More than 50 senior women leaders from around the world, including 20 ministers, members of parliament, judges, representatives of the World Bank, UN agency officials and representatives of international organizations will participate next week in an International Conference on Migration and Gender Issues within the Millennium Development Goals. The conference will be opened by United Nations Assistant Secretary-General Rachel Mayanja.
This is the 24th International Conference for women leaders that has been convened by the Golda Meir Mount Carmel International Training Center (MCTC), and it will take place in Haifa between September 25 and September 28, 2005.
The conference will focus on the trends and changes in the migration of the 21st century as they affect women, and will expose the obstacles and special challenges facing migrant women. In addition, the conference will discuss the empowerment of women undergoing the process of migration, it will emphasize the special role of migrant women as agents of change, and it will examine their vulnerability, referring, among other things, to the phenomenon of the trafficking of women, family crises and violence against women. The conference will also examine the unique contribution of women in the Diaspora to the promotion of development in their countries.
The conference will be convened with the support of MASHAV - the Center for International Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Center for International Migration and Integration (CIMI), the American-Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). There will be representatives in the Conference from Africa, Europe, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East.
Conference Objectives
- To better understand the changing trends in the feminization of migration in the 21st century
- To examine migration and gender issues in relation to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals
- To explore the particular challenges facing women migrants and their special contributions as actors for change and development
- To consider the importance of diasporas, with a focus on making better use of their experience
- To explore ways to maximize the role of gender and particularly of women in ensuring that migration and development issues are integrated in Poverty Reduction Strategy papers (PRSP)
Background
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is the leading international organization working with migrants and governments to provide humane responses to migration challenges. Since its foundation in 1951, it has been involved in a broad range of migration activities the world over. Today, with 109 member States and another 24 holding observer status, the Geneva-headquartered organization implements an annual program budget of some $800 million through its network of over 200 offices and a staff of 5,000 persons worldwide.
Working in close cooperation with the United Nations and in partnership with a wide range of international agencies and NGOs, IOM encourages social and economic development through migration. It advances understanding of the issues involved, assists in meeting the operational challenges of large-scale migration and works to uphold the human dignity and well-being of migrants.
The Center for International Migration and Integration (CIMI) was founded in Israel in 1999 by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee(JDC). CIMI's mission is to share with other countries the extensive experience Israel has accumulated in immigrant integration and diaspora partnerships, and to draw upon international expertise to address challenges of international migration confronting Israel. CIMI conducts training seminars, provides consultation and develops projects in the fields of migration and integration both in Israel and internationally, working with governments, NGOs and international agencies.
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) was established in 1914 to provide assistance to Jews in need around the world. JDC sponsors programs of relief, rescue, and reconstruction in over 60 countries and undertakes non-sectarian relief and development initiatives on behalf of America's Jewish
communities. Over its more than ninety years of operation, JDC has been involved in addressing some of the great migration issues of the 20th century - from assisting hundreds of thousands of Holocaust survivors in Europe's post war DP camps, to rescuing imperiled Jewish communities and helping Israel overcome the intense longterm challenges its immigrants face today.
Israel’s Center for International Cooperation, known as MASHAV in its Hebrew acronym, was founded in 1959. It is responsible for initiating and implementing Israel’s development cooperation program worldwide. MASHAV established the Golda Meir International Training Center (MCTC) in Haifa in 1961 as a training center for the socio-economic advancement of women from the developing countries. Since that time, around 12,000 participants, more than 70% of them women, have attended courses, workshops and seminars at the Center, and many thousands more have been trained abroad by MCTC staff. MCTC’s training activities take into account the Beijing Platform of Action and the Millennium Development Goals and it works ceaselessly for poverty elimination and gender equality. Its courses and workshops are planned around three main areas of expertise - Education and Development of the Young Child; Community Development; Organization and Management of Microenterprises.
As migration concerns continue to preoccupy governments - of the developed and developing world alike - MASHAV/MCTC convene their 24th International Conference for Women Leaders in collaboration with the IOM and CIMI/JDC to look at Migration and Gender Issues within the Millennium Development Goals.