Formally launched in the Word Urban Forum in 2019, the GFMD provided the opportunity to further discuss and follow-up on the Call to Local Action to implement the Global Compacts for Migration (GCM) and Refugees (GCR). Following the Marrakesh Mayors Declaration, which was signed by over 60 LRAs in December 2018, the Call to Local Action calls on LRAs to pledge specific actions that contribute to the implementation of the Migration and Refugee Compacts.
Recognizing the important role of cities in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the City of Mannheim has developed the “Mannheim 2030” Mission Statement to put into practce the 17 UN sustainability goals. The Mission Statement was developed through a large-scale public participation process, sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and Engagement Global's Service Agency Communities in One World. The Migration Advisory Board was part of this participatory process.
At the beginning of 2020, at the proposal of Canada, the GFMD Steering Group endorsed the creation of a Hoc working Group on Public Narratives on Migration.
The goal of this policy is to increase labour market participation by investing in formal education, skills and qualifications, and to foster participation in society in general. Formal skills and qualifications are key to acquiring and keeping a job.
At the core of Norway’s Integration Policy are two programmes regulated by the Introduction Act:
Ambulante Film Festival uses documentary film as a tool for social and cultural change. Ambulante brings documentary films and training programs to places where they are rarely available in order to foster a cultural exchange, encourage a participative, informed and critical attitude in audiences, and open new channels of expression in Mexico and abroad. For the past 15 years they have been producing and showcasing stories about migrants, their families and communities.
Initially a citizen movement, SINGA creates opportunities for refugees and their host communities to meet and cooperate. Their aim is to build bridges between people, encouraging dialogue, fostering cultural enrichment and creating job opportunities.
SINGA seeks to create opportunities for in-person interaction and dialogue between refugees and host community members to change perceptions about refugees and asylum seekers.
On the occasion of International Migrants’ Day, as part of a global call to Stand Up for Human Rights, the UN Human Rights Office launched in 2017 a series of animated videos to amplify the voices of migrants, the communities that welcome them and the conversations they have along the way.
This campaign shared stories in video format of British public figures talking about their refugee heritage (or, “refugenes”) with pride. The purpose of the campaign was to show how past refugees have become part of the fabric of British society in the present day. In addition to circulating videos of public figures, the campaign included a call to action inviting members of the general public to share stories from their own family trees about finding safety in the UK as a refugee.
The UN Migration Agency’s Global Migration Film Festival (GMFF) showcases films that capture the promise and challenge of migration for two weeks every December. Migration is at the heart of storytelling and the festival. As a partnership between IOM, governments and universities, the GMFF can stimulate healthy debate about integration through the lens of independent filmmakers.
The Great Get Together, an initiative of the Jo Cox Foundation in the United Kingdom, brings people together through community events as varied as street parties, community lunches, and holiday celebrations. While not specific to migration, the initiative focuses on building connections by celebrating what communities have in common. Surveys conducted after the inaugural Great Get Together in 2017 showed that 78% of people “felt more hopeful about Britain” after participating.