Latest Past Events

BOOK LAUNCH: East African Queer and Trans Displacements

Over the past decade, East Africa has become synonymous with state-sponsored homo/ transphobia, marked by draconian legislation and recurring moral panics. These escalating dynamics have forced many LGBTQI East Africans to flee their homes. Yet it would be wrong to characterise East Africa solely as a producer or host of LGBTQI refugees. It is also a site of activism and community, of belonging and enterprise, where the limits of protection mechanisms are tested and redefined. Bringing together diverse case studies and interdisciplinary perspectives, this collection features original creative works by queer and trans diasporic writers and artists to explore the drivers, impacts and meanings of queer and trans displacement in and from the region. East African Queer and Trans Displacements is an open access collection that offers the first in-depth examination of queer and trans displacement in the region. The latest book launch was held on 13 April 2026 at the Wits Centre for Diversity Studies (WiCDS). It brought together three of the editors—Dr. B. Camminga (University of Bristol), Dr Barbara Bompani (University of Parma) and Dr John Marnell (Wits University)—in conversation with Dr Kudzaiishe Vanyoro (Wits University) and Shinta Jennifer Ayebazibwe (University of Johannesburg).  Speaking about his book chapter, titled: […]

BOOK LAUNCH: Cosmopolitan Refugees

Join us for the launch of Cosmopolitan Refugees: Somali Migrant Women in Nairobi and Johannesburg, a book by ACMS's alumnus Nereida Ripero-Muñiz on 18 May 2023 (see details below). The publication is based on her doctoral thesis with the Centre titled The Port and the Island: Identity, Cosmopolitanism and Islam among Somali Women in Nairobi and Johannesburg. Dr Ripero-Muñiz is currently working as a lecturer in the School of Literature, Language and Media, at the University of the Witwatersrand. Abstract: Exploring the dynamics of identity formation processes in diasporic spaces, this book analyses how gender, cultural and religious practices are renegotiated in a situation of displacement. The author presents the comparative case study of Somali migrant women in Nairobi and Johannesburg: two cosmopolitan urban hubs in the global South. The book is based on and includes ethnographic observations in Nairobi and Johannesburg, first-person accounts of migration journeys across the African continent and women’s reflections on what it means to be a Somali woman today. Citation: Ripero-Muñiz, Nereida. (2023). COSMOPOLITAN REFUGEES: Somali Migrant Women in Nairobi and Johannesburg (1st ed.). Berghahn Books. https://doi.org/10.3167/9781800738188

Book Launch: African Queer and Trans Displacements

Please join us on the 30th of November 2022 for a book launch and discussion B Camminga (African Centre for Migration & Society), John Marnell (African Centre for Migration & Society), Verena Hucke (University of Kassel) and Godfried Asante (San Diego State University) in conversation with Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane (Cheeky Natives) 30th of November 2022 Breezeblock, Brixton 17:30 Please register for launch.