Event LINK 2007 Nexus Migration and Development – Festival ASVIS 2023
16/05/2023
During the ASVIS Festival of Development 2023, LINK 2007 seminar on the Nexus Migration and Development was held in Rome, an important moment of dialogue and discussion on the link between Migration and Development and on the future perspectives of the Project “Personal fulfilment as an alternative to migration” with a special focus on microfinance.
A workshop organised by LINK 2007 was held in Rome on Tuesday 16 May on the occasion of the ASVIS Sustainable Development Festival. It was an important moment of dialogue and discussion on the intrinsic link between migration and development. The workshop, moderated by LINK 2007 president Roberto Ridolfi, was attended by the partners of the project “Personal fulfilment as an alternative to migration” and institutional actors such as Roberto Colaminè, deputy director of DGCS, and Caterina Torchiaro, head of DG INTPA for aid and international cooperation. Also participated, Filippo Scammacca del Murgo Ambassador of Italy to Cameroon, Stefano Dejak Ambassador of Italy to Mali, Emilia Gatto Ambassador of Italy to Niger, Giovanni Umberto De Vito Ambassador of Italy to Dakar and Andrea Romussi Ambassador of Italy to Burkina Faso.
The workshop focused on sharing with a group of stakeholders the idea of a new program based on the experiences of LINK 2007 and the NGOs in the network. As Sandro De Luca, director of CISP, pointed out, it is a matter of promoting a series of actions to strengthen a network of actors working together to build an integrated system of opportunities. In particular, this initiative intends to follow up on the project “Redemption Song: Maximiser les gains de la migration et minimiser ses coûts sociaux en Afrique de l’Ouest” carried out between 2018 and 2019 in Senegal, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. Based on this experience, a series of actions are being implemented that aim to systematise development actors and initiatives in favour of young people; to directly promote training opportunities and the development of income-generating activities and businesses, including through the microfinance instrument. The program aims to develop communication initiatives that provide young people with effective and relevant information on job and personal development opportunities and support for local development initiatives promoted by young people in their communities.
Finally, it aims to promote and support initiatives for discussion and debate in local communities, civil society and the general public on the migration issue. The project aims to broaden the territorial and temporal dimension.
The several high-level interventions that animated the workshop highlighted the importance of networking, in particular through the involvement of civil society and diasporas, which are important connecting elements that facilitate linkages between countries. The discussion focused on the need to promote more flexible migration mechanisms, e.g. by favouring circular migration processes; on the impact of climate change on migration flows; on the importance of building the credibility of networks that work on the nexus between migration and development, can operate on a large scale by influencing policy makers and can have an effective impact. In closing, Roberto Ridolfi recalled the SDGs of the 2030 Agenda and the importance of implementing a sustainable development model, not only at an environmental level but also at an economic and social one, to overcome the idea that sustainability is only an environmental issue and to affirm an integrated vision of the different dimensions of development. In the context of the Festival, the implementation of the Agenda requires a strong involvement of all the components of society: from businesses to the public sector, from civil society to philanthropic institutions, from universities and research centres to information and cultural operators, united in a common goal.