Activities of the Panel on International Migration at the 2nd International Forum on Migration Statistics 

Cairo, Egypt, 19-21 January 2020

 

Over 700 migration scholars and representatives of national statistical offices and non-governmental organizations from 90 countries participated in the 2nd International Forum on Migration Statistics held 19-21 January in Cairo, Egypt. The conference was organized collaboratively by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and was hosted by the government of Egypt, which currently chairs the African Union (AU). 

 

The themes of the forum included:

  • Strengthening data for policy
  • Capacity development and financing
  • Data collection and innovation
  • Measuring progress on the SDGs and other global commitments
  • Cooperation and data governance

 

The IUSSP Scientific Panel on International Migration:  Strengthening the knowledge base for policy participated in several formal as well as informal capacities.  Panel Member Guy Abel (Asian Demographic Research Institute, Shanghai University) implemented a training session on migration estimation methodology and the application of “R” for generation of migration flow estimates.  Over 30 migration statisticians and scholars attended the workshop.

 

Guy Abel explaining migration estimation methodology and the application of “R” for generation of migration flow estimates during a training session at the 2nd IFMS in Cairo

 

The IUSSP Panel also organized a session on ‘Priorities in International Migration Research and Statistics:  Prospects for a World Migration Survey.’  The session was chaired by Mr. Gervais Appave (Senior Policy Advisor, IOM) and included presentations by Panel Members Marcela Cerrutti (Centro de Estudios de Poblacion) and Philippe Fargues (European University Institute) and commentary on the IUSSP proposal for a world migration survey by IUSSP members Douglas Massey (Princeton University) and Jean-Christophe Dumont (OECD).  The session was attended by a large audience and engendered a lively discussion of the rationale, timeliness, and feasibility for a world migration survey.  Issues of sampling design loomed large among a generally enthusiastic community of migration scholars.

 

Ellen Kraly (IUSSP Panel chair), Gervais Appave (session chair) and Panel members Philippe Fargues and Marcela Cerrutti during the IUSSP session dedicated to "Priorities in International Migration Research and Statistics: Prospects for a World Migration Survey".

 

On the final day of the conference, the Panel also organized a luncheon gathering of IUSSP members attending the IFMS. The ‘meeting’ of approximately thirty colleagues was convivial, as we enjoyed sharing our very 'social' demographic perspectives on migration issues, data and research.

 

IUSSP members at the 2nd IFMS (from left to right: Aude Bernard, Arkadiusz Wisniowski, Emilio Zagheni, Guy Abel, Doug Massey, John Wilmoth)

 

IUSSP members at the 2nd IFMS (from left to right: Emanuele Del Fava, James Raymer, Aude Bernard and Arkadiusz Wisniowski)

 

IUSSP members at the 2nd IFMS (from left to right: Keiko Osaki Tomita, Amparo Gonzalez-Ferrer, Diego Iturralde, Fabien Sundjo, Philippe Fargues, Marcela Cerrutti, Priscilla Ndayara, Philipp Connor and Jeffrey Passel)

For more information on the IUSSP International Migration Panel's activities read previous Bulletin articles: