations and cooperation.

The first dialogue, “Africa-Europe Cooperation – Challenges and Prospects for ,” examined the opportunities and challenges of advancing gender mainstreaming within higher education partnerships between Africa and Europe.

The second dialogue, “Sustainability Conditionality in Africa-Europe and Investment Relations,” considered the implications of sustainability requirements and conditionalities for trade and investment relations between the two regions.
GovInn continues to contribute to critical global conversations at the intersection of governance, policy, gender, sustainability, and Africa-Europe relations through such events while creating spaces for knowledge exchange and policy engagement.

The programme included the High-Level Panel, “Shared Prosperity in a Fractured Global Governance: A Pathway for Africa-Europe Relations,” which explored opportunities and challenges for advancing shared prosperity amid a changing global governance landscape.
Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies KU Leuven

30/09/2026

Earlier this month, researchers from across the African continent came together for the International Webinar on “African Migrations in the 21st Century: Demographic and Socioeconomic Appraisals” under the collaborative Recounting African Migration Research Agenda between GovInn, University of Pretoria, the Department of History, Archaeology and Heritage, Kyambogo University and the Department of Population Studies, Makerere University.

Held over two days, the webinar featured 13 papers across four thematic sessions, creating space for critical discussion on the , socioeconomic, political and dimensions of across the African continent.

The four sessions explored:
Demographic and Socioeconomic Features of Migration - examining who migrates and the socioeconomic conditions shaping mobility across Africa.
Theories and Migration Reality - engaging with conceptual perspectives on migration, including brain drain and gain, finance, remittances and gender.
Pan-African Perspectives on Migration Governance - exploring historical, faith-based, Pan-African and colonial-legacy perspectives on migration governance.
Forced Displacement in Africa - considering refugee settlements, peacebuilding and emerging perspectives on forced migration.

The webinar was a collaborative initiative of GovInn, Department of Political Sciences at the University of Pretoria, Department of History, Archaeology and Heritage at Kyambogo University and Department of Population Studies at Makerere University, under the Migration Research Agenda. It provided an important platform for researchers to share diverse African perspectives and deepen conversations on the realities, consequences and governance of migration in Africa.

Faculty of Humanities: University of Pretoria Kyambogo University Makerere University

30/09/2026

The Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation (GovInn) participated in the Network on Europe-Africa Relations, Education and Research (NEAR-ER) Summer School, held in Leiden, the Netherlands, from 30 August to 5 September 2026, under the theme “Africa-Europe Relations in a World in Rupture: Foundations and Critical Approaches.”

The Summer School brought together scholars and PhD researchers from across Africa and Europe to critically examine the historical foundations, contemporary dynamics and future trajectories of Africa-Europe relations.

GovInn researcher Kabelo Maphuru participated in the Summer School and presented initial findings from his doctoral research, “In Quest of Existence and Belonging: The Case of Zimbabwean Migrants in Botswana,” engaging with questions of migration, belonging, identity, migrant agency and integration.

The Summer School provided an important space for scholarly exchange, critical reflection and strengthening research on migration and Africa-Europe relations. The discussions also situated migration within broader debates on development, human rights, governance, political economy, inequality and Africa-Europe relations, highlighting the importance of more reciprocal and equitable approaches to Africa-Europe engagement.

-EuropeRelations

15/09/2026

📅 Join us for a joint initiative of the University of Pretoria, Kyambogo University, and Makerere University, under the Migration Research Agenda.

This two-day webinar brings together researchers from across Africa to critically examine the demographic and socioeconomic dimensions of migration, its consequences, and the ways migration is governed across the continent.

The webinar creates a platform for scholars to share research, exchange perspectives, and deepen conversations on migration in Africa.

Date: 16-17 September 2026
Time: 10:00am-13:30pm SAST (for both days)
Link: https://teams.microsoft.com/dl/launcher/launcher.html?url=%2F_%23%2Fmeet%2F316408495861343%3Fp%3DsTzq2XdzXDiAV0BwGK%26anon%3Dtrue&type=meet&deeplinkId=42889333-6d8a-4042-91cb-128974c40622&directDl=true&msLaunch=true&enableMobilePage=true&suppressPrompt=true

30/04/2026

The Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation (GovInn) had the honour of participating in the 3rd -ER Dialogue on Africa's Agency in a Changing World Order, hosted by IBEI - Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals in Barcelona on 27-28 April 2026.

GovInn Director and NEAR-ER co-coordinator, Chris Nshimbi, spoke on the importance of knowledge co-creation and co-production in a world shaped by shifting dynamics of borders, migration, and trade.

GovInn Researcher, Bokani Motsu, spoke on how a just, decolonial energy transition can be supported through green energy partnerships, climate finance, and Global Gateway-style investments.

GovInn Researcher, Kgomotso Komane spoke on how human security is shaped by power hierarchies, despite the important ways in which women at the grassroots foster and sustain peace.

Our sincerest thanks to for this convening and fostering such an insightful and critical dialogue.

23/04/2026

The Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation was pleased to co-host today’s Departmental Seminar with the Department of Political Sciences, with Prof. Lorenzo Piccoli, Florence School of Transitional Governance, European University Institute.

His presentation, “Before borders are negotiated: Narratives, knowledge power, and the diplomacy of migration governance,” offered a compelling rethinking of how migration governance is shaped long before formal policy processes begin. By examining cinematic representations and the global geography of migration research, the talk highlighted how a persistent “North-bound bias” continues to influence both public imaginaries and policy frameworks.

A key thread throughout the seminar was the idea of selective visibility - how certain migration stories (“crisis”, borders, arrival in the Global North) are made hyper-visible, while others (everyday mobility, South–South migration, and migrant agency) remain overlooked. This uneven visibility plays a powerful role in shaping what is seen as a “migration problem,” and whose experiences are rendered legible in governance debates.

The discussion underscored the importance of interrogating whose knowledge counts, whose stories are amplified, and how these dynamics shape global governance outcomes.

We thank Prof. Piccoli and all our esteemed attendees for an engaging and insightful exchange.

20/04/2026

Join us this Thursday for a Departmental Seminar titled: ‘Before borders are negotiated: Narratives, knowledge power, and the diplomacy of migration governance’ with Prof. Lorenzo Piccoli, Part-Time Assistant Professor, Florence School of Transitional Governance, European University Institute.

🗓️ Thursday, 23 April 2026
⏰ 10:00-12:00
📍SRC Chambers, University of Pretoria

RSVP here: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=yFn63dA4o0mCLh07y1v4W6XEaVmnQAhOo-IxQZ59gjFUNko1Q0dIVlpDV1BFRVpXNUs0NTJZRDAySS4u

GovInn - Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation

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