On International Youth Day, young people in the region lead migration initiatives

 
3 September, 2017

As part of the celebration of International Youth Day held August 12, a number of Mesoamerica Program activities were carried out in which youth leaders played an active role as trainers or facilitators in workshops on migration and youth.

Mesoamerica, being one of the most active migratory corridors in the world, saw around 1,660,000 migrants in the last decade, 47% of whom were under 20 years of age. The majority of people currently emigrating from Central America are under the age of 30, including a significant migratory flow of unaccompanied or separated children and adolescents.

In this context, IOM proposed to develop and implement a training module on migration and youth with an emphasis on the protection and assistance needs of young migrants, especially catering to officials from government institutions and youth organizations who have direct contact with this population. These trainings have been implemented in the region and have resulted in young people from organizations such as JUMI (Youth and Migration Group) in Mexico and the Network of Youth without Borders in Costa Rica organizing and carrying out workshops, in conjunction with the IOM and, on occasion, on their own initiative.

During August, two workshops on migration and youth were held. The first, in Tapachula, Chiapas, was co-facilitated by members of the JUMI Group, who approached youth issues from their own experience. The training was attended by the Regional Attorney for Migrant Children and Adolescents of the X Soconusco Delegation, personnel from the National Institute of Migration and from other governmental bodies.

In the other activity, held in Mexico City, the young people of this organization also led the dialogue and, together with IOM, set up an inter-institutional roundtable under the leadership of the Mexican Youth Institute (IMJUVE). Experiences between the Southern Border and the center of the country were exchanged, especially in terms of the challenges and good practices in terms of migration.

The JUMI Group, which came from similar youth workshops conducted under the Program in 2015-2016, has been strengthened and become a benchmark in public activities in Tapachula, Chiapas, with a spokeswoman being named as a result: Gysela Feliciano, 22 years old.

In Costa Rica, which is a country of origin, transit and destination for young migrants, the Youth Without Frontiers Network co-organized a national workshop for public institutions, which was attended by representatives of several ministries (women, children, education, labor etc.) and NGOs.

Eduin Viales, coordinator of the Youth without Borders Network, believes it is essential to include young people in the workshops as they provide a youth perspective on migration and propose innovative solutions. Also, through these workshops, youth with the support of IOM are able to generate an impact on officials in decision-making positions in key institutions dealing with this subject in the country.

The Network replicated the information acquired from the seven themes of the module through developing talks with different institutions and giving workshops to organizations such as SOS Children's Villages.

To extend the scope of these initiatives, IOM launched an online course on migration and youth in the Migration Learning Platform on International Youth Day in 2017. The online course allows participants to learn about the issue or to reinforce knowledge they acquired during the face-to-face workshops.

These workshops and initiatives related to youth and migration are supported within the framework of the IOM´s Mesoamerica Program and funded by the Office of Population, Refugees and Migration of the United States Department of State, and aim to strengthen the capacities of governments and the civil society organizations to migration management.