Chiamaka Rita Akpuogwu M.A.
Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin im Projekt RTG 2987: Mobility Rights in the Global Context of Multiple Crises (Prof. Dr. Alexander-Kenneth Nagel)
ProfileChiamaka Rita Akpuogwu is a lawyer and doctoral researcher whose work examines mobility rights, religion, and migration governance through a socio-legal lens. Her research focuses on how African Christian communities in Germany function as socio-legal actors shaping migrants’ experiences of law and belonging.
She is a Climate Mobility Fellow with the Global Centre for Climate Mobility, where she leads an impact project advancing durable solutions for climate-vulnerable communities across Africa. She is also the author of a policy brief on climate mobility and immobility in Africa, examining mobility projections, immobility dynamics, and the need for informed, inclusive, and locally grounded response frameworks. In addition, she serves as an advisor to the International Rescue Committee’s Climate Global Practice Area, contributing to work on climate resilience and livelihood innovation.
Chiamaka holds an LL.B. from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and a BL from the Nigerian Law School. She subsequently completed an M.A. in Migration and Intercultural Relations at Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Germany, and the University of Stavanger, Norway.
Her broader research interests include return and reintegration, and the intersections of human rights, gender, and migration.
Research Interests
Religion and migration governance
Socio-legal studies
Legal consciousness and pluralism
Human rights and mobility justice
Professional Experience
2025: Deputy Academic Coordinator, European Master in Migration and Intercultural Relations (EMMIR), Carl von Ossietzky University, Germany
2025: Climate Mobility Fellow, Global Centre for Climate Mobility
2024: Research Assistant, European Master in Migration and Intercultural Relations (EMMIR), Carl von Ossietzky University, Germany
2023: Migration Policy Intern, IOM – UN Migration, Czech Republic
2023: Research Assistant, Exhuming Immigrant Voices from the Past: A Critical Archival Study of the Bancroft Library (collaboration between UC Berkeley and University of Stavanger)
2022: Virtual Training Coordinator, Diaspora Narrative Initiative e.V., Germany
2021–2022: Training, Facilitation & Coaching Expert, Web of Hearts Foundation / GOPA Worldwide Consultants, Nigeria
2019–2021: Coordinator, Legal, Migration & Gender Mainstreaming Departments, Justice, Development and Peace Centre (JDPC), Lagos, Nigeria
Teachings & Presentations
Climate Change and Displacement: Contextualising African Perspectives, Seminar, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Oct 2025
Youth Voices, Global Futures: Reimagining Advocacy for Climate Mobility through the Climate Mobility Fellowship, Symposium Presentation, Virtual Climate Migrant Symposium, Western Michigan University, Oct 2025
Colonial Legacies, Coastal Precarity, and Climate Justice in Badagry, Lagos, Symposium Presentation, Virtual Climate Migrant Symposium, Western Michigan University, Oct 2025
Collective Qualitative Analysis in Practice: Using the Gamio Papers as a Case Study, Seminar, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Sept 2025
Strengthening Climate Mobility Literacy, Panel Presentation, New York Climate Mobility Summit, Sept 2025
Building the Climate Mobility Ecosystem – Forging Coalitions for Action, Panel Presentation, Berlin Climate Mobility Forum, June 2025
Co-facilitated Sessions on Knowledge Production, Seminar, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Oct 2024
Economic Reintegration of Women Return Migrants in Nigeria, Conference Presentation, "Young Africans on the Move" Conference, Entebbe, Uganda, Nov 2023
Collective Qualitative Analysis Research, Virtual Guest Lecture, University of California, Davis, Apr 2023