Migration Policy Institute Podcasts

Bali Forum on Skill and Mobility in ASEAN - Welcoming Remarks

These welcoming remarks introduce the themes and objectives of the Bali Forum on Skill Mobility in ASEAN, which took place on September 28-29, 2015 in Bali, Indonesia. The forum’s objective was the launch of a joint initiative between the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) to better understand the barriers to the freer movement of professionals within ASEAN and develop strategies to gradually overcome these hurdles. During this recording, remarks are offered by ADB Vice President Bambang Susantono; Takuro Tasaka, the Counsellor of Economic Affairs of the Embassy of Japan in Indonesia; Imelda Nicolas, Chairperson of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas; and MPI President Michael Fix.

A Discussion on the Effects of Asian Labor Migration on the Health of Left-Behind Children

The IOM Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific launched the 14th Issue in Brief in a series from MPI and IOM, which focused on left-behind children of Asian labor migrants. This event explores the social and health impacts of international labor migration on the children who remain at home when one or both their parents emigrate. The launch was attended by several representatives from diplomatic missions and UN agencies, including the embassies of Bangladesh, the Philippines, and UNICEF.

Rethinking Integration for the Age of Superdiversity: How to Adapt Public Services? Session 3: The Future of Integration Policy

This Migration Policy Institute Europe public discussion explores how a coordinated approach to immigrant integration may create more effective and inclusive approaches to diversity across the policy-making spectrum. It also covers the findings of the UPSTREAM project, a multicountry study funded by the European Integration Fund that looks at the practice of mainstreaming in early childhood education, multilingual classrooms, antiracism, and equality strategies, and neighborhood and housing policy. Session 3, "The Future of Integration Policy," includes speakers  Elizabeth Collett, Director of Migration Policy Institute Europe, Carmen Blanco, Spanish Deputy Director of Legal Affairs, and Laura Corrado, Head of Legal Migration and Integration of the European Commission Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs.

The Asia-Pacific and Women’s Labour Migration

At this briefing, hosted by the International Organization for Migration and the Migration Policy Institute, speakers discuss the critical issues surrounding women's labour migration in the Asia-Pacific region and the related opportunities and challenges. The event marks the launch of the IOM-MPI Issue in Brief, Women’s Labour Migration from Asia and the Pacific: Opportunities and Challenges, the twelfth in a joint-publication series offering succinct insights on migration issues affecting the Asia-Pacific region today.

Note: Due to technical errors, the audio does not include opening remarks and starts with the author's presentation. 

A ‘Freer’ Flow of Skilled Labour within ASEAN: Aspirations, Opportunities, and Challenges in 2015 and Beyond

In 2007, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed on an ambitious goal to fast-track the creation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2015, which would transform the ASEAN region into a single market and production base. The transformation would be based on five core components, including a free flow of skilled labor. This briefing, held in Bangkok, Thailand and hosted by the International Organization for Migration and the Migration Policy Institute, explores these issues and launches the Issue in Brief, A ‘Freer’ Flow of Skilled Labour within ASEAN: Aspirations, Opportunities and Challenges in 2015 and Beyond, the eleventh in a joint publication series offering succinct insights on migration issues affecting the Asia-Pacific region today. To read the series, visit: www.migrationpolicy.org/regions/asia-and-pacific.

Integrating Migration into the Post-2015 United Nations Development Agenda

This event held in Bangkok, Thailand and co-sponsored by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) marks the launch of Integrating Migration into the Post-2015 United Nations Development Agenda, the tenth Issue in Brief in a joint-MPI-IOM publication series offering insight on migration issues affecting the Asia-Pacific region. The discussion covers the role of migration as a driver for development and explores how to integrate migration-related targets and indicators into the post-2015 development agenda.

