Empowering Migrant Communities Through Creativity, Digital Technology, and Outreach
SIHMA has successfully completed a series of videos celebrating the creativity, resilience, and talent within migrant communities. These videos will be available on SIHMA’s website and featured in the initiatives Narratives on Human Mobility and Atlas of African Migration. Through this project, participants have gained technical skills and increased confidence in self-expression, strengthening both training and outreach efforts. Looking ahead, SIHMA remains committed to engaging with migrants across southern Africa, exploring the role of...
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Western Cape High Court Declares Provisions of Refugees Act Unconstitutional
The Western Cape High Court has delivered a groundbreaking judgment, declaring key provisions of the Refugees Act and its regulations unconstitutional. The ruling, brought by the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town and Lawyers for Human Rights, challenges policies that denied asylum seekers access to the system, leading to their arrest and deportation without due process. Key findings include the invalidation of provisions that excluded individuals on procedural grounds and regulations that barred most new asylum seekers...
A New Era for the Catholic Church
On 8 May 2025, Pope Leo XIV emerged onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, greeted by a jubilant crowd in St. Peter’s Square. Dressed in white and red, his words as pope resonated across the plaza: “God loves us, all of us. Evil will not prevail. We are all in the hands of God. Without fear, united, hand in hand with God and among ourselves, we will go forward.”
Feminization of Migration: Guest Lecture Presentation
On the 16th of April 2025 the Scalabrini Institute for Human Mobility’s Head of Research, Dr Rachel Chinyakata delivered a lecture at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). The lecture was organized by the Department of Women and Gender Studies at UWC as part of their Gender and Development module for third-year students. The lecture specifically focused on Gender, inequality and development zoning into the position of women in the global economy. A discussion of...
Message from the General Administration: Pope Francis, shepherd of mercy: a legacy that illuminates the path of the Church
The news of the passing of our beloved Holy Father Pope Francis leaves us deeply saddened, but our faith in the Resurrection comforts us. "Life does not end with death, and Christian hope is a gift that urges us to move forward," he wrote in his encyclical Fratelli Tutti. With him, the Church experienced a season of profound renewal, founded on mercy, closeness to the least among us, attention to God's creation and universal brotherhood, on an unceasing dialogue...
SIHMA Pays Tribute to Pope Francis: A Legacy of Compassion and Justice
SIHMA, the Scalabrini Institute for Human Mobility in Africa, is deeply saddened by the passing of Pope Francis. We extend our heartfelt condolences to Catholics around the world. In a world often divided by borders and ideologies, there are figures who transcend barriers, weaving a narrative of hope, compassion, and humanity. Pope Francis was such a figure. His papacy lit the darkest corners of society, embracing the sidelined and uniting millions under the banner...
