Announcements

Given the frequency with which we talk about migration, we might wonder whether an International Migrants Day is necessary. However, it is precisely the public discourse on migration and not the natural and centuries-old phenomenon itself, that makes such an event necessary. On our telephones, on our computers, on television and the radio, borders are discussed daily. We wake up every day to news of tragedies involving groups of people traveling or living in subhuman conditions. We accept, we assume, that migrant and displaced populations will be the first to feel the impact of any crisis. We store in our collective imagination photographs of huge masses of people, often racialized, waiting in desperation to change their living conditions. And as terrible as it may seem to us, we rarely calculate that we could be those people. (+)

The #CitiesAreListening experiences arise from the mandate to move from social distance to a world driven by communities. UCLG is working on developing a pact for the future: for people, for government, and for the planet. The 3-day #CitiesAreListening experience: Towards a future without mandatory detention was held within the framework of the UN75 Dialogues, organized by UCLG in partnership with the Open Society Foundation took place from Tuesday, 17th November to Thursday-19th November. (+)