Global Dialogue on Migration Launched at British High Commissioner’s Residence in Nairobi » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 2 – A new book exploring the diverse experiences and knowledge of migrants was launched on Monday evening at the British High Commissioner’s residence in Nairobi, bringing together diplomats, humanitarians, artists, and activists for a thought-provoking discussion on migration and belonging.

The book, Crossings: Migrant Knowledges, Migrant Forms, edited by Professor Subha Mukherji (University of Cambridge), Dr. Natalya Din-Kariuki (University of Warwick), and former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, is set to be published by Punctum Books. It gathers insights from migrants, scholars, and artists to examine how migration shapes and transforms knowledge, identity, and expression.

Speaking during the launch, British High Commissioner to Kenya Neil Wigan underscored the significance of migration in global history, stating: “Every human being is a migrant from East Africa originally. Migration is at the heart of the histories of both the UK and Kenya.”

The event featured a wide-ranging conversation between Dr. Din-Kariuki and Amnesty International Kenya’s Executive Director, Irungu Houghton, touching on the intersections between migration, art, and history, and the need to think more broadly about different forms of migration.

In a recorded message, Rowan Williams highlighted the deeper meaning of displacement: “Human thinking, human imagining, is a ‘migrant’ business. Displacement, encountering strangers, learning new languages, adjusting to new neighbours – this is not an exception in human culture but the norm.”

Professor Mukherji reflected on the theme of exile in the book, saying: “When we encounter the strange, we become strangers ourselves. It can open new possibilities for solidarity as we commit to being true to the texture of transitory lives.”

Dr. Din-Kariuki added: “Knowledge is a ‘migrant form’: it begins in one place and ends up in another, crossing borders along the way. It is fitting to reflect on this in Nairobi, a city fundamentally shaped by migration.”

Crossings traverses history from the early modern world to contemporary times, blending critical and creative perspectives to reframe the conversation around displacement. According to its editors, the book challenges governments and institutions to rethink their responses to migration by engaging with the imaginative and ethical dimensions of mass movement.

The volume will be available soon through Punctum Books.