According to IOM's  2015 World Migration Report, around 50% of international migrants  reside  in  ten  highly  urbanized countries.  Much of the migration takes place in or around cities due to increased opportunities, their diversity, and support networks. The impacts of migration are felt first at the local level, even if these are not related to national conditions, on the labour market, business creation, presence of services, housing, and integration.  

Certainly, local authorities are at the forefront of managing the benefits and challenges that migration and inclusion can bring. To achieve this, they must constantly innovate and develop pragmatic solutions that have a positive impact nationally and internationally.  

In an effort to support local authorities in developing such solutions, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has adapted the Migration Governance Indicators (MGI) at the local level to offer an opportunity for cities and states to take an introspective look at existing initiatives and identify good practices, as well as areas with potential for further development. Through a set of 90 indicators, MGIs at  the  local  level also  seek to provide a more  complete  picture  of  migration  governance.  

MGIs at the local level aim to help local authorities take stock of existing initiatives in relation to migration, foster dialogue on migration between national governments and local authorities, and facilitate mutual learning through the exchange of common challenges and possible solutions. 

In this sense, within the framework of the Inclusive Cities, Communities of Solidarity project, IOM held an induction workshop on September 2 in La Chorrera for key actors on MGIs at the local level, in which they also presented the actions carried out in La Chorrera, as well as the experiences during the survey of the Migration Governance Profile in Panama carried out in 2019. The session concluded with the outline of the steps to be taken in relation to local MGIs. 

The Inclusive Cities, Communities of Solidarity project is an inter-agency initiative between     the UN Refugee Agency  (UNHCR),  IOM, UN-Habitat, and the European Union that seeks to reduce the vulnerabilities of refugees and migrants, and increase the resilience of host communities in six countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

Participating in this introductory workshop were local government officials from the Panamá Oeste province, the Municipality of La Chorrera, the National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and the Family (SENNIAF), the National Institute for Women (INAMU), the Ministry of Labour and Professional Development (MITRADEL), the Authority for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Authority, the National Police, the Ministry of Housing and Territorial Planning (MIVIOT),  and the Ministry of Health (MINSA). 

During this process it is very important to achieve synergy between the organization and local authorities, since the results of the evaluation are used to generate inclusive conversations with the national government and other actors. 

This event is part of the first step of the process, which explains to key government officials what it means to participate in MGIs at the local level, to ensure that they understand the project and are committed to it. It is during this preliminary phase that local authorities identify focal points that will play an important role during the process, including the review phase.  

For more information, please contact Mayteé Zachrisson, IOM Communications and Media Assistant in Panama, at mzachrisson@iom.int.