28–29 November 2024 | Zaal De Blauwe Vogel, City Library De Krook, Ghent

The 17th multidisciplinary conference of the AUGent Africa Platform, GAPSYM17, successfully brought together researchers, policymakers, educators, and creatives to critically engage with the complex and urgent intersections of climate change, migration, and health in African contexts. The event was co-organised by CliMigHealth, the United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS), and the Centre for the Social Study of Migration and Refugees (CESSMIR).

This edition offered a dedicated platform to go beyond academic discussion, integrating writeshops, round tables, and outreach-oriented seminars. Participants shared insights from across disciplines and sectors, exploring how knowledge and lived experiences can inform future policy and practice on the continent.

The conference featured contributions across the entire climate–migration–health nexus, as well as thematic sessions that focused more specifically on one of the dimensions. A particular emphasis was placed on applied and context-based insights from African countries and diasporas.

Highlights included:

• The Mandela Lecture on the evening of 28 November, 2025

• The opening of the CliMigHealth photo exhibition by acclaimed photojournalist Gulshan Khan, titled Strength and Resilience in the Western Cape, which visually documented human responses to climate-linked health challenges. Photos of the exhibition can be found here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/NMq2JdxqDvUWtMMz5

GAPSYM17 succeeded in creating a space for knowledge exchange, reflection, and collaboration across domains, underscoring the need for interdisciplinary engagement to address the layered effects of climate impacts on mobility and health across the African continent.