Future Imaginaries of Migration (FUTUREMIG) is an interdisciplinary, international initiative exploring how migration and human mobility may evolve and how their societal potential can be more fully realized in the decades to come. Bringing together researchers, artists, politicians and civil society organizations from four continents, the project uses future studies methodologies, creative practices, and critical engagement with emerging technologies to rethink how migration futures are imagined, debated, and governed.
At a time when mobility is simultaneously expanding and becoming more unequal, FUTUREMIG responds to the urgent need for inclusive, forward-looking approaches to migration governance. By critically examining both the promises and limitations of advanced digital technologies, the partnership seeks to foster nuanced debates on future mobility pathways and their social, political, and ethical implications.
Central to the project are four themed Future Labs, hosted in Berlin, Accra, Singapore, and Toronto, each focusing on a key issue shaping mobility futures: ageing societies, climate change, mega-cities, and placeless work. These Labs function as collaborative spaces for dialogue, experimentation, and knowledge co-creation across disciplines and sectors. Drawing on future literacy and foresight methodologies, the Labs will generate textual, artistic, and AI-assisted representations of migration futures, placing human creativity and lived experience at the center of future thinking.
Together with the German Centre for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM), Migration Matters will co-host the first Future Lab in Berlin (June 2026), leading on participatory design, facilitation, and creative engagement formats that bridge research, civil society perspectives, and public debate. Across the partnership, Migration Matters contributes its expertise in narrative change, digital storytelling, and inclusive knowledge production to ensure that future imaginaries of migration remain grounded, diverse, and oriented toward their societal potential.
Running until 2028, FUTUREMIG aims to build a global, transdisciplinary network equipped to anticipate emerging mobility challenges, influence policy discussions, and enrich public understanding of migration futures in a rapidly changing world.
More info www.futureimaginaries.org
Partners include:
CERC Migration, Toronto Metropolitan University
Aga Khan Museum Toronto
German Centre for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM)
Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore
Centre for Migration Studies, University of Ghana
Goethe-Institut
Futurium (Berlin, Germany)
Funding:
The FUTUREMIG partnership is supported by a Partnership Development Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
Migration Matters’ participation in the project was made possible by funding from the Robert Bosch Stiftung.