EC-UN Joint Migration and Development Initiative (JMDI)

The overall objective of the JMDI – a 3-year programme implemented by UNDP, UNHCR, UNFPA, ILO and IOM with a budget of 15 million Euro – is to support civil society organizations (CSOs) and local authorities seeking to contribute to linking migration and development.

The JMDI aims to do this by 1) setting up and reinforcing networks of actors working on migration and development and 2) identifying good practice in this field and sharing information on what actually works at the local and international level with a view to 3) feeding into policy-making on migration and development. This is being achieved through:

- Call for Proposals providing approximately 10 million Euro in funding to support over fifty CSO-led projects in four priority areas: Migrant remittances, Migrant communities, Migrant capacities and Migrant rights and,

- Migration for Development Knowledge Portal and network, which bring practitioners together in ‘communities of practice’, providing an open forum to share ideas and information, develop individual skills and provide mutual support. The online community also acts as a platform for engagement with CSOs working in this field, bridging the gap between policymakers and groups such as the diaspora and community organisations.

To highlight the role civil society plays in strengthening the linkages between Migration and Development, the JMDI have profiled a number of fascinating and successful best practices. These projects provide an example of the existing activities which are currently being undertaken by civil society organizations, such as diaspora groups and local NGOs.

The examples range from a diaspora-led initiative to provide access to low-cost remittances in Senegal (see http://www.undp.org.sn/), to diaspora volunteers providing training to empower women in Morocco (see http://www.pnud.org.ma/), from strengthening the health sector in Somalia through the temporary return of Finish-Somali doctors (for more: http://www.so.undp.org/), to the establishment by a diaspora group of a childcare and support centre for migrant families in Ecuador (see http://www.pnud.org.ec/).

For more information about these best practice projects, read the Project summaries.

For more general information, please visit: 

The European Commission-United Nations Joint Migration and Development Initiative (JMDI) website

The UNDP website