The Migration Youth and Children Platform (MYCP) is the GFMD Steering Group-mandated stakeholder group facilitating youth engagement in the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD). Since 2017, we have sought to continue our mission of facilitating the meaningful participation and engagement of young people to GFMD discussions and activities, as well as in all levels of GFMD-related, instigated, or inspired cooperation. More information about the GFMD is available here.
During the two days that constituted the preparatory meetings for the Global Forum on Migration and Development 2022-23, Alicja Lelwic-Ojeda, MYCP Co-Director, Riza Franchesca Regala, GFMD Programme Co-Manager, and Léa Fournier, GFMD Programme Co-Manager, were present in Geneva to contribute and participate in the Friends of the Forum and Government-led roundtable consultations. MYCP and the three GFMD mechanisms – Civil Society, Business, and Mayors, actively participated as officially-mandated observers. At the Friends of the Forum meeting, France, the 2022/23 GFMD Chair, shared information on GFMD governance, upcoming plans and events and the chairing of the government-led roundtables.
We took the floor during the Friends of the Forum meeting to present our 2022/23 objectives and activities aiming to foster youth participation in the GFMD process. A Power Point presentation, prepared by Alana Sena, and our full statement are annexed below.
During the second day, we intervened in all the roundtable consultations. The first consultation focused on the impact of climate change on human mobility: preventive action, humanitarian action and development. Lukmon Akintola and Zihan Xuan described how we create synergies between various work streams focused on climate mobility of young peopleThe second roundtable focused on Rights and migration: working to ensure the health, safety and rights of migrants. Beth Stinchcombe called for migrant and youth-friendly accessibility provisions in essential services. The third roundtable addressed Diasporas: actors of economic, social and cultural development of regions where Riza Franchesca Regala urged governments to provide technical, logistical, and resource support for youth diaspora engagement In their respective interventions, ICMPD stressed the importance of engaging with the youth diaspora, and GIZ applauded MYCP activities in this regard. The fourth roundtable is on Labour migration: promoting the economic inclusion of migrants. Victoria Kulesza reminded that children and youth on the move will increasingly become key actors in the global economy and should be provided the mechanisms supporting their school-to-work transition. The Government of Zimbabwe echoed MYCP position in their statement. The fifth roundtable focused on Improving the perception of migration in public opinion through narratives, culture, emotion and rational discourse. Victoria Zagitova introduced our plans of launching a social media campaign on shaping narratives on migration, in synergy with the #ItTakesACommunity Campaign that MYCP co-creates. The sixth roundtable is focused on Multi-level governance: bringing together the various stakeholders for improved migration management. In the opening remarks, the Government of Azerbaijan specifically mentioned the importance of youth participation. Intervening on behalf of MYCP, Léa Fournier stressed that working at all levels of governance and with diverse stakeholders is essential to build a sustainable and effective governance structure All our interventions are available below.
In all our interventions, we emphasized the activities that we had already done
Important dates:
- GFMD Cultural event – June 2023 in Paris
- GFMD Summit – February 2024 in Paris
GRT Interventions – final FoF Youth Statement Alicja Lelwic 22.11.2022.docx