Syrians on the Edge: The Status of Refugees in Neighboring Countries

This MPI panel discussion, in partnership with the Middle East Institute and the Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies (ORSAM), examines the status of Syrian refugees abroad and the effect of the ongoing Syrian crisis on Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq. Panelists Oytun Orhan, ORSAM Project Coordinator and Researcher, Peri-Khan Aqrawi-Whitcomb, Middle East Research Institute Junior Research Fellow, Faysal Itani, Resident Fellow at the Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, and Saban Kardas, ORSAM President discuss the experiences of each country as outlined in ORSAM’s report. The project team visited each country and after six months of boots-on-the-ground research, found that women and children account for more than 75 percent of the refugees, making education in particular a devastating issue for the next generation of Syrians. In addition, Syrian emigrants settle not only in camps but also in cities, raising prices and lowering wages all along the Syrian borders. The discussion is moderated by Kathleen Newland, Director of the Refugee Protection Program at MPI.

The panel makes the case that because of the heavy financial and social costs, Syrian displacement is not merely a problem for Syria or even the greater Middle East; the destabilization is a global problem requiring significant outreach to the global community.

To read the report from ORSAM, click here: www.orsam.org.tr/en/showReport.aspx?ID=2638

A Discussion on the Global Forum on Migration and Development: Perspectives from Asia and the Pacific

This International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Migration Policy Institute (MPI) meeting launches the Issue in Brief, The Global Forum on Migration and Development: Perspectives from Asia and the Pacific, the ninth in this MPI/IOM joint-publication series that offer succinct insights on migration issues affecting the Asia-Pacific region today. The discussion explores the Asia-Pacific priorities for the GMFD 2014 and provides recommendations on how the GMFD can be a development focused and results-oriented forum.

Over the last seven years, many governments in the Asia-Pacific region have been actively engaged in the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) not only as participants to the process but also as leaders driving its direction and continuity. The region’s active engagement has clearly made an impact judging on the themes and topics of the GFMD since 2007. To continue its success and to remain as relevant, the GFMD has to be as instrumental in shaping the reality on the ground as much as the global discourse on migration and development.

The 2014 Global Forum on Migration and Development: Setting the Agenda for International Cooperation

In advance of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) convening in Stockholm in May 2014, the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) hosted a conversation with H.E. Eva Åkerman Börje, Ambassador and Chair of the 2014 GFMD to discuss the forum’s agenda, policy areas that seem ripe for action, and what impact the GFMD discussions will have on the post-2015 development agenda. Also taking part in the call: Kathleen Newland, Director of MPI’s Migrants, Migration, and Development Program, and MPI Senior European Policy Fellow Gregory Maniatis.

Human Rights, Climate Change, Environmental Degradation and Migration: A New Paradigm

This MPI event, in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), discusses the critical issue of climate-related displacement in the Asia-Pacific region, explored in depth in the joint MPI and IOM brief Human Rights, Climate Change, Environmental Degradation and Migration: A New Paradigm. Climate change and environmental degradation are predicted to displace millions of people in the coming years, either directly or indirectly. While today’s international legal framework provides a degree of protection to those displaced by environmental factors and climatic events, there is no global consensus on a definition for such a group. In the absence of this, gaps in the legal system, and in implementation, how can recognition of the vulnerability of environmental migrants be facilitated and their protection ensured? This discussion explores how to protect climate change-induced migrants, particularly in the highly vulnerable Asia-Pacific region.

A Discussion in Preparation for October’s High-Level Dialogue (HLD) on International Migration and Development: What Can We Expect?

The UN High-Level Dialogue on Migration and Development in October 2013 offers a rare opportunity for governments to open a new chapter of cooperative policy making on a force – international migration – that is fundamental to both human and national development. This MPI teleconference addresses what outcomes are expected from the High-Level Dialogue: what the major topics of debate will be, what policy areas are ripe for action, and what impact the High-Level Dialogue may have on the Global Forum on Migration and Development and the post-2015 development agenda. Speakers are: H.E. Eva Åkerman Börje, Ambassador, Secretariat for the Swedish Chairmanship of the Global Forum on Migration and Development; Gregory A. Maniatis, Special Advisor to Peter Sutherland, UN Special Representative for International Migration and MPI Senior European Policy Fellow; and Kathleen Newland, Director of MPI’s Migrants, Migration and Development Program. The call is moderated by Ms. Newland.

