On August 30-31, 2009, the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) and the Hellenic Migration Policy Institute (IMEPO) convened senior business leaders and policymakers from Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia to discuss how the private sector can more effectively engage in international migration policy. The roundtable, which was organized with significant support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, provided an opportunity for representatives of the private sector to lend their voices to this important global debate, with an eye toward participation in the third GFMD.

INAFI Bangladesh jointly with BASUG has undertaken a project titled "BASUG-INAFI Bangladesh Remittance Project 2009" to enhance formal channel of remittances and conduct financial literacy training.The main objectives of the project are to enhance formal channel of remittances transfer; conduct financial literacy training; motivate the target clients to invest remittances in various financial instruments i.e. bonds, certificate deposits, capital market etc; and to provide institutional support to the target clients to invest remittances in different enterprises.

BASUG-INAFI Bangladesh Remittance Project 2009 is an excellent initiative that encourages people in general as well as migrants and their family members about the best practices and use of remittances. transfer; conduct financial literacy training; motivate the target clients to invest remittances in various financial instruments i.e. bonds, certificate deposits, capital market etc; and to provide institutional support to the target clients to invest remittances in different enterprises.

BASUG-INAFI Bangladesh Remittance Project 2009 is an excellent initiative that encourages people in general as well as migrants and their family members about the best practices and use of remittances.

The ILM Focus Group and Malaysian employers, international brands, civil society and unions met for two days in Kuala Lumpur to find ways together to build greater protection for migrant workers in Malaysia.
Appreciating that the current system in Malaysia presents complex challenges for brands and their local suppliers, the primary goal of the convening was to 1) build knowledge, understanding and relationships, 2) understand and agree on key areas of focus and participation for a pilot project in two factories in Malaysia, and 3) develop an ongoing stakeholder forum to continue the social dialogue in Malaysia.

Efforts to improve the situation of foreign workers in Malaysia should center on 'improving worker awareness', 'communication mechanisms', and a more direct approach to recruitment.

To read more about the ILM Focus Group's conclusions and key findings please download the Briefing Report.

The Migration Policy Institute (MPI)* has just released a new book which examines the institutions that developing countries have created to engage more systematically with their citizens living abroad.

Closing the Distance: How Governments Can Strengthen Ties with Their Diasporas offers an unprecedented taxonomy of the diaspora-engaging institutions found in 30 developing countries. The volume, edited and with an introductory chapter by MPI Policy Analyst Dovelyn Rannveig Agunias, also includes chapters written by senior practitioners from Mexico, the Philippines and Mali.

At a time when emigrants and their descendents increasingly are seen as agents of development, the book explores the activities and objectives of 45 diaspora-engaging institutions in 30 countries.

On 1-2 October 2009, the African Diaspora Policy Centre (ADPC) will host a Policy Seminar, co-organised by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) and supported by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Commission
The Seminar is the second phase of a programme initiated earlier this year by the ADPC, to further strengthen the Africa-EU Strategic Partnership by mobilising the significant potential of the African diaspora living in Europe to play a valuable bridge-building role in its implementation.

The Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA) together with the National Legal Aid Agency organized a national consultation on migration and development on 13-14 August 2009 at the Hanoi, International Convention Center, Hanoi, Vietnam. The consultation was attended by 50 participants from CSOs, trade unions, legal aid agencies, government ministries and the media. Aside from local Vietnamese participants, a representative of MFA member in Taiwan, the Hope Workers Center, participated in the program.

Convention Center, Hanoi, Vietnam. The consultation was attended by 50 participants from CSOs, trade unions, legal aid agencies, government ministries and the media. Aside from local

Vietnamese participants, a representative of MFA member in Taiwan, the Hope Workers Center, participated in the program.

On 19-20 August 2009, the National Consultation on the 3rd Global Forum on Migration and Development was held at the CIRDAP Auditorium, in Dhaka. The event was jointly organized by the Bangladesh chapter of Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA) whose members includes WARBE Development Foundation, Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU), Ain O Salish Kendro (ASK), and the Association for Community Development (ACD).