Migration village during the World Social Forum in Cotonou in August 2026: amazing networking, impressive panels, strong manifesto
The World Social Forum (WSF) itself was a flop, but the Migration Village was top!” That sums up our collective conclusion from our time in the capital of Benin, where the planned WSF never really convened due to government restrictions, internal conflicts and organisational chaos. However, the preparatory group for the thematic area on migration and freedom of movement could anticipate the logistical problems and got self-organised accordingly. Not only did all the panels take place as planned in online preparation meetings during the months before. But there were also productive informal discussion and networking sessions – with a very strong composition of participants.
Of the up to 100 participants at the four-day conference, the majority came from various regions of Africa: from the Maghreb and West African states, from Nigeria, Uganda and even South Africa. Also present were self-organised groups from Europe, which also carry within them African migration histories
Panels and working groups discussed strategies to combat the externalisation of borders and the increasing number of deportations to Africa. The right to freedom of movement within Africa, as well as the criminalisation of migration and racist incitement in many countries on both continents, were also key focuses of the joint debates. Relatives of people who have disappeared at the borders and of victims of racist police violence exchanged views and agreed to hold a further CommemorAction meeting in Dakar in the beginning of 2027.
In addition, a joint manifesto was published afterwards, signed by nearly 60 networks and organisations. It states in its final chapters:
„… Freedom of movement is not only a fundamental right, it creates ties between countries and peoples, and achieves the full economic, social, and cultural benefits of migration. From a feminist perspective, it guarantees women and gender minorities the possibility of moving to seek safety and freedom. From a Pan-Africanist perspective, it secures African unity and strengthens our societies and the continent’s self-determination. From a decolonial perspective, freedom of movement would put an end to the global apartheid of mobility that prolongs the hierarchies inherited from colonization.
Despite the barriers raised in front of us, we too exercise freedom of movement every day by overcoming and undermining deadly borders. We create infrastructures of solidarity to support people on the move. We build transnational networks to learn from one another, to fight together against a racist migration regime, and to build a world in which freedom of movement is a reality.
With these aims, the Migration Village during the World Social Forum in Cotonou was another step toward organising mutual exchange and joining forces for a continuous struggle.
Our forced migration is not your invasion. Our survival is not the crime you claim it to be; it is your states and their leaders who are guilty of crimes against humanity.
Human beings are not your bargaining chips, electoral weapons, or commodities. Our bodies are not Europe’s borders.
Our lives are not Africa’s currency.
Our existence is not America’s enemy.
We will no longer allow the world to build its borders upon our graves.“
Coalition for Free Movement
