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In this edition of Expertise, expert Blanca Sánchez Goyenechea, Head of Special Procedures Unit, Sub-Directorate General for International Protection at the Spanish Ministry of Interior, recently deployed to take part in thePeru IV Action, discusses the need for knowledge exchange among government officials and inter-regional cooperation on asylum.

The European Union is supporting the Ecuadorian Chairmanship of the 2019 Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) through the MIgration EU eXpertise (MIEUX) Initiative, implemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD). The two-day regional workshop “Providing regular pathways from crisis to safety”, co-organised by ICMPD and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on 19 and 20 September in Quito, Ecuador is the third in a series of four regional workshops preceding the Quito Summit in November and will gather representatives from academia, national and local-level governments, international organisations and civil society to exchange experiences on management of mixed flows. 

The European Union is supporting the Ecuadorian Chairmanship of the 2019 Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) through the MIgration EU eXpertise (MIEUX) Initiative, implemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), in hosting the two-day regional workshop “Harnessing Migration for Rural Development”, on 14 and 15 August in Kingston, Jamaica. The second of a series of four regional workshops ahead of the Quito Summit in November will gather representatives from academia, national and local-level governments, International organisations and civil society to exchange experiences. 

Northern Brazil is facing a mounting challenge with the increasing arrival of a large number of migrant children, unaccompanied or not, to the Northern Brazilian States of Amazonas and Roraima. Responding to a request from the Public Defender's Office, MIEUX launched a new Action to assess the ongoing situation and to transmit the European experiences in areas of interview protocols for international protection applicants, especially children.

The European Union is supporting the Ecuadorian Chairmanship of the Global Forum on Migration and Development through the MIgration EU eXpertise (MIEUX) Initiative, implemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), in hosting the two-day regional workshop “Facilitating social and economic inclusion”, on 24 and 25 July in San José, Costa Rica. The first of a series of four regional round-tables ahead of the Quito Summit in November will gather representatives from academia, national and local-level government and civil society to exchange experiences in how to deliver services and apply innovative and rights-based approaches for the social and economic inclusion of migrants. 

Veronica Schaffer was placed with the MIEUX team in a 5-week internship programme organised within the framework of a joint summer school "Brussels Programme on European Foreign Policy" between the University of Southern California and the Institute for European Studies at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. During her time, she assisted with the preparations for the Project Lab MIEUX organised during the European Development Days, held over the course of two days last June in Brussels.  

Mamadou Togui Dabo,Foreign Affairs Advisor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Mali, has just participated as an expert in the Action that MIEUX is leading and shares his experience with our readers.

The 2018 Annual Report gives an overview of the main achievements during the past year when MIEUX celebrated its 10^th-year anniversary. You can find out more about each of the main sections below or download the full report in English or French.

This week we were in Praia for the closing of the 4^th MIEUX Action in Cabo Verde, presenting the Municipal Action Plans for Immigration and Integration (MAPII) we have helped to develop alongside with local authorities and the Direction General for Immigration (DGI). 

For this edition of MIEUX Reflections, Alfred Woeger, MIEUX's new Project Manager, shares with us a few thoughts about his experiences in the LAC region and an overview of what is to come during the year.

In light of the forthcoming UN Capacity Building Mechanism (CBM), MIEUX publishes a new Thematic Factsheet "Enhancing migration governance through capacity building " to describe how the programme has approached this subject since 2009 and to extract some of the key elements associated with it. 

In this article, Oleg Chirita, Programme Coordinator of Global Initiatives, celebrates the 10-year anniversary of the joint EU-ICMPD Migration EU eXpertise Initiative (MIEUX) by creating a year-by-year timeline of the main milestones since 2009.

In this edition of Expertise, Maria Velizarova, assigned to the MIEUX Action Thailand II, discusses her experience working with the Thai authorities, describing how to tailor the contents of training sessions so as to ensure that they are relevant to the recipients and aimed at resolving practical challenges in the day-to-day workflow of practitioners.

As part of the official programme of the 11th Global Forum on Migration and Development Summit, the Republic of Moldova and the joint EU-ICMPD MIgration EU eXpertise Initiative will co-host the side event “What role for capacity building in turning the Global Compact on  Migration into action?” on Friday 07 December at the Orangeraie Room, Palmeraie Conference Center in Marrakesh, between 08.30 and 09:45am. Working language will be English with French interpretation.

In this edition of Expertise, published on World Cities Day, both expert and partner authority discuss their insights around local-level integration and the central role of municipal services and government in easing immigrants’ transition into their country of destination. 

