Strengthen migrants´ and diaspora empowerment and contributions for development

IOM commits to strengthening migrants and diaspora empowerment and contributions for development. Building on IOM’s Institutional Strategy on Migration and Sustainable Development, IOM will continue to support governments, cities, civil society, private sector and other partners to integrate migration into national and subnational development policy planning and programming, and support the leading role that local actors play in providing innovative and agile responses. IOM will work to strengthen effective connection between GCM implementation and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals using the SDG indicator framework to guide implementation and review efforts, including to support the incorporation of GCM progress, challenges and gaps in voluntary national reviews for the 2030 Agenda. In collaboration with a wide range of partners, in particular international financial institutions (IFIs) and multilateral banks (MDBs), IOM will lead in acting on the outcomes of the Global Diaspora Summit 2022 to create conditions to mobilize migrant and diaspora capitals – cultural, economic, social and human, and improve the conditions for economic and financial empowerment and inclusion.

LAST UPDATED: 4/JUL/23

IOM is continuously engaging, enabling and empowering diasporas and migrants as development actors through key partnerships, programmes, original initiatives and capacity building activities. 

Empowering diaspora:
• Government officials and leaders of diaspora organizations participated in the virtual Side Event “Diaspora as Key Partner Across the Humanitarian Development Peace-Nexus” (https://www.idiaspora.org/en/event-calendar/unga77-side-event-diaspora-key-partner-across-humanitarian-development-peace-nexus) (HDPN) on 23 September 2022 during the high-level week of the 77 United Nations General Assembly.

• IOM and key partners including diasporas in preparation for the International Forum on Migration Statistics 2023 (https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/migrationstat-forum-2023/webinars.html), co-organised a webinar entitled “Maximizing Diaspora Engagement through Evidence-Based Policies: Data, Methodologies, and Tools.” The aim of this session was to present the two innovative methodologies developed by IOM to contribute to a better understanding and systematization of diasporas’ capital andpotential for development: The IOM Diaspora Mapping Toolkit and Contributions and Counting. 

During the event, IOM launched the Diaspora Mapping Toolkit Online Course. The Diaspora Mapping Toolkit (https://www.idiaspora.org/en/learning-opportunities/diaspora-mapping-toolkit-online-course) is a rich resource that presents a systematic, comprehensive yet very flexible and agile approach to conducting diaspora mappings in differing contexts. By following the proposed clear guidance on how to collect andanalyse data on diaspora communities, decision makers will have the possibility to create more strategic and evidence-based policies empowering diaspora members to contribute and engage thus maximizing their contributions to development.

• IOM organized a networking and training event for 40 representatives of the Ukrainian diaspora in Czechia. The training touched upon topics such as management, fundraising and further effective cooperation. 

• IOM implemented multiple original initiatives to showcase the social cultural, economic and human contributions of diasporas as development actors including the iDiaspora Photo contest, the iDiasporaStories "https://www.idiaspora.org/photo-contest-gallery" and the Young Diaspora Leaders Initiative "https://www.idiaspora.org/en/basic-page/young-diaspora-leaders". 

o The iDiaspora Photo contest, raised international awareness of the importance of cultural capital of global diasporas, receiving 95 submissions from 39 countries, mainly from Latin America, Africa, and Asia, and to a lesser extent from North America and Europe. 

o iDiaspora Stories are short video clips in which diaspora leaders share with the global diasporacommunity what they do for and how they support their community. The goal of these videos is to inspire and motivate other leaders around the world to find ways to contribute, learn and connect with their diaspora communities from wherever they are. To date, IOM have published seven iDiaspora Stories, including five from female leaders and two from male leaders. The iDiaspora Stories come from different regions of the world, including South America, North America, Southern Africa, Dubai, the Caribbean, andthe Middle East.

o The Young Diaspora Leaders Initiative led by IOM in coordination with the UN Office of the Secretary-General's Youth on Envoy, showcases ten interviews with exceptional young leaders from the global diaspora, who are passionate and motivated to continue supporting their communities to achieve concrete SDGs. This initiative aims to empower young diaspora members by showcasing their experiences, ideas, and motivations.

