The 13th GFMD Summit was held online from 18 – 26 January 2021 under the Chairmanship of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Summit marked the end of a year-long process, which encompassed five online regional consultations, three Friends of the Forum, two Migration Labs, alongside numerous webinars and meetings of the GFMD Working Groups.
For the first time in 2020, all GFMD sessions were open to civil society delegates to attend (with the exception of the Future of the Forum and the Business and Mayors Mechanisms networking sessions). Prior to the Summit, all civil society delegates met to discuss their own priorities during the GFMD Civil Society Preparatory Meeting (CSPM).
Key events for civil society participants at the 13th Summit:
Opening Ceremony
| Civil Society Statement by Stella Opoku-Owusu, Deputy Director, African Foundation for Development (AFFORD) | Written statement Video |
Closing Ceremony
| Civil Society Statement by Helena Olea, Associate Director, Programs, Alianza Americas | Written statement |
Summit Roundtables organized around the six 2020 themes selected by the Chair
| Roundtable on theme 1, The Governance of Labour Migration in the Context of Changing Employment Landscapes | Civil Society intervention by Julius H. Cainglet, Vice President, Federation of Free Workers (FFW) |
| Roundtable on theme 2, Skilling Migrants for Employment | Civil Society intervention by Stella Opoku Owusu, Deputy Director, African Foundation for Development (AFFORD) |
| Roundtable on theme 3, Leveraging New Technologies to Empower Migrants | Civil Society intervention by Onyekachi Wambu, Director, African Foundation for Development (AFFORD) |
| Roundtable on theme 4, Addressing Gaps in Migrant Protection | Civil Society intervention by Helena Olea, Associate Director, Programs, Alianza Americas (Spanish) |
| Roundtable on theme 5, Discussing Approaches to Address Irregular Migration – What Works? What Doesn’t? | Civil Society intervention by Michele LeVoy, Director, Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) |
| Roundtable on theme 6, Fostering Partnerships to Realise Migration-Related Goals in the Sustainable Development Agenda and Managing the Future of Human Mobility | Civil Society intervention by William Gois, Regional Coordinator, Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA) |
Civil Society & Governments Networking Sessions
On January 20, 2021, the civil society networking sessions represented an opportunity for open, informal and thought-provoking discussions between civil society and governments on the impact of COVID-19 on migrants, migration and development.
The “Building Back Better after COVID-19: Regular Pathways and Solutions for Recovery” event looked at gaps the pandemic underscored and focused on solutions to Build Back Better for and with migrants. In this regard, regular migration pathways were discussed as an important path towards recovery, including how they could contribute to the economic and social recovery efforts.
Civil society side events
For the 13th GFMD Summit, 2 side events were organized by civil society representatives on January 18, 2021.
Non-Payment of Wages and Benefits: Impacts on the Life of Migrants and their Families Post-COVID-19
Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA) and the Council of Global Unions (CGU) focused in their side event on the enormous challenges that migrants faced in 2020 due to the closure of businesses amid lockdowns.
Many migrant workers faced termination, with employers unable or unwilling to provide earned wages and end-of-service benefits, and workers sometimes repatriated without the means to seek redress for grievances related to non-payment of wages.
The event provided an avenue for an interactive exchange and touched upon what had been done, and what remained to be done.
The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Migrant Workers Workers in the Middle East – a Discussion on the Gained Experience
Organised by the Swedish Embassy with the support of the International Federation of Building and Wood Workers (BWI), this side event aimed to give an insight into the devastating impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on a global scale, affecting millions of persons around the world, especially the most vulnerable in society.
Migrant workers had been particularly susceptible to job losses, salary cuts and various health and safety concerns. The event looked at these challenges in the context of the Middle East.
It Takes a Community: Building a Global Movement to Balance the Narrative on Migration
This event showcased “It Takes a Community”, a collaborative campaign developed by the GFMD Working Group on Public Narratives on Migration that aims to shift the narrative on migration by sharing stories about the positive impact migration can have on communities worldwide. Building on the campaign’s soft launch that took place on 18 December 2020, speakers shared a call to action for members of the GFMD community to participate in the campaign’s implementation throughout 2021.