For last minute registrations, please go to the streaming page. Pre-event registrations are closed.

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We are pleased to invite you to the #MC2CMDays, an event organized by the Mediterranean City-to-City Migration (MC2CM) project which will take place from 20 to 24 September 2021 in presence at Bluepoint Brussels, and around the world online.

The event will consist of one High-Level Dialogue and four Thematic Sessions, aimed at discussing the role local authorities will play in the Renewed EU Partnership with the Southern Neighbourhood, the new Agenda for the Mediterranean and the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, and presenting critical contemporary areas of urban migration policy in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

Every Thematic Session will showcase relevant best practices, discuss proposals for better migration governance at local level and address future concerns for urban migration policy, such as:

• Inclusive citizenship and cities in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

• Private sector engagement and labour integration of migrants in Euro-Mediterranean cities.

• Promoting balanced migration narratives at local level.

• Gender, migration and sustainable inclusion in cities.

Being a hybrid event, a limited number of participants will be able to attend in person. Therefore, prompt registration is encouraged. Networking opportunities will be provided before and after each session, in respect of ongoing COVID-19 related regulations.

Key event information:

• Date: From 20 to 24 September 2021

• Location: Bluepoint, 80 Bd A. Reyers Ln, 1030 Brussels or online from anywhere in the world
• Agenda: available below
• Coffee and lunch will be available for live participants at the venue.

MC2CM DAYS Agenda

20 September 2021

High-Level Dialogue – Renewed partnerships and migration governance in the Mediterranean: Local governments as assets for sustainability

10:00 Welcoming participants

10:00 - 10:45 : Opening remarks

• Olivér Várhelyi, EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement

• Michael Spindelegger, Director General ICMPD

• Emilia Saiz, Secretary General UCLG

• Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director UN-Habitat

10:45 - 12:15: Keynote address by Vincenzo Bianco, Rapporteur of the European Committee of the Regions on the renewed partnership with the Southern Neighbourhood

Panel discussion

• Souad Abderrahim, Mayor of Tunis

• Carola Gunnarsson, Mayor of Sala, CEMR Spokesperson, UCLG European Vice-President

• Salvatore Martello, Mayor of Lampedusa

Moderation: Julien Simon, Head of Mediterranean Region, ICMPD

12:15 - 12:30 Closing remarks

• Johannes Luchner, Deputy Director General, Directorate General for Migration and Home Affairs of the European Commission (DG HOME)

• Ralph Genetzke, Director and Head of Brussels Mission, ICMPD

21 September 2021

Thematic Session – Inclusive citizenship and cities in the Euro-Mediterranean region

10:50 - 11:00 : Welcoming participants

11:00 - 12:30: Keynote by Mark Speich, Chair of Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs (CIVEX) of the European Committee of the Regions.

Panel discussion

• Mounir Elloumi, Mayor of Sfax

• Sylvie Tomic, Counsellor for the City of Lyon and Vice-President of Anvita

• Juan Manuel Flores Cordero, Deputy Mayor of Seville, Delegate of the Area of Social Welfare, Employment and Comprehensive Plans for Social Transformation

• Odile Robert, Deputy Head of the Global Program of Migration and Development, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation

• Liam Patuzzi, Policy Analyst, Migration Policy Institute Europe

Moderation: Amanda Flety, UCLG Coordinator of the Committee on Social Inclusion, Participatory Democracy and Human Rights

22 September 2021

Thematic Session - Private sector engagement and labour integration of migrants in Euro-Mediterranean cities

10:50 - 11:00 : Welcoming participants

11:00 - 12:30 : Keynote by Jose Antonio Moreno Diaz, Member of the European Economic and Social Committee, Lawyer – Legal Advisor on Immigration, Asylum and Integration Issues

Panel discussion:

• Marta Mancini, Officer, CELAV-Center for Labour Inclusion, City of Milan

• Robert Plummer, Senior Adviser for Social Affairs, Business Europe

• Rossella Nicoletti, Projects and Policy Coordinator for Social Affair, Eurocities

• Sergo Mananashvili, ICMPD Representative to the African Union

Moderation: Ali Serhani, General Director, Gesper Services

23 September 2021

Thematic Session – Promoting balanced migration narratives at local level

10:50 - 11:00 Welcoming participants

11:00 - 12:30 Introductory remarks by Ian Barber, Director for Communication, European Committee of the Regions.

Panel discussion

• Waad Bouzidi, City Councillor Municipality of Raoued

• Akram Dribika, Elected Member, Municipality of Tripoli

• Abdeslam Amakhtari, President of ASTICUDE

• Souhaieb Khayati, Migration and Media expert

• Violeta Wagner, ICMPD Regional Portfolio Manager Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Moderation: Marco Ricorda, ICMPD Communication Officer

24 September 2021

Thematic Session: Gender, migration and sustainable inclusion in cities

10:50 - 11:00 Welcoming participants

11:00 - 12:30 Keynote by Antje Grotheer, Rapporteur on the New Pact on Migration and Asylum - European Committee of the Regions

Panel discussion

• Imen Ouardani, Vice-Mayor of the City of Sousse, Tunisia

• Leila Youssef, Assistant Director of the International Projects and Programs Unit, Greater Irbid Municipality

• Michele LeVoy, Director of the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM)

• Eoin O’Dwyer, Social Inclusion Specialist, UN-Habitat

• Emilie Vidal, Gender Expert, eMGPP

Moderation: Alicia Favaretto, Project Officer, eMGPP

12:30 - 13:00 Closing remarks

• Lamine Abbad, Project Manager MC2CM, ICMPD

About MC2CM:

Developed in the framework of the Dialogue on Mediterranean Transit Migration (MTM), MC2CM is anchored in a network of 20 Euro-Mediterranean cities. It is funded by the EU and co-financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and is implemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development(ICMPD), United Cities and Local Governments(UCLG) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme(UN-Habitat). MC2CM contributes to improved migration governance at local level in cities in Europe and in the Southern Mediterranean, with a specific focus on integration and inclusion, and migrants’ access to rights and services, enhancing their positive contribution to both host and home societies. Activities are clustered under three axes: Dialogue, facilitating cooperation between migration governance stakeholders at different levels; Knowledge, contributing to improved information and knowledge on urban migration; and Action, supporting the implementation of policy recommendations and development of pilot initiatives. At the same time, MC2CM promotes a balanced discourse on migration in a cross-cutting manner, notably encouraging intercultural dialogue.