During the opening ceremony of the 12th Global Forum on Migration and Development Summit, Stella Opoku-Owusu invited participants to “remember to put migrants at the heart of our discussions and also to bring our hearts to the discussions.” Having participated in several of the following deliberations, she declared that “I think that’s what people did!”

In this video interview, Ms. Opoku-Owusu, one of the two Civil Society Day Co-Chairs, reviews the participation of civil society representatives in the GFMD Quito Summit.

“One of the messages that we shared with governments”, Ms. Opoku-Owusu explains, “was about upholding shared values, human values. And within that, basically putting an end to criminalizing those who support, or who try to save lives, and criminalizing migrants as well.”

“Throughout the civil society day we asked participants to focus on action, to focus on good practices, and they absolutely did,” she continues.

Ms. Opoku-Owusu also takes a look at possible avenues for future engagement between civil society organizations, States and other stakeholders.

Watch the full interview.