On behalf of IMISCOE, the Faculty of Languages, Arts and Human Sciences at Ibn Zohr University, GRITIM-UPF, and with the support of EuroMedMig, it is our great pleasure to welcome you to the 2026 IMISCOE Forum "Promoting Afro-European Mediterranean Dialogue: Shifting Geographies of Migration". We are delighted to welcome all participants joining us in Agadir as well as those participating online from around the world.

The Mediterranean has long been a space of movement, encounter, exchange, and transformation. Yet, contemporary migration dynamics challenge us to rethink many of the concepts and assumptions that have traditionally shaped migration research. Increasingly, we recognize that state-centred perspectives alone cannot fully capture the complexity of human mobility across and beyond the Mediterranean, nor can they adequately reflect the experiences and voices of those most directly affected.

This Forum was conceived as a space to address these challenges by fostering an equitable Afro-European dialogue on migration. During the Forum, we hope to explore how research, policy, and practice can become more collaborative, more inclusive, and more responsive to the realities of migration. A central objective of this Forum is to encourage critical conversations that move beyond conventional migration frameworks. We aim to reflect on emerging forms of mobility, the growing importance of transnational perspectives, the visibility of South-South migration, and the ways in which dominant narratives about the Global North and Global South continue to shape both research and policymaking.

We hope this Forum becomes more than a venue for presenting research. We hope it serves as a platform for meaningful dialogue, new collaborations, and the co-production of knowledge. The questions we will discuss over these three days are not only academic; they have important implications for policy, societies, and the lives of millions of people on the move.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the IMISCOE community, all of our keynote speakers, panel chairs, presenters, participants, volunteers, and partners whose contributions have made this Forum possible. Your presence at the event reflects a shared commitment to building stronger connections across disciplines, institutions, and continents.

We wish you an engaging, productive, and inspiring Forum, and we hope you enjoy both the academic discussions and your time in Morocco.

Forum Organizers