03 February 2020, Geneva, Switzerland - Mr. Alex Mejia, Director, Division for People and Social Inclusion at UNITAR, Head, CIFAL Global Network, presented an update on the online Knowledge Hub on Migration and Sustainable Development, on 25 January 2021, in the framework of the Open Space of the 13th Summit of the Global Forum for Migration and Development (GFMD). During this segment of the Summit, there was a wide participation from all regions, with representatives from States, private sector, academia, and civil society.

As part of the core aspects of this tool, it was highlighted that it is a source of knowledge with useful information to better understand migration and its nexus with sustainable development. It specifically envisions to make visible existing options for courses, workshops, seminars around the world, as well as information on upcoming events and resources specifically focused on capacity building, by creating synergies between the wide spectrum of migration and sustainable development. About its origin, it was mentioned that the Government of Ecuador requested UNITAR to develop this Hub, as one of its core legacies during its GFMD Chairmanship in 2019. It was endorsed by the Steering Group of the Forum, and later co-sponsored by IOM, UNCTAD, FAO, and the current Chairmanship of the GFMD, the United Arab Emirates.

Regarding the kind of information that is available in this Hub, it was explained that it hosts elements that could be useful for learning, such as glossaries, information to learn through stories, how mechanisms work, stories or educative events, explanations about the Global compacts, as well as core processes, perspectives on migration and sustainable development. It includes information that explores the link between migration studies, reports, manuals, guidelines, frameworks, orientation documents, principles, etc. It gathers 362 publications from 22 UN entities, also relevant websites to visit, videos, information on e-learning courses, quotes, and of course information on the link between migration and the 2030 Agenda.

Since 2019 UNITAR has been identifying and gathering existing information specifically from UN entities, from the scope of their respective competences. This is in line with the request of our Secretary-General to harmoniously work as a UN family. We have been including a brief explanation of the material, a picture and the official link that will take the visitors to the specific webpage, where they can find more detailed information. The intellectual property, as well as the responsibility of the content and implementing the trainings, remain with the respective UN entities.  So, this Hub acts as an entry window to existing resources and can increase their visibility and complement them.

Finally, Mr. Mejía commended the efforts of the current and former Chairmanships of the GFMD for this kind of spaces to generate and share knowledge, which is the cornerstone of UNITAR’s work. He also reiterated the willingness of the Institute to support the work of the Forum, taking into account that capacity building is an indispensable tool for policy-making.