In the framework of International Migrants Day 2021, CEI Deputy Secretary General Nina Kodelja virtually took part in an event on 17 December, organised by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
Under the title “Understanding attitudes to migrants beyond polarization” the gathering (in Vienna, Hofburg and online) aimed at discussing the challenges created by the always polarized discourse on migration and migrants and why bridging the gap between perception and reality about migration matters for social cohesion and the stability of hosting societies.
In her opening statement, Kodelja underlined that the topic was perfectly in line with priorities set by the CEI Ministers of Foreign Affairs, especially over the past years, and that the CEI covered migration and security-related issues through activities based on experience exchange, know-how transfer and best practices between government/public institutions and civil society as well as through EU-funded projects; she added that the Organisation had been working through partnerships with prominent transnational/international organisations, such as MARRI, ICMPD, IOM, with the OSCE (OCEEA) and especially highlighted the need to counter the brain-drain phenomenon, which was affecting the young generations of many CEI Member States.
The conference was organised by the OSCE Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the European University Institute (EUI), with the financial support of DG HOME, the German Federal Foreign Office and the Central European Initiative (CEI) as the partners and donors of the E-MINDFUL project, an initiative by the OSCE and the ILO co-funded by the European Commission’s DG HOME. The project aims to provide knowledge and tools on how to re-balance the often-biased narrative about migration and migrants.
For more info: CEI Focal Point for Migration, Ugo Poli (poli@cei.int)