• IOM supported the organization of diaspora flagship events such as the Global Conference on DiasporaNetworks and Sciences co-organised with UNESCO and SASTA,"https://www.theglobaldiaspora.org/" as well as the Global Diaspora Week led by the Global Diaspora Confederation. IOM also organized events aiming to empower diaspora such as the Global Virtual Exchange for the Latin American Diaspora of African Descent: Exploring Multiple Identities "https://www.idiaspora.org/en/event-calendar/global-virtual-exchange-latin-american-diaspora-african-descent" .

Empowering migrants: 
• 100 IOM Country Offices have worked with governments or service providers, including 315 local government institutions, to improve equitable access to quality, essential services for migrants, displaced persons and/or other community members, collectively empowering over 10 million people. 
 For example, IOM joint programming to leverage the opportunities of mobility for sustainable development has empowered nearly 12,000 people in 2022, including migrants and displaced communities. Focusing especially on empowering women and youth, initiatives support solutions identified and led by local governments and Member States, CSOs and other local leaders to build more inclusive, developed communities and put policies into practice in local communities.

• Within the framework of the DISC Initiative, the “IOM Toolkit on Facilitating Pathways to Inclusive andCohesive Societies: The Path Ahead for People Fleeing Ukraine” "https://www.iom.int/sites/g/files/tmzbdl486/files/documents/IOM-Toolkit-on-Facilitating-Pathways-to-Inclusive-and-Cohesive-Societies-The-Path-Ahead-for-People-Fleeing-Ukraine.pdf" was released to shed light on key issues that could help facilitate the early integration planning and support for the social inclusion of Ukrainians and other impacted populations. The toolkit incorporates key sectoral and cross-cutting approaches to promote the early inclusion of all new arrivals from Ukraine and advance social cohesion in the hosting communities. The toolkit has also been socialized in various internal and external events to support EEA IOM Country Offices and local authorities in facilitating the inclusion of people fleeing Ukraine by leveraging on existing experiences, resources and practices that are considered critical for developing resilient inclusion interventions.

• IOM, in partnership with the Immigration Policy Lab at ETH Zurich "https://immigrationlab.org/", implemented a project on developing and piloting a common and multidimensional approach to measure migrant integration outcomes in the form of a survey-based tool called the “Multidimensional Integration Measurement Toolkit.” Central to this toolkit is the “IPL Integration Index” which has been piloted in Brazil, the Dominican Republic and Peru.

The project team has released the country reports from Peru, Brazil, and Dominican Republic where the toolkit was piloted by surveying Cash Based Interventions and other IOM beneficiaries. The reports underscore findings that show the multi-dimensional capacities and resources of migrants to settle in their new environment, using six integration dimensions: psychological, economic, social, linguistic, navigational and political.

A series of capacity-building workshops were held in Peru https://www.iom.int/resources/study-report-peru", Brazil https://www.iom.int/resources/study-report-brazil and the Dominican Republic "https://www.iom.int/resources/study-report-dominican-republic" to present the innovative Multidimensional Integration Measurement Toolkit and to socialize the study findings among internal and external stakeholders. They each reached a wide audience including local government officials, NGOs, academia and other local organizations.

• The digital transformation, the exponential spread of digital technologies, digitalization, and the use of digital technologies to add value offer an opportunity to develop and deliver tailored and innovative services to both migrants and communities. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic has stimulated digital innovation on a global scale, connecting millions of migrants with their families and communities around the world. Against this background, the Migrant E-nclusion Project "https://www.iom.int/promoting-digital-inclusion-migrants" was launched under the DISC Initiative framework, in alignment with the commitments enshrined in the UNSG Roadmap for Digital Cooperation and the UN Secretary General’s Our Common Agenda. The project has provided spaces for collaborative exchange through a series of key informant interviews, focus-group discussions, and thematic workshops aimed at developing solutions that promote the digital inclusion of migrants.

