In 2016, under the Dutch Presidency of the Council of the EU, the ‘Urban Agenda for the EU’ was launched to give European cities a greater say in shaping EU legislation, funding, and instruments for knowledge exchange. The initiative brought together cities, Member States and EU policymakers around 12 priority areas key to cities’ future—each area covered by a dedicated Partnership.
The Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) is collaborating with IOM on labour mobility and human development, including employability of youth to enhance the welfare of Egyptian society and migrants.
Spain offers universal access to basic health services. Beyond the most favourable scheme enjoyed by EU nationals covered by EU common legislation, all migrants staying in Spain, irrespective of legal status, have access to the basic national health system. This measure has proved its utility during the pandemic.
As individuals and organizations in localities across the globe mobilize to support those displaced by war, conflict, and climate disasters, meeting immediate needs of migrants and refugees is critical. At the same time, building the infrastructure needed to support and engage migrants and broader communities in the long term is essential to ensure strong life outcomes beyond the initial welcoming period.
Migration is a complex and often divisive issue. Regrettably, negative attitudes towards migrants, coupled with exclusionary practices and xenophobia, have escalated in recent years. The media holds a crucial position in framing these narratives and has the potential to reshape these adverse sentiments.
In 2021 IOM Turkey launched “Baharat” – a collection of Turkish and Syrian recipes inspired by IOM Turkey’s Protection and Psychosocial Programme’s socio-cultural activities. The cookbook is available digitally and in print in three languages: English, Turkish and Arabic. It features 12 recipes that are unique to both Turkish and Syrian cuisine, along with commentaries from Syrian and Turkish participants.
It Takes A Community (ITAC) is an international, multi-stakeholder, social media communications campaign showcasing the positive impact that migration can have on communities, thus contributing to international efforts to promote social cohesion, combat xenophobia and discrimination of migrants, and promote managed migration. ITAC emerged from Canada’s co-leadership of the Global Forum on Migration and Development’s (GFMD) Working Group on Public Narratives on Migration, along with Ecuador and the GFMD Mayors Mechanism.
On 6 September 2022, the Thailand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Organization for Migration (IOM) Thailand co-hosted the inaugural Training on Migration Reporting at Pullman Bangkok King Power.
The event was a capacity building exercise to support media professionals on their coverage of migration issues, and to equip them with background information on the regional and national situation, government policy, and related human rights frameworks, to strengthen their role in combating misinformation and negative stereotypes of migrants.
Between 2021 and 2023, France has funded a project called “Migration dialogues” which aims to promote a responsive discourse on migration. This project targets mainstream medias (journalists, bloggers and influencers) as well as journalism schools through training activities to support content development and information-sharing on migration issues.
The UnionMigrantNet is a European network of contact points providing services to migrants established, managed and supported by trade unions. It is promoted by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).
The main goal of the network is to support fair labour mobility and migration. The services provided by the UnionMigrantNet contact points are aimed at promoting the collective and individual interests and rights of migrants regardless of their status.
In particular, the specific aims of the network are to: