About this blog

This blog has started out as a spontaneous idea to cover the 2010 GFMD in Mexico and write down my immediate impressions – with so much going on in those two weeks, I knew it would be hard to put into words the “spirit of the moment” even a few weeks later…

Since this site gets regular visits and has received some friendly feedback, I decided to continue writing about the GFMD. And as my research has expanded over the years to cover other fora – the ILO deliberations on decent work for domestic workers, the World Social Forum on Migration, and now the UN High-Level Dialogue on Migration and Development – so has the scope of this blog. What remains the same is my perspective on migration, which is rights-based, and on development, which favours human development.

Below you can find my initial comments:

A blog covering the GFMD in Mexico as well as the parallel events organized by migrant NGOs and grassroots organisations. In parts political, atmospheric, academic – and hopefully a bit entertaining as well..

Dear readers,

sometimes something (hopefully) good can come out of lying awake jetlagged  – In my case it was the decision to start a blog on my experiences and observations during the upcoming 2 weeks attending the GFMD and its parallel events in Mexico City and Puerto Vallarta.

After Manila and Athens, this is the 3rd time I am attending the GFMD and its side-events. I was fascinated by this process right from the start: so many stakeholders involved, so many passionate people, so many opportunities to watch civil society at work, so many potential research topics – and so much work left to do…

While there is a lot to critizise about the GFMD, I believe it is at best a start towards some form of global governance of migration and at least a great platform for migrants and activists to highlight their agenda.

Further, I believe that Mexico may well be the make-it-or-break-it stage of the process: After some experimenting, the organizers promised a more inclusive approach towards  the civil society, so one of my main interest in attending is to find out if and how that works out.

It is going to be an intense time for sure (the first day was already…) so I decided that a blog may be a good forum to capture the spirit of the moment and also cover some aspects that may not find their way into academic articles.

It is my first attempt at writing a blog, so please be patient with me. I am also more of a “content guy” and do not know much about layout etc., so it is very unlikely there will be some flashy designs etc. I will try to post some pictures, though.

As you may have noticed by now, English is not my first language, so mistakes are likely to happen (feel free to point them out to me, but maybe do so in a private message or the like).

Finally, I am looking very much forward to your comments and any form of feedback. More general information on the process will be posted soon.

Best Regards,

Stefan Rother

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