Understanding how cities respond to migration requires research that brings together different experiences, perspectives and approaches from across the world. It is within this global research conversation that Professor Mary B. Setrana, IDRC Research Chair on Forced Displacement in Anglophone West Africa and Director of the Centre for Migration Studies (CMS), University of Ghana, continues to contribute to scholarship on migrant inclusion and urban responses to migration.
As a member and Africa Hub Co-Lead of the SoliCity research project, Prof. Setrana participated in the 2026 SoliCity Global Summit in Cape Town, South Africa, where researchers and partners from different regions came together to share research findings and strengthen collaboration around urban sanctuary, migrant solidarity and hospitality.
The Soli*City project, formally titled “Urban Sanctuary, Migrant Solidarity and Hospitality in Global Perspective”, brings together researchers and practitioner organisations working across diverse global contexts. The project examines how cities and communities respond to migration and how sanctuary, solidarity and hospitality can contribute to more inclusive urban environments for migrants and refugees.
The global research initiative provides a platform for examining migration beyond national borders and considering the ways in which cities, communities and institutions shape the experiences of migrants and refugees. Its work draws attention to formal policies as well as community-based initiatives and everyday practices that influence migrant inclusion in different urban settings.
Prof. Setrana’s participation brings an African perspective to these comparative discussions. Through her role as Africa Hub Co-Lead, she contributes to research and knowledge exchange on the realities of migration and displacement in African contexts, while engaging with perspectives emerging from other regions.
Her involvement in the Soli*City project forms part of her broader scholarly engagement with forced displacement, migrant inclusion and refugee protection. It also complements her work as IDRC Research Chair on Forced Displacement in Anglophone West Africa, through which she contributes to collaborative research and knowledge exchange on migration and displacement across the region.
Prof. Setrana’s research collaborations on urban migration and inclusion also extend to scholarly publications. She serves as a co-editor of the two-volume publication series, “Urban Migrant Inclusion and Refugee Protection: Frontiers of Sanctuary, Solidarity, and Hospitality” and “Global Perspectives of Sanctuary, Solidarity, and Hospitality”, which bring together research examining sanctuary, solidarity and hospitality from different regional and disciplinary perspectives.
The Soli*City collaboration therefore adds to a growing body of international research connecting scholarship with the lived realities of migrants and refugees. By bringing together researchers, practitioners and other partners across global research hubs, the initiative creates opportunities for comparative learning and for examining approaches that can support more inclusive urban responses to migration.
For Prof. Setrana, the engagement further strengthens the University of Ghana’s contribution to international research conversations on migration, while placing African experiences and perspectives within wider global debates on urban inclusion, sanctuary and migrant solidarity.
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