The Government of Belgium which offered to organise the first ever meeting of the Forum, at the initiative of the Minister for Development Cooperation, Mr Armand De Decker, largely financed the meeting.
€100,000 (through IOM) for Participation BDP / Conference services
No Participation
Euro 35,000 for the participation of BDCA Member States
The Kingdom of Belgium contributed financially to the GFMD 2017 budget with:
USD 57,870 ear-marked for GFMD Support Unit
Government Team Member in RT 1.1 "Harnessing the capital of migrants to realise their potential"
Government Team Member in RT 3.1 "Aligning governance with contemporary drivers of migration"
Government Team Member in RT 3.2 "Beyond Remittances: leveraging the development impact and promoting the transnational engagement of diaspora and migrants"
Since 2018, the Belgian government is working with a network of stakeholders (migrants and diaspora groups, civil society, the National Bank) to build a better knowledge and receive some transparency on remittances sent from Belgium to the countries of origin in order to take appropriate measures to reduce the costs of remittances.
IOM offices and partners launched Skills2Work to improve the access of employers and beneficiaries to information and services related to skills recognition.
The Skills2Work project aims to promote labour market integration of refugees by promoting the early validation of formal and informal skills and competences. This is achieved by supporting the reception framework and capacities of relevant authorities, service providers and employers, and by enhancing access to information and services regarding the recognition of skills and qualifications of refugees.
The IGC is an informal, non-decision making forum for intergovernmental information exchange and policy debate on issues of relevance to the management of international migratory flows.
The IGC brings together 16 Participating States, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization for Migration and the European Commission. The Participating States are Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States of America.
In Morocco, IOM is assisting Moroccan expatriates based in Belgium to establish businesses in their communities by: (a) providing financial support; (b) through a partnership with the Solvay Business School, providing technical support in business planning and; (c) helping to navigate the bureaucratic procedures for establishing a business in Morocco. Through this project, IOM also manages a website that provides information on opportunities as well as how to invest and start a business in Morocco (www.guide-entreprise.org/maroc).
The EU Immigration Portal serves as a first point of entry to reliable, practical and up-to-date information on immigration issues. It provides useful basic information written in user-friendly language and gives rapid and direct access to relevant external websites for further information. In concrete terms, the portal helps potential migrants to:
- Better understand the EU admission rules and procedures;
- Identify job and study opportunities;
- Find information on the rights of non-EU citizens who are in the EU;
The Development Marketplace for the African Diaspora in Europe (D-MADE) is a competitive grant program aimed at funding innovative, small scale development projects which are profit-making, results-oriented and have the potential to be scaled up or replicated.
The program has two components:
Launched in 1994, EURES is a European cooperation network of employment services, designed to facilitate the free movement of workers. The network has always worked hard to ensure that European citizens can benefit from the same opportunities, despite language barriers, cultural differences, bureaucratic challenges, diverse employment laws and a lack of recognition of educational certificates across Europe.
This web portal provides information on access to job opportunities in 32 European countries. It also promotes the cooperation amongst national employment agencies.
The government of Belgium has established a web portal dedicated to linking African diaspora entrepreneurs residing in Europe to sources of funding in selected countries of origin.
The Algerian-Belgian Medical Association is made up of doctors who organize trips and training days in Algeria. They carry out surgeries free of charge. These actions involve both Belgian and Algerian doctors. Currently there are people that have been trained in Algeria and are now working in Belgium.
This study has three objectives:
1) analyze migration and development in Europe;
2) provide input for continued policy discussions on migration and development beyond Europe, and;
3) assist states in identifying possible future directions, as well as common ground for addressing migration as an inherent part of development.