by Joshua Massarenti
On the 13th October 2009, the JMDI had a lot going on in Brussels. In the morning, experts, academics and practitioners gathered for a seminar co-organised by the European Policy Centre on “The Role of Transnational Practices in Migration and Development“. In the afternoon, the EC-UN JMDI Grant Contract Signing Ceremony took place, with Jacques Barrot, Vice-President of the European Commission, and Responsible for Justice, Liberty and Security, and Antonio Vigilante, Director of the United Nations/United Nations Development Programme Office in Brussels signing symbolic grant agreements with five JMDI grantee groups [pictured]. They congratulated the representatives who were present from a number of the 55 projects which had been selected by the JMDI, emphasizing the crucial role of migrants in the fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals.
Amongst those present was Mathieu Lafrechoux, Programme Coordinator of the Groupe de Recherche et de réalisations pour le Développement Rural (GRDR), a French NGO which has been carrying out development work in Mali, Senegal and Mauritania (in the Sénégal River basin), in collaboration with local authorities, migrant associations, and individual migrants who live in France. In addition project financed by the JMDI*, the GRDR has been working extensively on transnational practices in migration and development. Lafrechoux explains that “The GRDR was founded as result of a meeting between leaders, migrant communities and a few French agriculturalists”. The first important turning point came in the early 1980s, at the time when migrants’ right to form associations was first recognized in France.
“As decentralization does not exist in West Africa, the migrants whom we worked with were the key participants in all of the initiatives which were out in the “forgotten” areas, where there were no local authorities. Migrant associations were aware of these problems, and decided to create federations between the various associations in France, and to create federations of “sister” associations in the South, to unite villages. “This movement developed between the mid-1980s and the late 1990s,” explains Lafrechoux, “leading to the development of a very active local civil society, which would end up becoming independent and autonomous from the movements of migrant associations”.
And here we are at the beginning of the 21st century, with decentralization having become a reality. “This turning point has forced us to reflect on two relational axes: the relationships between the associations in the developing country and the local communities, and between local communities and migrants. Our task is to reposition the role of the migrants, who had previously been the main actors in the development of the Sénégal River basin. The turning point is all the more paradoxical when one thinks that, without the migrants, the local authorities would not have emerged at all. “Many villages have become municipalities as a result of the associational movements created by migrants”.
Unfortunately, these cases are very scattered. Not by chance, the project funded by the JMDI will map migration and development projects which have been carried out in the Kayes Region of Mali over the last 40-50 years, and will codify good practices, developing new research tools and methodologies to do so. But there is another challenge in addition to this one, and one which is equally as important. This concerns the future of the associations which were founded by the first generation of immigrants. “The old guard is on its way out, and it is fundamental that they hand over the reins to a new generation, which is at risk of not taking an interest in the development of their own homeland”, concludes Lafrechoux. There is still a lot of work to be done…
* See http://www.migration4development.org/content/education-co-d%C3%A9veloppement-mali-r%C3%A9gion-kayes
A Road Map for Local Authorities
by Chiara Bortolazzi (ERLAI)
The Emilia-Romagna Region and partners from the JMDI Local Authorities Team, in collaboration with the Lazio Region, organized and held a seminar on 11th December 2009 entitled “Understanding the Migration & Development Nexus. A Roadmap for Local Authorities”.
The objective of this meeting was twofold. On the one hand, it aimed to share and discuss with Local Authorities the outcomes of the peer-review process which was recently launched, and to involve local authorities inside and outside the EU. On the other hand, it served as an opportunity for Local Authorities to exchange ideas on their specific needs in Migration and Development (M&D) issues.
After an introduction to the Joint Migration and Development Initiative (JMDI) and the presentation of three projects selected and financed by the JMDI – linking Morocco with Murcia in Spain, the UK with Nigeria, and Latvia with Georgia – the ‘Networking and Participation of Local Authorities Team’ presented the first outcome of its peer-review exercise among Local Authorities, the overall goal of which has been to involve LAs in the formulation of policy recommendations, aiming to enhance their capacity to effectively connect migration with development trends.
Participants were also given information about the new Stockholm Programme and the strategies and actions planned on M&D, looking at regional and local authorities. The Stockholm Programme is a very important document for migration and development. Next year the European Commission plans to produce a new Communication, in order to have, by 2012, several concrete proposals for action.
The discussion was animated and helped to focus on the main challenges that Local Authorities face in the M&D realm. Amongst others, participants shared the idea that there is a lack of awareness and a lack of expertise and competence in third countries at Local Authority level, which accounts for the difficulty in working together. For this reason, there is a strong need to raise awareness among Local Authorities in the first place, and it is very important to create good partnerships with third country institutions. The JMDI can represent an answer.
All the presentations given at this event can be downloaded online here (third event down): http://www.emiliaromagnasociale.it/wcm/emiliaromagnasociale/home/immigrazione/Erlai/Presentation/Events.htm
Good Practices: Projects Approved:
Nigeria: Irregular Migration – Filling the Information Gap
Interview with Simon Massey, Coventry University, UK
Latvia/Georgia Applying Lessons Learned
by Eugenia Orsi
Algeria: Brain drain and local development
by Joshua Massarenti
Migrant’s role in Decentralized Development Cooperation
by Joshua Massarenti
For more information or to join the M4D Local Authorties network contact: Sandra.Rainero@venetolavoro.it
To Read these and other articles, please see the Migration for Development Local Authorities Network Newsletter at the link below:
| Attachment | Size |
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| NEWSLETTER_3_ENG_DEF.pdf | 3.35 MB |
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