As chair of the 2011 Global Forum, the Swiss government has turned to ICMC to help provide leadership in a year of innovative new approaches that take into account recommendations that civil society has actively asserted over the last years. Among these are more meaningful self-management of civil society engagement, convening at the regional level, and growing support for civil society capacity and continuity between GFMD meetings.

“Since the first Global Forum in 2007”, notes ICMC Head of Policy, John Bingham, “civil society has broadly pushed for greater participation alongside governments, and for a shift towards greater impact and sustainability”.

“Even as generating action-oriented outcomes will continue to be a challenge, the fact that greater space has been created for civil society to share its expertise and contribute to building practical solutions together with governments is a positive step, and a major part of ICMC agreeing to take up a leading role in coordination”.

A state-led, voluntary process dedicated to dialogue on issues where migration and development intersect, the Global Forum on Migration and Development seeks to maximize the positive aspects of international migration by promoting concrete practices, contributing to policy coherence and strengthening international cooperation. Key areas of attention have included, among others: transnational labour demand; human and labour rights; protection of vulnerable individuals; economic and human development; migrant remittances; migrant contributions to countries of origin and destination and the effects of migration on families and children.

Last year, participants included government officials from 131 countries, as well as 400 delegates and observers from a diverse range of civil society organizations in 73 countries, representing non-government and faith-based organizations, labour and trade groups, migrant associations, academia and the private sector.

Going beyond the single year-end event that has been the principle feature of the GFMD to date, the 2011 programme is set to include a number of smaller, focused meetings around the world. The recommendations gathered from these meetings are slated to feed into global discussions expected to take place in Geneva during the last week of November.

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Editor’s note
ICMC has been active in all of the prior Global Forum processes and year-end meetings in Brussels, Manila, Athens and Puerto Vallarta, collaborating with many of its own members and other civil society partners around the world, and with government and foundation organizers of those processes. In 2010, ICMC served as chair of the Steering Committee of the civil society programme of the Global Forum in Mexico.

For more information, please contact:

ICMC Communications
Alanna RYAN
T: +41 22 919 10 20
E: ryan@icmc.net< 

Nota de prensa: FMMD: La CCIM desempeñará un papel decisivo en la coordinación de la sociedad civil (454.9 KB)

Communiqué de presse: FMMD: La CICM appelée à jouer un rôle déterminant dans la coordination de la Société civile (454.46 KB)