In early October 2018, MIEUX convened its final Regional Knowledge Sharing Round-table in Cotonou, Benin. The final Round-table was devoted to the region of West Africa and gathered 20+ participants, a mix of partners and experts, from Benin, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Togo among others.  

The joint EU- ICMPD Migration EU eXpertise Initiative (MIEUX) gathered 20 participants, composed of a mix of partner authorities, experts and MIEUX staff, for a two-day workshop in Cotonou, Benin about Migration and Environment. The event is the last of a series of activities executed after the request from the Ministry of Environment of Benin, the Office of Secretary of State of Guinea-Bissau and Ministry of Planning, Development and Land Use of Togo back in 2015.

In July 2018, MIEUX convened the Regional Knowledge Sharing Round-table for Latin America and the Caribbean in Mexico City. The event was co-hosted by the National Institute of Migration and gathered representatives from Argentina, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Paraguay and Peru and MIEUX Experts from Argentina and Spain over two and a half days.

In the latest edition of Expertise, MIEUX Expert Dr. Martin Russell, co-founder of the forthcoming DiasporaLab, gives his viewson the evolution and current trends in diaspora engagement, one of the areas that governments, especially across Africa, are developing as part of comprehensive migration and development strategies.

The third Regional Round-table was organised in Nairobi, Kenya, on 5 and 6 September 2018. The event was co-hosted by the Kenyan Department for Immigration Services and gathered representatives from Central African Republic, COMESA, the Democratic Republic of Congo, GIZ, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, and Rwanda. 

Mr. Pelayo Castro Zuzuarregui is the resident Ambassador and Head of EU Delegation to Costa Rica. In this interview, first published in MIEUX's Annual Report 2017, he discusses his involvement in the MIEUX Action assisting the Government of Costa Rica in drafting the second phase of the National Integration Plan.

In this interview, first published in the 2017 MIEUX Annual Report, Ms. Lanto Rahajarizafy, Director in charge of the Diaspora for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Madagascar, discusses her experience receiving support from MIEUX in the formulation of an inclusive and sustainable diaspora engagement policy that will provide a framework for the government to harness its potential for development. 

The 2017 Annual report describes the year’s activities; provides a wealth of data about MIEUX Actions; and features interviews from some of the main players involved in the programme.

This is part one of our three-part special feature on MIEUX Actions in Ghana, Thailand and Timor-Leste on the subject of trafficking in human beings (THB). Today’s article describes the context these activities take place against currents trends as well as the legal and institutional structures set-up to combat THB in each country.

In this new edition of MIEUX Reflections, Ms Stephanie Berry, Project Officer for East, Central and Southern Africa, describes her latest Action on diaspora engagement in Madagascar.

Starting today, and throughout 2018, MIEUX will publish a new series of ‘Regional Factsheets’ to present highlights, results and recommendations borne from 10 years of experience in each of the regions where it implements Actions: West Africa, Eastern and Southern Africa, Asia, the EU Neighbourhood and Latin America and the Caribbean. The first publication of the series is West Africa.

As 2017 draws to an end, it is time to reflect on what we have accomplished. What have our Actions achieved during these past 12 months in order to advance migration cooperation between EU and partner countries? Here is a selection of five main achievements and nine Actions that illustrate our progress.

During a recent study visit to Madrid and Barcelona, MIEUX Associate Project Officer, Mr. Markel Redondo Ibarrondo, felt inspired by the discussions he held with several civil society organisations and government authorities at local and national level on the topic of integration of immigrants.

On 21 September 2017, MIEUX convened a one-day event with a selected group of participants to discuss the topic of partnerships and capacity development in migration management.

Between 18 and 22 September 2017, MIEUX organised a study visit for a delegation of four Costa Rican officials from the Ministries of Labour and Social Security, Public Education and the Directorate for Integration and Human Development (DIDH) under the General Directorate of Migration and Foreigners (DGME) to Madrid and Barcelona (Spain). This activity is part of the six-step action designed to support the Costa Rican Directorate General for Migration and Foreigners (DGME) in developing its second National Integration Plan (2018-2022).

MIEUX Reflections is an ongoing series that provides a space where our Project Staff can share their insights on their recent missions.

On any given week, a member of the MIEUX team, together with a group of experts, can be deployed around the world to support EU partner countries in reviewing, transforming and improving their migration policies.

These missions provide opportunities to interact with the full range of local, regional and/or national actors that are involved in  MIEUX’s activities.

Once on the ground, the many months of preparation come alive, inspiring the Project Staff to go forward and apply Lessons Learnt into new activities.