Engaging Diaspora Talent: How Countries Can Integrate their Diaspora and Development Agendas

Diaspora engagement has become a key and accepted component in the arsenal of development strategies. The question of how to effectively and efficiently harness the force of a country’s diaspora through government intervention and policy remains one that many governments and international organizations are grappling with as they move forward with development policy and strategy. Diaspora interventions tend to be organic in nature and outside the confines of the typical government and institutional structures. The Migration Policy Institute has released an edited volume, How Can Talent Abroad Induce Development at Home? Towards a Pragmatic Diaspora Agenda, which includes commentary from leading experts in the field. During this book launch discussion at MPI, volume editor Yevgeny Kuznetsov, a World Bank senior consultant and MPI nonresident fellow, discusses findings with Kathleen Newland, Director of MPI’s Migrants, Migration, and Development program; and Lev Freinkman, author of research in the volume and former World Bank senior economist. The discussion offers new insight into how governments and international organizations can effectively implement diaspora engagement strategies that utilize institutions, the private sector, and individuals to their full potential.

Stranded Migrants: A New Challenge for the International Community

With global mobility on the rise, the international community is finally grappling with the challenge of stranded migrants, one of the main agenda items for the High-Level Dialogue on Migration and Development in the UN General Assembly in October 2013. In this podcast, International Organization for Migration (IOM) Director General William Lacy Swing reflects on IOM’s long experience with stranded migrants and the ways in which the organization is preparing proactively to address their needs. He explains IOM’s approaches in the context of the High-Level Dialogue and the opportunity it presents for states to come together to address the new migration challenges of the 21st century. InterAction President and CEO Sam Worthington joins Ambassador Swing to discuss how NGOs work with governments and other organizations to address the needs of the most vulnerable populations and protect them from abuses often suffered by migrants. This event was moderated by Kathleen Newland, who directs MPI’s Migrants, Migration, and Development Program.

For more information, visit http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/migration_development.php.

Leveraging Migration and Human Capital in the U.S., Mexico, and Central America

This joint Migration Policy Institute and Woodrow Wilson Center event at the National Press Club in D.C marks the release of the Regional Migration Study Group’s final report, Thinking Regionally to Compete Globally: Leveraging Migration and Human Capital in the U.S., Mexico, and Central America. Discussants outline the report’s findings and offer recommendations to policymakers in the United States, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. MPI President Demetrios Papademetriou begins with the vision behind the Study Group’s work, followed by a video from Study Group Co-Chair Ernesto Zedillo, the former President of Mexico. Speakers include Study Group Co-Chair Carlos Gutierrez, former US Secretary of Commerce; Doris Meissner, Director of MPI's US Immigration Policy Program; Study Group Co-Chair Eduardo Stein, former Vice President and Foreign Minister of Guatemala; Luis Rubio, Chairman of the Center of Research for Development (CIDAC); James R. Jones, Former US Ambassador to Mexico and former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma; and Andrew Selee, Vice President for Programs, Wilson Center. For more information and to download the report, visit www.MigrationPolicy.org/RegionalStudyGroup.

Thailand at a Crossroads: Challenges and Opportunities in Leveraging Migration for Development

This joint Migration Policy Institute and International Organization for Migration breakfast briefing discuss the Issue in Brief, Thailand at a Crossroads: Challenges and Opportunities in Leveraging Migration for Development, the sixth in an eight-paper monthly joint-publication series offering succinct insights on current migration issues affecting the Asia-Pacific region. Mr. Jerry Huguet, Consultant on Population and Development, and Ms. Claudia Natali, Labour Migration Programme Manager, IOM Thailand, will present key findings of the report, while Mr. Jeffrey Labovitz, Chief of Mission, IOM Thailand, will moderate the panel. Mr. Rattanarut, Expert on foreign workers administration and Independent Consultant (TBC) reflects on the government’s role in formulating and implementing effective policies for migration and development.

