THURSDAY, 30 OCTOBER 2025

 COMPASS is a project of the INTERREG MAC 2021-2027 programme whose ultimate aim is to set up a Human Mobility Observatory between the Canary Islands and Africa. To this end, we comprehensively address the migratory phenomenon, proposing solutions that promote circular migration as a method to meet the challenges that arise at various stages, from the origin and transit of migrants, to their integration into new societies. It focuses on intervening in the area of cooperation that includes the Canary Islands, Gambia, Mauritania and Senegal, territories that are points of origin, transit and destination of migratory flows (46,843 people arrived by sea in 2024, according to data from the Ministry of the Interior). 

Understanding and comprehensively addressing the challenges related to migration in the region, identifying actors involved, detecting good practices, observing gaps and proposing innovative solutions to facilitate the management of regular migration in the COMPASS cooperation space, will allow us to activate different mechanisms that can be successfully established in the short and long term, promoting international collaboration and the well-being of migrant populations and host communities. The project website can be found HERE. 

To achieve this objective, the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the partners of the COMPASS Project are organising an international academic and institutional meeting open to the participation of all experts and interest groups involved in it, and we invite all actors involved in the phenomenon on both shores and in the rest of the European Union to contribute their knowledge and reflection. The activity is structured as a comprehensive academic approach that addresses the complexity of migration in the transit and destination phases. This event comprises both a scientific meeting to share knowledge, joint working sessions, and networking between public entities and the subsequent publication of the congress, which will be the initial basic analysis document for the development of the project. The thematic discussion will explore crucial aspects such as the state organisation of migratory movements, training processes for migrants, assessing training and labour demand in host societies, accurate information on safe migratory processes, and communication and awareness-raising on both shores. 

Thematic axes for the presentation of papers: 

Each session will have three speakers (20 minutes per paper) and up to three papers will be selected for each session (5 minutes per paper), which will be presented publicly. The Scientific Committee will assess the relevance of choosing more papers in some of the sessions. 

The topics to be dealt with in each session will be interdisciplinary in nature and will seek the interrelation between the different roundtables on the migratory phenomenon and its challenges. We propose to reflect on the context in which each of the proposed topics takes place, the weaknesses and strengths of the migratory situation, good practices to follow and the need for evolution, both legal and in terms of management of the current situation. 

SESSION 1. Legal and social framework, European and African, of labour migrations 

Thursday 30 October 2025. 

11.30 a.m. - 1.30 p.m. 

The aim of this session is to deal with migratory flows and the regulations of labour and circular migration, both in the context of the European Union and bordering countries, with special reference to the Spanish cases and those of the countries in the project's cooperation area. In addition to knowing the political, social and institutional contexts of labour migration between Europe and African countries. 

Proposal of topics for communications: 

 EU regulation of labour migration. 

 European border countries' regulation of labour migration. 

 Spanish regulation of labour migration. 

 Spanish regulation of circular labour migration. 

 African regulation of labour migration. 

 Labour migration regulation in The Gambia, Mauritania and Senegal. 

 Institutional context of labour migration between the EU and North Africa. 

 Political context of labour migration between the EU and North Africa. 

 Social context of labour migration between the EU and North Africa. 

 General framework of migration between the Canary Islands, Gambia, Mauritania and Senegal. 

SESSION 2. Current context of migration and labour routes between Mauritania, Gambia and Senegal and the Canary Islands. 

Thursday 30 October 2025. 

16.00 - 18.00. 

This session will address the migratory routes and flows to the Canary Islands from Gambia, Mauritania and Senegal, contemplating their current characteristics, with emphasis on their historical and socio-economic aspects. It will also analyse the institutional, political, social, institutional collaboration and civil society contexts of labour migration between these territories and the experiences developed, analysing successes and mistakes, as well as the keys to the possible future management of circular labour migration. 

Proposal of topics for communications: 

 The migratory route between the Canary Islands, Gambia, Mauritania and Senegal. 

 Profile of migrants on the route between the Canary Islands, Gambia, Mauritania and Senegal. 

 Historical factors of the route between the Canary Islands, Gambia, Mauritania and Senegal. 

 Current factors on the route between the Canary Islands, Gambia, Mauritania and Senegal. 

 Socio-economic conditions of the route between the Canary Islands, Gambia, Mauritania and Senegal. 

 Institutional context of labour migration between the Canary Islands, Gambia, Mauritania and Senegal. 

 Political context of labour migration between the Canary Islands, Gambia, Mauritania and Senegal. 

 Social context of labour migration between the Canary Islands, Gambia, Mauritania and Senegal. 

 Context of institutional collaboration on the route between the Canary Islands, Gambia, Mauritania and Senegal. 

