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NEWS AND UPDATES
MRI - "ROAD TO MANILA": Update on GFMD 2008 and Civil Society Activities
No. GFMD2008/01 21 May 2008 ENGLISH
In this issue:
I. Application process opened for participation in "Civil Society Days" of GFMD 2008; deadline June 30, 2008
II. Application process for International Conference On Gender, Migration and Development is currently open
III. Civil society parallel event to GFMD to be held 22 – 30 october 2008 in Manila, organized by Philippine Working Group, MRI and partners
IV. New on MRI website on GFMD: Documents, Calendar, Links and more
I. Application process opened for participation in "Civil Society Days" of GFMD 2008; deadline June 30, 2008
The application process for participation in the Civil Society Days of the GFMD is now open. The deadline for application is June 30, 2008. Selections will be announced August 15, 2008.
For information on the application process, criteria for selection, and the application form, see http://www.gfmd2008.org/delegate_info.html.
(As you know, the GFMD will take place October 27 – 30, 2008. The official civil society days are October 27 and half day on October 28. For information on the GFMD itself, see MRI's Facts about the GFMD, and other information on the "Road to Manila" section in the MRI website at www.migrantwatch.org.)
230 civil society participants will be selected to participate in the civil society days. The application form is only in English right now, but is supposed to be translated to Spanish and French soon. [UPDATE 6/6/08: Spanish and French applications were made avialable on June 6, 2008] The form can be submitted in any of these three languages. However, note that the official language of the conference is English. Conference organizers have informed us that while English fluency is not requirement for participation, no translation will be provided, so participants who need interpeters must bring them at their own expense. [UPDATE 6/9/08: In order to ensure access by a broader range of groups, MRI will make all efforts to arrange or provide interpreters in Spanish-English and French-English for participants selected for the Civil Society Days who are unable to bring their own interpreters (with priority given to representative of migrant communities and migrants’ rights groups), though we cannot guarantee this yet.]
According to the website, selection of the participants will be based on criteria such as expertise/experience, linkages with migrants and broad constituency, solid operations, adequate sources of funding, good work relationships with civil society actors and government and policy-making institutions, etc. Participants are supposed to be selected to try to achieve regional and gender balance. A limited number of participants will receive financial support to cover the financial costs of participation.
II. Application process for International Conference On Gender, Migration and Development is currently open
International Conference on Gender, Migration and Development "Seizing Opportunities, Upholding Rights" will be held September 25 – 26, 2008 in Manila, Philippines.
The goals of the Conference includes "[infusing] a gender perspective and rights-based approach to policies, programs, and services on migration" and its objectives include "[contributing] to the mainstreaming of a gender perspective in the deliberations of the 2nd Global Forum of Migration and Development"
See http://www.ncrfw.gov.ph/inside_pages/events/20080918_icgmd/20080918_icgmd.html for more information on the Conference.
For participation in the Conference, "Interested parties may express their interest to participate via email at icgmd2008@yahoo.com or call +632.735.1654 loc. 132. Please attach your personal profile and/or your organizational profile. Limited sponsorship, with counterpart from your end, are available."
III. Civil society parallel event to GFMD to be held 22 – 30 october 2008 in Manila, organized by Philippine Working Group, MRI and partners
The Philippine Working Group, a coalition of civil society organizations in the Philippines, together with MRI and other partners, will be organizing a civil society event parallel to the GFMD in Manila, Philippines, a few days prior and during the GFMD.
This is an independent civil society event, separate from the "civil society days" of 27 and 28 October. It will include workshops, panel discussions, mobilizations, time for internal meetings of organizations, space for self-organized workshops, cultural performances, and other activities.
More information to follow.
IV. New on MRIwebsite on GFMD: Documents, Calendar, Links and more
The "Road to Manila" section on the MRI website has added pages for Documents, Calendar and Links.
The purpose of these pages are to provide a place where civil society groups from around world can find as well as share their information.
Some documents and activities have already been uploaded (for instance, civil society consulations on GFMD scheduled to be held in the Philippines and Hong Kong). More are on the way. Please submit documents or events you'd like to share by emailing migrantsrightsinternational@gmail.com.
These sections are in the process of being translated into Spanish and French.
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