Download the Issue Brief | Learn more on MPI’s Migration and Development Program

Strengthening Pre-Departure Orientation Programmes in Indonesia, Nepal and the Philippines

This joint Migration Policy Institute and International Organization for Migration event marks the Issue brief launch of Strengthening Pre-Departure Orientation Programmes in Indonesia, Nepal and the Philippines, which explored issues affecting migrant workers in relation to the pre-departure orientation program.  Andrew Bruce, Regional Director, IOM Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific moderated the panel; Ms. Yuko Hamada, Senior Labour Migration and Development Officer, IOM Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, presented key findings, and H.E. Mr. Lutfi Rauf, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Embassy of Indonesia to Thailand, provided commentary on the report and discussion.

Download the Issue Brief | Learn more on MPI’s Migration and Development Program

Regulating Private Recruitment in the Asia-Middle East Labour Migration Corridor

This joint Migration Policy Institute and International Organization for Migration event marks the Issue brief launch of Regulating Private Recruitment in the Asia-Middle East Labour Migration Corridor, with author Dovelyn Rannveig Agunias, Regional Research Officer, IOM and Policy Analyst, MPI; Supang Chantavanich, Professor, Chulalongkorn University and Director, Asian Research Center for Migration; Jaewon Kim, Manager, Business for Social Responsibility; and Rabab Fatima, Regional Coordinator and Advisor for South Asia, IOM Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. Panelists discussed the Asian migrant worker experience in the Middle East and offered insights on migration issues affecting the Asia-Pacific region today.  

Download the Issue Brief | Learn more on MPI’s Migration and Development Program

Unaccompanied Minors and Their Journey through the US Immigration System

In this Migration Policy Institute (MPI) event, experts focus on the causes of the increase in unaccompanied minor migrants, the situation these minors face once detained or apprehended, and the challenges confronting both nongovernmental organizations trying to provide aid and the US government agencies responsible for processing minors through the US immigration system. Speakers include Wendy Young, Executive Director of Kids in Need of Defense (KIND); Jessica Jones, Equal Justice Works Fellow, Detention and Asylum Program, Women's Refugee Commission; and Michelle Brané, Director of the Detention and Asylum program, Women's Refugee Commission. Kathleen Newland, MPI Co-Founder and Director of the Refugee Policy and Migrants, Migration, and Development Programs moderates the panel.

MPI/IOM Asia-Pacific Launch of Developing a Road Map for Engaging Diasporas in Development

This joint Migration Policy Institute (MPI) and International Organization for Migration (IOM) event convenes a discussion on the recently published handbook, titled Developing a Road Map for Engaging Diasporas in Development, with Andrew Bruce, Regional Director, IOM; Dovelyn Rannveig Agunias, Regional Research Officer, IOM, and MPI Policy Analyst; Todd Cleaver, Deputy Head of Mission, New Zealand Embassy Bangkok, Thailand; Dr. Noppawan Tanpipat, Vice President, National Science and Technology Development Agency; and Kathleen Newland, Director of MPI’s Migrants, Migration, and Development program. To download for free or purchase a hard copy of Developing a Road Map for Engaging Diasporas in Development, please visit www.thediasporahandbook.org.

Developing a Road Map for Engaging Diasporas in Development

In this Migration Policy Institute event, Kathleen Newland, MPI Co-Founder and Director of the Refugee Policy and Migrants, Migration, and Development Programs and William Lacy Swing, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) discuss the highlights and best practices from the recently published handbook, Developing a Road Map for Engaging Diasporas in Development. To order the handbook or download for free, visit www.thediasporahandbook.org. Additional Resources: Diasporas: New Partners in Global Development Policy
Closing the Distance: How Governments Strengthen Ties with Their Diasporas