 Context of civil society collaboration on the route between the Canary Islands, Gambia, Mauritania and Senegal. 

SESSION 3. Labour opportunities and needs for circular migration 

Friday 31 October 2025. 

09.00 - 11.00 a.m. 

The third session aims to provide an overview of the labour market in the territories of the cooperation space, with an emphasis on shared needs, especially with regard to training. It also seeks to explore the labour opportunities and needs of the public and private sectors; the opportunity environments for bilateral circular migration; the legal context in the field of training; as well as to identify good training practices for successful circular migration, considering both the socio-training and legal context of training opportunities.

Proposal of topics for communications: 

 Holistic view of the labour market on both sides and shared needs. 

 Shared and necessary training on both sides. 

 Job opportunities and needs in the public context. 

 Job opportunities and needs in the private context. 

 Opportunity environments for bilateral circular migration. 

 Training needs for circular migration. 

 Legal context for migrant training recognised on both shores. 

 Good training practices for successful circular migration. 

 Socio-training context of training opportunities. 

 Legal context of training opportunities. 

SESSION 4. Migration narratives on regular circular migration on both sides of the border 

Friday 31 October 2025. 

11.30 a.m. - 1.30 p.m. 

The fourth session deals with the different existing narratives on labour and non-labour migration, both from the sending and receiving territories, specifically from the Canary Islands and European perspective. It also seeks to talk about the narratives of the construction of useful training itineraries on both shores and those linked to the significant training of migrants. We are also looking for themes that raise the combination of need, opportunity and expectations of circular migration; as well as other models of narrative construction, positive narratives, good practices; as well as data, realities, hoaxes and manipulations in migratory narratives. 

Proposal of topics for communications: 

 The current African narrative on migration, labour and non-labour. 

 The current European narrative on labour and non-labour migration. 

 The current Canarian narrative on labour and non-labour migration. 

 Narratives for the construction of useful training itineraries on both sides. 

 Narratives linked to the meaningful empowerment of migrants. 

 The combination of need, opportunity and expectations in circular migration. 

 Constructing alternative narratives. 

 Good practices of constructive narratives in circular migration. 

 Workshops on positive migration narratives. 

 Data, realities, hoaxes and manipulations in migration narratives. 

1. Document containing only the following information: title of the proposal and session to which it is submitted, full name of the proposer, university, institution or organisation of origin.
2. Document with the summary of the communication proposal, in which the name of the proposer must not appear on the name of the person submitting the proposalbut only the title of the proposal, session to which it is submitted, area of knowledge, its content and 3-5 keywords. Proposals should be between 1000 and 1500 words in length.

1. Short CV of the proposer (max. 3 pages).

Material content and evaluation:

The Scientific Committee will evaluate the proposals according to the following criteria:

1. Relevance and timeliness in relation to the overall project theme.

2. Relevance of the chosen topic to the theme of the session.

3. Quality of the approach developed in the proposal.

4. Originality of the proposal.

The Scientific Committee will select three paper proposals for oral presentation. A maximum of three alternate proposals will also be selected for oral presentation per Session. A decision on this matter will be taken by the Scientific Committee by 28 July 2025 at the latest by e-mail (please make sure to enter a valid e-mail address) and will be communicated:

a) The selection of the proposal to be presented orally at the Conference.

b) The selection of the proposal without oral presentation and as an alternate. These alternate papers will be able to participate with their work in the final publication of the Congress.

Acceptance of the paper proposal for oral presentation or substitution implies a commitment to produce a written text for subsequent publication in the academic document that will serve as the basis for the further development of the project. This will require the submission of a final text of the paper to be sent before 10 October 2025. All written papers submitted will be evaluated by the Scientific Committee for inclusion in the collective work. 

The full text must be presented in accordance with the style standards of scientific journals related to the subject of each communication (legal, sociology, psychology, institutional framework). It must not exceed 10,000 words and must be submitted in Word, in Times New Roman 12 for body text and 10 for footnotes.) They may be submitted in Spanish, English or French. 

After the meeting, a period of time will be allowed for the possibility of modifying the publication or adapting it to the discussions and common ground that arose during the meeting. If there are any modifications, the new document must be delivered by 24 November 2025. The communication of the acceptance of the proposal for the final publication of the document will be made on 15 December 2025. Publication is expected in the first half of 2026. 

Submission of proposals: 30 June to 21 July 2025. 

Date of communication of selection of proposals 28 July 2025. 

Deadline for submission of full text: 10 October 2025. 

Deadline for submission of the full text after the congress: 24 November 2025. 

Date of final decision on publication: 15 December 2025. 

Publication date of the work: first half of 2026.