The establishment of OFW Help Desks is mandated by the Migrant Workers’ Act (RA 8042 as amended by RA 10022), and is institutionalized with a Memorandum of Agreement on Convergence Program for OFWs forged by DOLE, TESDA, POEA and OWWA with the local government.
These help desks are established at the local level to attend to the problems and concerns of the OFWs and their families, and to provide information on all aspect of overseas employment.
This handbook responds to the gap between talk and action, acting as a step-by-step guide for policymakers, giving practical meaning to the concept of Migration and Development.
The handbook is primarily concerned with international migration, and with national development processes and instruments in developing countries. The primary target audiences for this handbook are those interested in or responsible for facilitating a strategy for integrating migration into development planning processes of developing countries.
Budapest Process is a good example of cooperation between countries of two regions; Europe and Asia. A successful process, it gathers over 50 countries and more than ten international organisations. It aims to foster dialogue and share best practices in managing migration flows in order to achieve concrete and results-oriented outcomes.
The German returnees programme "Returning to New Opportunities"
The German government has launched a new initiative entitled “Returning to New Opportunities”, which aims at supporting people returning to their countries of origin to reintegrate by providing economic opportunities and the chance of a new start. An additional amount of 150 million euros was committed for the program. Currently, the following countries are part of it: Albania, Serbia, Kosovo, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Switzerland and Nigeria have had a successful migration partnership framework for more than 5 years. It includes return migration management as part of the framework.
In 2011, Switzerland and Nigeria concluded a migration partnership, which is a centrepiece of their relations. Together the two States have undertaken to promote the positive aspects of migration and to fight its negative sides.
The "ProRecognition" project, launched by the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) in autumn 2015 with funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), has established recognition consulting services at eight AHK locations.
Diaspora for Development (D4D) project is a four-year intervention funded by the Swiss Government in the area of M&D in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The project is implemented from December 2016 to December 2020 by UNDP BiH, in cooperation with the IOM BiH and the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sector for Diaspora).
The online portal "Returning from Germany" is a best practice example in the context of voluntary return policies which will be discussed at the Roundtable 2.2. The portal informs migrants in Germany about the option of a voluntary return and existing support possibilities, facilitates pre-departure counselling and transparency and links to post-arrival and reintegration assistance.
This case study forms part of a series of case studies on good practices, lessons learnt and recommendations extracted from the projects supported by the UN Joint Migration and Development Initiative (JMDI) to enhance migration management for local development. The experience of the JMDI shows that the most effective initiatives are anchored with local or regional authorities and carried out in a multi-stakeholder and participatory approach, including migrants and migrants’ associations or diaspora.