



She qualified the current situation as being a “regional and worldwide disorder” by referring to the rapid urbanization of the planet, the demographic transitions in the North and South and the blockages in the freedom of movement. According to her, solutions to exit this “disorder” are: 1. Integrate countries of emigration in the debates, as the big countries of immigration are currently monopolizing the discourse on the structural global framework on migrations, 2. Structure the reflection at an international level, 3. Elaborate norms which would be imposed on States, 4. Make mobility a global public good, 5. Restore political trust in the State and give hope to populations without necessarily establishing a new world economic order.




The City of Milan also tries to rethink integration services within a transnational context, by considering migrants as bridges between territories.
Moreover, Milan is a member of the Eurocities network and, by signing the “Integration Cities” charter, is committed to the integration of migrants.


The second thematic session focused on the links and consistencies between local authorities, civil society organizations and European public policies.


- Rodrigo Ballester, of the DG Home Affairs, completed Mr. Camacho’s presentation by establishing a link with the Global Approach to Migration and Mobility. This Approach, adopted in 2011, guides the general framework of European policies in the field of external migration.

The first day ended with a more festive moment: a cocktail buffet was hosted by the City of Brussels in the Wedding Room of the Town Hall.


The second day of the seminar started with a thematic session on the practices of active citizenship and intercultural dialogue carried out by local authorities and migration associations and the way they bring better policy coherence between migration, integration and development. This session examined how, in this context, local authorities and the civil society can effectively bring better policy linkages between these three elements. The issue of intercultural governance as a participatory, proactive and preventive approach was also addressed.



- Farida van Bommel, of Women for Peace in the Moluccas, gave an overview of the situation in the Molucca Islands, in the north-east of Indonesia, where a conflict between Christians (95% of the population) and Muslims (5%) persists since 1999 (with outbreaks of violence between 1999 et 2003). Farida and her colleagues felt the need to react to these tensions that were felt all the way in the Netherlands by creating a platform of refugee women in the Netherlands. According to the members of this platform, women can play a significant role for peace and security and can be change makers. The platform organized two conferences in Burundi and in Jakarta gathering women “peace-makers” to defend Resolution 1325 of the UN Security Council on women, peace and security.
Furthermore, Women for Peace in the Moluccas cooperates with local authorities in the Netherlands and in the Molucca Islands on the themes of citizenship and empowerment of women. Since 2010, a training program to reach the MDG 3 (gender equality), 5 (maternal health) and 6 (fight against HIV/AIDS) is organized in 62 villages of these islands.

- Cécile Riallant presented the EC-UN Joint Migration & Development Initiative which attempts to articulate the national and the local. This initiative criticizes local development plans for not giving enough attention to the migratory phenomena, which consequently leads to the fragmentation of local authorities’ actions in this field. It hence aims at supporting local authorities and the civil society which work on the link between migration and development and the opportunities that result from it.
- Kryemadhi Safet, representing the Deputy Burgomaster for international solidarity, Mr. El Ktibi, intervened on the actions of the City of Brussels in the field of development cooperation. On one hand, a “Council of Brussels Residents of Foreign Origins” was created; it unites into four thematic groups in order to analyze and evaluate the policies undertaken by the City (teaching, social affairs, citizenship and participation, cultures and diversity).
On the other hand, Brussels is implementing projects of decentralized cooperation with the cities of Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo) and Tetouan (Morocco) for the strengthening of capacities of local administrations in the fields of civil registration, public cleanliness, health (Kinshasa) and social action (Tetouan).

- Juan Jose Ortiz Quevedo, representing the Spanish municipality of Cadiz, spoke to us about the creation of a council of migrants and the significant support for cooperation and development education. The Andalusian city is also a member of PLATFORMA, a European platform gathering 24 local and regional authorities since 2008 and aiming at gaining more political recognition for the actions of local and regional authorities in the fields of development cooperation, at creating an extensive dialogue between the latter and European institutions, and at promoting an efficient decentralized cooperation for the development of partner territories.
- Finally, Ignacio Martinez completed this theme by presenting the work of Plataforma 2015, a Spanish association assembling 17 NGO and fostering communication, awareness-raising and training actions on the significance of human development. Plataforma 2015 highlights the importance of requiring for governments to respect international agreements aiming at achieving more coherent and efficient international cooperation to reduce poverty and social exclusion.

- Diversity, intercultural relations and citizen participation as crucial elements to the development of territories
- The capacity-building of local authorities and CSO in the area of migration-development-integration as an important prerequisite for the achievement of the complementarity of actions between NSAs actors and local authorities
- The coordination of the planning and programming of decentralized cooperation and projects of international solidarity in close consultation with the local voluntary sector based on migration
- The promotion of exchanges of practices and networking
Ronald Lucardie, President of Eunomad
Claire de Rasilly, Eunomad Coordinator, ADER (France)

Pascale Charhon, European Public Affairs Manager of Eunomad, IRFAM (Belgium)

Rubén Cardenas, German platform animator, FABRO e.V.
Jara Henar, Spanish platform animator, Alianza por la Solidaridad
Download the analytical summary of the seminar, prepared by Lorenzo Gabrielli (in French only).
Read the PLATFORMA article on the seminar