Africities Kisumu 2022: Multi-stakeholder Partnerships – African Intermediary Cities as Actors and Partners in Urban Migration Governance

African intermediary cities are increasingly becoming central nodes of mixed migration movements. With the adoption of the “Charter of local and subnational governments of Africa on migration” in 2018, over 30 local and regional governments (LRGs) emphasized that mixed migration could be a catalyst for socio-economic development if LRGs had the necessary means and partners to implement inclusive and cross-sectoral approaches. In parallel, there is a growing interest among international organizations, national governments and civil society actors to explore possibilities for collaboration with LRGs. Organizations and projects such as Cities Alliance, the Mayors Mechanism, MC2CM and UCLG Africa have pioneered work in this regard. While important progress has been achieved so far, knowledge and cooperation gaps remain in some areas between local, national and international actors.

This workshop brings together actors from different contexts and levels of governance, including LRGs, national authorities, civil society, city networks, international organizations, and migrant and refugee-led organizations. Building on the idea that bottom-up approaches to urban migration governance can prove decisive in developing effective urban sustainability strategies, the aim is to strengthen debates among the different actors, to reflect on their respective capacities, interests and limitations in responding to mixed migration in intermediary cities. In particular, this workshop will focus on identifying complementary skills, sharing innovative practices and rethinking opportunities for shaping multi-stakeholder partnerships in the spirit of the African Local Migration Charter and the Global Compacts for Migration and Refugees. 

Program (preliminary)

• 09:00 – 09:15: Session introduction and rules by the president and the moderator, introduction of the Partnerships Project
• 09:15 – 10:30: High-level expert panel, contributions by:
  • ViceMayor of Sfax
  • Lord Mayor of Kumasi
  • YARID
  • UNHabitat
  • IOM
  • UNHCR
  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccan Expatriates
• 10:30 – 11:00: Coffee break
• 11:00 – 11:30: Presentation MMC
• 11:30 – 12:15: Two parallel breakout sessions on complementarity and sustainability in partnership approaches
• 12:15 – 12:30: Adoption of the conclusions and recommendations of the session