Reimagining Human Mobility

1 December 2020

Photo: UNDP Scaling Fences Report


Webinar via Zoom at 14:30 -15:45 CET on Thursday, December 3 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a halt in global human mobility, hitting people on the move hard as they are exceedingly vulnerable to the health, social, and economic impacts of COVID-19. Yet the pandemic has also shed light on migrants’ economic and labour contributions and the essential role migrants will play in the recovery from the crisis where we see many migrants working on the frontlines of the health and emergency response.

As countries begin to reopen their borders, how can human mobility be reimagined in a way that assists societies in building forward better and strengthens human development? What are the main drivers of migration and what solutions are available to facilitate safe and inclusive migration with the goal that migration becomes a choice? How can the rights of migrants be guaranteed?

Ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Human Development Report, this seminar - co-hosted by UNDP and the Nordic Africa Institute - will examine people’s mobility through the lens of human development and with a focus on migration from Africa to Europe.

Speakers:

  • Ahunna Eziahkonwa, Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa, UNDP

  • Therése Sjömander Magnusson, Director, Nordic Africa Institute (welcoming remarks)

  • Torbjörn Pettersson, Senior Advisor, Sida, former Ambassador of Sweden to Ethiopia, the AU and IGAD

  • Jesper Bjarnesen, Senior Researcher, Nordic Africa Institute
     

Moderator: Anders Bolling, journalist, writer, and podcaster
 

Check out the webinar!