July 2022 marked the official start of the French Chairmanship of the GFMD that will officially last until early 2024. The impact of climate change on human mobility is the central theme of this Chairmanship. In addition, six thematic priorities were identified by the Chair:
- The impact of climate change on human mobility: preventive action, humanitarian action and development
- Rights and migration: working to ensure the health, safety and rights of migrants
- Diasporas: actors of economic, social and cultural development of regions
- Labour migration: promoting the economic inclusion of migrants
- Improving the perception of migration in public opinion through narratives, culture, emotion and rational discourse
- Multi-level governance: bringing together the various stakeholders for improved migration management
Civil Society at the Heart of the GFMD
The above six thematic priorities present the opportunity to explore some important dimensions of migration, including the role that culture may play to reinforce and sustain the positive effects of human mobility. However, a truly inclusive approach would not be possible without the participation of civil society in each step of the GFMD process. Civil society working on the ground to improve the conditions of migrants bring to the fore the contributions of all migrants as essential stakeholders. For this reason, the six thematic priorities represent a key entry point for civil society to engage actively in these discussions, bringing their expertise, actions and knowledge of migration dynamics in various regional, political and social contexts. In this regard, the GFMD Civil Society Mechanism will be developing working methods for civil society on these thematic priorities, providing the space to exchange on lessons learned and propose substantive action to governments and other stakeholders within the GFMD process.
As one of the official stakeholders, civil society will have the opportunity to actively contribute through consultations, recommendations and advocacy. The Civil Society Preparatory Meeting, which has replaced the Civil Society Days, will also be a space for self-organising and development of joint civil society inputs towards the GFMD summit.
For the 2023 GFMD process, the CSM has been building its own year-long civil society process to feed into the GFMD activities. This includes a wide range of self-organised civil society preparatory events and activities beginning with the Abuja Forum (an African civil society and diaspora forum in Abuja, Nigeria in January 2023). The entire civil society process is referred to as the “Road from Abuja to Paris”.
As part of this process, civil society networks and groups are self-organising their own activities or events towards the GFMD. Any civil society member who wishes to engage in the GFMD should first engage actively in one or more of these civil society events and activities.
Learn more about our mechanism engagement in the GFMD 2022-2024 in the leaflet below:
Calendar of Activities
The 2022-2023 Chairmanship provisional calendar of activities outlines the following major events leading up to the 14th GFMD summit:
- 22-23 November: First preparatory meeting, Geneva (hybrid)
- 29 March 2023: Thematic workshop on labour migration and climate change, Geneva (hybrid)
- 18-19 April: Second preparatory meeting, Geneva (hybrid)
- 27-28 June 2023: Workshop on culture, narratives and mobility (Day 1), workshop on environmental displacement (Day 2) in Paris at Musée de l’histoire de l’immigration
- 24-25 October: Third preparatory meeting, Geneva (hybrid)
- Early 2024: 14th GFMD Summit, Geneva
Throughout the Chairmanship, our Civil Society Mechanism will continue to propose activities for civil society with ongoing updates on the website. To continue following the activities of the GFMD and receive updates, please subscribe to our newsletter.
For any questions, please reach out to: gfmdcivilsociety@icmc.net