Global Interagency Programme: Joint Migration and Development Initiative projects

The Joint Migration and Development Initiative (JMDI) is a global inter-agency programme funded by the European Union and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. It focuses on the local dimension of migrants’ contribution to development and aims to maximize the potential of migration for local development. To achieve this, the JMDI provides technical and financial support to up-scale existing locally-led migration and development initiatives across 15 projects in eight target countries: Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Morocco, Nepal, Philippines, Senegal and Tunisia. These initiatives aim to support local and regional authorities better manage their migratory contexts for enhanced social cohesion, to combat xenophobia and to promote and protect migrants’ rights as a prerequisite to allow them to become fully integrated members of society and thus able to contribute to local development.

In a global context of increasing human mobility, urbanization and decentralization, it is local and regional authorities that are finding themselves at the forefront of managing both the positive and negative impacts of migration, particularly in the current global climate of increasingly negative public and political perceptions of migration. Indeed, persisting inequalities, misperceptions and social tensions exist not only among different countries, but also within countries, thus necessitating an integral and bottom up approach from the local level. Local and regional authorities are therefore the missing piece of the migration and development puzzle.

Therefore, in order to ensure an integral and holistic approach to managing diversity for harmonious societies and sustainable development, the key role, experience and expertise of local and regional authorities and other local actors must be considered within the national and international debate.

To further foster knowledge exchange, dissemination of good practices from the JMDI supported projects and enhance networking and partnerships, the JMDI has created the JMDI Community of Practice, or M4D Net, which is a global online knowledge hub aimed at mobilizing and giving local authorities, civil society and other Migration and Development actors a voice in international Migration and Development dialogues and provide support to strengthen their capacities.

The M4D net brings over 4,000 migration and development practitioners, including over 370 local authorities, from across the regions together to exchange information and ideas, develop skills and provide each other with mutual support. The M4D Net is accessible through a dedicated website: www.migration4development.org.

Below you will find concrete practices carried out at the local level, some of which supported by the JMDI, that in very unique and innovative ways, aim to facilitate social, cultural and political participation among a diverse society from a human rights based approach in order to promote harmonious and thriving societies.

Protecting migrants rights for inclusive human development in Upala, Costa Rica
This project, supported by the JMDI, has seen the Municipality of Upala become a pioneer in promoting local development plans with a human rights perspective in which migration is a central element. These plans place a priority of addressing the needs of persons in situations of vulnerability with a specific focus on migrants, youth, women and children living in the border area between Costa Rica and Nicaragua. For example, the House of Women’s rights is run by civil society in partnership with the municipality and other key actors to provide shelter, recuperation, protection and reintegration services to women, including migrant women, who have suffered abuse and sexual violence. Moreover, through dialogue and coordination with the national government, the municipality has successfully seen the endorsement of a special status to ‘transborder’ migrants to ensure that those living in and around the border areas have equal access to services and financial support to set up their own livelihoods, fostering their integration and the development of the territory.

An inclusive approach to the integration of people experiencing human mobility in Pichincha, Ecuador
This project, also supported by the JMDI and led by the Provincial Government of Pichincha, aims to promote strategies for integration, development and sustainable strengthening of local actors’ capacities to foster the social, economic and cultural integration of migrants within a mixed migration context (including refugees, return migrants, transit and economic migrants). The Provincial Government of Pichincha has a highly successful integration model through its Human Mobility Unit which, inter alia, has seen a successful awareness raising campaign to mitigate xenophobia and promote mutual understanding among migrants and locals for enhanced social cohesion. Moreover, through participation of migrants and their associations within the activities and planning of the Human Mobility Unit, they are able to further promote social inclusion, integration and access to services and support. Finally, through good coordination and support from the national government and the consortium of Provincial Governments (CONGOPE), the Human Mobility Unit model is now being replicated in other provinces with the endorsement of the state.

Combatting xenophobia through the Anti-Rumour Campaign in Barcelona, Spain
The City of Barcelona has made impressive efforts to mainstream migration into its local development and policy planning through its Immigration Work Plan. Among the five main thematic areas of the plan is ‘working on inter-culturalism and encouraging participation to ensure full integration’. Within this action area, Barcelona has created its Anti-Rumour Campaign to foster social cohesion and combat xenophobia and misperceptions about migration. To do this, it created a public service campaign to dispel rumours, misconceptions and the prejudices of many locals. The campaign was rolled out by trained ‘anti-rumour’ agents to dispel myths and spread the campaign through local organisations and the city’s neighbourhoods.

Providing equal access to services for all in New York, United States of America
The identification document of New York City (IDNY) is a free identification card for all residents of New York City and reflects a policy aimed at fostering inclusion and equal access to services. Indeed, all residents in New York have free access to this card, regardless of migratory status, and can use it to access various services such as health, libraries, support etc., thus promoting social, economic and cultural inclusion of all society in New York.

Enhancing migration management at local and national level through enhanced multi-level coordination in the region of Bicol, Philippines
The work of the Municipality of Naga City, capital of the region of Bicol and also supported by the JMDI, is another example of holistic efforts to mainstream migration into local development planning across the municipalities of Bicol. To achieve this, a well-managed coordination mechanism between the national, regional and local levels was set up. At the local level, local centres and councils on migration and development were established with corresponding budget and personnel to lead the main activities in each municipality. Technical working groups were also established at the local level to bring in the expertise and support of various key actors to oversee the mainstreaming of migration into their local developing planning. Naga City acts as coordinating and support role at the regional level (Bicol) through a Migration and Development Council to provide capacity building and technical support at the local level. At the national level, Naga City has partnered with the state through the Commission for Filipinos Overseas and fosters coordination, dialogue and mutual knowledge sharing and support between the local and national levels. All of which has allowed the migration management process to be localized whilst remaining aligned and supported at the national level and thus enhanced its effectiveness and outreach to support migrants and families of migrants, as well as the communities overall.

Inclusion of migrants, diaspora and their associations for enhanced local development in Sedhiou, Senegal
This project, led by the Regional Development Agency of Sedhiou in Senegal and supported by the JMDI, aims to develop a policy framework for mainstreaming and managing migration for development at the local level with the financial support and know-how of the diaspora. To achieve this, the Agency created Immigration Policy Commissions at the municipal level and supported them to ensure the mainstreaming of migration into local development planning. By promoting the participation of all relevant stakeholders, particularly the diaspora abroad, immigrants and generally the other key actors of the community, these development plans have resulted in concrete and effective outputs that truly respond to the needs of migrants and the community at the local level, supported through the set-up of Help Offices for Migrants. The participation of migrants and diaspora was ensured through specific coordination and dialogue mechanisms set up across the various related sectors at local and regional levels.

JMDI website: https://www.migration4development.org
JMDI Training Tools on Migration and Local Development: https://www.migration4development.org/en/resources/toolbox/training
White Paper on Mainstreaming Migration into Local Development Planning and Beyond: https://www.migration4development.org/sites/default/files/final_mainstr…

GFMD 2016 RT 1.2 "Connectivity and Migration"

UNDP, together with IOM, ITC-ILO, UNHCR, UNITAR, UN Women and UNFPA