20.01.2010

Fleeing to a safer future

Absence on Twitter due to actual participation in a workshop. Despite lunch glitches, NMC has managed to split 500 delegates into manageable groups and get things going. I am participating in the “Fleeting to a Safer Future” workshop under the Human Security and Development themes. After a rather simplistic presentation on migration yesterday, we split into small groups of 15 and began developing our action plans. Rather than focus on the What and How of migration, we’re heading into “What do Do?” Hopefully, the final document will be a series of activities that address the plight of migrants arriving in foreign countries under the themes, Education/Awareness (focus on youth), Press, International and Regional Agreements, Politics and Government. For example, under Press we would suggest a series of seminars dealing with balanced coverage of migration, by, for example, drawing on equal part migrants and “local” interviewees. We’ve got a varied amount of people with us. One Kenyan who has lived as an illegal immigrant, two people from the International Labour Organization, many Italians who are aware of racial difficulties in Southern Italy and then a Brazilian who works on a organization that helps migrants understand the risks of leaving their country. Looking forward to today!