Atikha Participates in the Global Forum on Migration
and Development

Atikha through its Executive Director, Ms. Mai Dizon-Anonuevo will participate in the ‘Global Forum on Migration and Development’ on July 9-11, 2007 in Brussels. Ms. Dizon-Anonuevo was chosen together with others by the King Baudouin Foundation among more than 500 who applied to participate in the forum.

The Global Forum has essentially a “governments only character” that is open to all member states of the United Nations. It is not a decision-making or policymaking body but essentially a forum that seeks to tackle issues related to migration and development, identify best practices, promote the exchange of experiences, and develop cooperation among countries.

The government of Belgium, the host of the Global Forum this year, deemed it important and necessary to enjoin and “hear the voice of civil society actors on the issue of migration and development”. The Belgian government thus tasked the King Baudouin Foundation to organize the Civil Society Day on July 9, 2007 in Brussels to allow diaspora organizations, advocacy groups, trade unions, NGOs and the like to discuss important issues and provide inputs and recommendations to the intergovernmental discussions. A delegation of the participants in the Civil Society Day is invited to the first plenary session of the Global Forum to present the results of civil society discussions and deliberation and discuss recommendations. Civil society experts will also be invited to the roundtable discussions of the governments.

The following topics will be addressed and discussed in the global forum both by the governmental and the civil society fora: 1) Human Capital Development and Labor Mobility: Maximizing Opportunities and Minimizing Risks; 2) Remittances and other Diaspora Resources: Increasing their Volume and Development Value; 3) Enhancing Institutional and Policy Coherence, and Promoting Partnerships.

The Global Forum was an offshoot of a High-Level Dialogue convened by the United Nations in September 2006 that discussed the nexus between migration and development. Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan proposed then the creation of a Global Forum. More than 127 countries participated in the High-Level Dialogue. More than two-thirds of those present supported the establishment of a permanent Global Forum on Migration and Development. The Belgian government offered to host the Forum’s inaugural session this year in Brussels.