Human mobility is an essential driving force in the evolution of societies.  Throughout history, migrations have helped to shape cultures, transform  social and economic landscapes, and generate complex cultural dynamics.  In today’s globalised world, migratory flows are more diverse than ever, and  exert a profound influence on cultural identities and interactions. This Forum  aims to explore how population movements contribute to cultural richness,  while also posing challenges in terms of social relations and cohesion. By  reviewing the causes, forms, and consequences of human mobility, the Forum  seeks to gain a better understanding of certain patterns in contemporary  cultural dynamics. 

In 2020, 281 million people were living in a country other than the one in  which they were born, compared with just 153 million in 1990. This illustrates  that, despite policies designed to close borders and increasing mobility  restrictions such as the introduction of visas, human migration has never  been as evident as they are significant.  

Over the decades, motivations for migration have naturally evolved to  encompass economic, social, political, religious, and climatic reasons, among  others. These factors often add up, making migratory phenomena sometimes  more perilous, and always more complex, to analyse and understand.  

All too often, human mobility continues to be considered from a security  perspective, giving rise to partisan instrumentalization in many contexts. The  resurgence of summary discourses (chosen migration, asylum crises, failure  to integrate, the risk of invasion) pushes aside the concentrated efforts of  human contributions, as well as the cultural dimension of migration.  

The theme “Human Mobility and Cultural Dynamics” thus creates an  opportunity to expand the debate by transcending economic contributions  to explore the cultural contributions of migration and diasporas to countries  of origin, transit, and destination.  

Human migration and mobility have always played a crucial role in cultural  creation. When people change where they live and reside, they carry with  them their traditions, languages, beliefs, and artistic practices. This generates  cultural richness, but also occasional friction, rejection, and tension. Religious  and cultural diversity can also be used to exclude, or be perceived as otherness;  to refuse or even hinder inclusion. And yet, human mobility brings with it the  diverse stories that enrich our common heritage and national narrative, while  raising questions about how we can live together in society. 

In any event, these cultural exchanges can give rise to hybrid cultural forms,  which are then disseminated, circulated, and received throughout the world,  thanks in particular to new means of communication that offer the advantage  of accelerating the circulation of ideas and influences, while democratising  access to globalised cultures.  

Culture remains a vehicle for self-expression and self-affirmation in society,  particularly in host countries. Examples abound in the fields of literature,  filmmaking, music, theatre, comedy, culinary arts, and visual arts. It is in these  very areas of exchange and mobility that artistic and cultural fusion has taken  root! As a cross-disciplinary artistic style, fusion is characterised by bringing  differences into composition, and by its insatiable desire to push back cultural  boundaries.