• The IOM's migrant training programming has been in operations for 20 years now, and in 2021, IOM have reached almost one million beneficiaries. In 2022, despite COVID restrictions, IOM has trained over 48,000 beneficiaries globally at various stages of the migration process, using both in-person, remote and hybrid modalities. A summary of the 2021 Migrant Training statistics can be viewed in the infographic "https://iomint-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/kymon_iom_int/EYSTEjcjcY5FiuhByADDaKIBH59yQ0t0fS825_lgcI01Fg?e=Ym9GNt".

• Complementary pathways are safe and legal migration avenues accessible to refugees, which are additional to existing resettlement commitments, and lead to a net increase in third-country solutions. They expand access to protection for displaced populations via regular immigration programmes. Complementary labour migration pathways extend the concept of refugee mobility by recognizing their skills, abilities, and attributes, while still acknowledging and addressing refugees’ protection needs. Against this background, IOM and the global non-profit organization Talent Beyond Boundaries (TBB) "https://talentbeyondboundaries.org/" announced a formal partnership "https://www.iom.int/news/iom-and-talent-beyond-boundaries-join-forces-strengthen-labour-mobility-pathways-refugees-and-other-displaced-populations" to strengthen labour mobility pathways as a durable solution for refugees and other displaced people around the world.


Empowering the UN Development System development actors:

• In 2022, 44 countries submitted Voluntary National Reviews at the High-Level Political Forum, and 26 IOM offices supported governments in the preparation of their submissions. More than 90 per cent of those Voluntary National Reviews which were supported by the IOM considered migration as part of their assessment of national government’s actions to achieve the SDGs and highlighted good migration governance as a core contribution towards the achievement of the SDGs. 

Engaging with Development Actors:

• The mainstreaming of migration into international development cooperation planning is an important aspect of IOM’s governance work. In 2022, the IOM, together with the European Commission, launched the Mainstreaming Migration into International Cooperation and Development (MMICD) package of resources (training and tools) to support development practitioners mainstream human mobility into development sectors -which included developing key partnerships with 11 UN agencies. 


Applying a whole-of-government approach

• IOM has longstanding experience in supporting national and local governments to mainstream migration and displacement into development or sectoral plans, complementing existing migration, displacement or diaspora policies for a holistic approach to migration governance. Through the year, 51 IOM offices supported national governments’ efforts to refine or mainstream migration into development or sectoral policy throughout the cycle of policy planning, revision and implementation, and across an increasingly broad array of thematic areas, such as social protection, health, employment and the environment.

o 30 IOM Country Offices supported sub-national, local governments to integrate migration into relevant local policies like health or employment, contributing to SDG 11 and 17 as well as the GCM, notably the “whole of government approach”.

o 413 national government institutions and 733 local actors supported in ensuring inclusion of migrantsand/or displacement affected populations in policy processes in 2022.

• IOM also works to support local authorities and other local actors to pilot the implementation of these policies through locally led initiatives that focus on community well-being and development. For example, 420 small businesses were supported in communities across Ecuador, Senegal, Serbia and several other countries and over 1,300 people completed training courses to upskill in sectors where local businesses have vacancies and skills gaps. Two psychosocial support centres were established at the Oriental Region of Morocco which supported over 600 women, men and children survivors of violence (including undocumented migrants) to access healthcare and other services. 

• IOM also continued to support the work of the GFMD Mayor’s Mechanism and has committed to sharing knowledge and good practices to build MS and local governments’ capacities on multi-level migration governance through the preparations for the upcoming GFMD, including by acting as penholder forRoundtable 6 on the same. We are equally sharing these practices within the SDG practitioners’ community, including in several conferences in the lead up to the HLPF in July 2023. IOM has shared knowledge and lessons learned on how migrant-inclusive communities and cities support the achievement of SDG 11 (an SDG in review at this year’s HLPF) in Regional Forums for Sustainable Development in the UNECE, Arab, African Regions and others, the SDG 11 Expert Group Meetings and more, highlighting successful examples of local leaders and MS who have created solutions that work for all, including migrants, within their cities and settlements.