The Regional Historical Society of Southern Africa, established by a consortium of universities, will in partnership with the School of Social Sciences at the North-West University and the Department of Historical and Archaeological Studies at the University of Zambia, hold its first ever face-to-face annual conference after two virtual webinars in respectively 2022 and 2023.  This face-to-face conference will take place in Lusaka, Zambia on 25 and 26 November 2024.

Africa has been viewed by observers as a continent of mass migration and displacement occasioned by economic deprivation, conflict, and environmental degradation. Migration dynamics in Southern Africa have, since time immemorial, been complex. For centuries, the region has been a place of the origin, transit, and destination of men, women, and children on the move. These migrants have either moved to new places which they in turn made their permanent homes or in some cases, migrated with the intention of returning home after a limited period. People in Southern Africa have historically migrated for various pull or push factors ranging from the search for better economic opportunities, to escaping monotonous village life, and to the desire to earn money to pay newly introduced colonial taxes. In the modern era, Southern Africa experiences a high volume of migration among different age groups owing to work opportunities in various economic sectors such as mining, manufacturing, and agriculture in more economically advanced countries. Others, however, migrate for a myriad of political or social reasons.

The migration of people in Southern Africa has contributed to having a more flexible labour market, and a large pool of skills from which employers are able to tap. It has also led to personal benefits for migrants and their families such as an improved livelihood, educational opportunities, and safety from political prosecution at home. On the other hand, communities hosting migrants have, in some cases, complained about their own dwindling economic possibilities due to the presence of foreign labour migrants in their midst – leading, in the most severe cases, to xenophobic attacks. The RHSSA therefore saw it fit to host a conference on the theme Labour, Migration and Agency in Southern African History. We cordially invite you to consider joining us for this debate!