Event: Multi-stakeholder Partnerships – African intermediary cities as actors and partners in urban migration governance
An Africities workshop organized by the Equal Partnerships Project
African intermediary cities are increasingly becoming central nodes of mixed migration movements. With the adoption of the “Charter of local and subnational governments of Africa on migration” in 2018, over 30 local and regional governments (LRGs) emphasized that mixed migration could be a catalyst for socio-economic development, if LRGs had the necessary means and appropriate partners to implement inclusive and cross-sectoral approaches. In parallel, there is a growing interest among international organizations, national governments and civil society actors to explore possibilities for collaboration with LRGs. Organizations and projects such as Cities Alliance, the Mayors Mechanism, MC2CM and UCLG Africa have pioneered work in this regard. While important progress has been achieved so far, knowledge and cooperation gaps remain in many areas between local, national and international actors
This Africities workshop will initiate and strengthen the exchange of knowledge and experience between local authorities and other stakeholders addressing questions of mixed migration, including international organizations, national governments, civil society, migrant and refugee led organizations. The workshop will offer a space for discussing in concrete terms what is needed in different urban contexts to shape multi-stakeholder partnerships in the spirit of the Charter of local and subnational governments of Africa on Migration, national strategies, and the Global Compacts for Migration and Refugees. It will also provide a platform to discuss the Call to Local Action for Migrants and Refugees presented by the Mayors Mechanism in partnership with UNHCR at the International Migration Review Forum.
The session is co-organized by UCLG Africa, the University of Nuremberg, Samuel Hall and the German Development Institute as part of the project “Multi-stakeholder Partnerships – African Intermediary Cities as Actors and Partners in Urban Migration Governance”. The session benefits from a cooperation with the MMC bringing in the latest findings of their research in collaboration with UNHCR on “Going to town: A mapping of city-to-city and urban initiatives focusing on the protection of people on the move along the Central and Western Mediterranean Routes”. The session is supported by the Robert Bosch Stiftung and the MC2CM project.
Time, date & place: 9:00 – 12:30, 18 May 2022, Africities Venue, Room 14, Kisumu, Kenya
Chair: Mohamed Wajdi Aydi, Vice-Mayor of Sfax, Tunisia
Participants: African mayors and local leaders; representatives from national governments; representatives from international organizations; migrant and refugee associations; civil society actors; academic experts
Organizers: UCLG Africa, University of Nuremberg, Samuel Hall, German Development Institute and Mixed Migration Centre
Session agenda: English version, French version