This year’s International Migrants Day (IMD) has been commemorated in Accra with a call on stakeholders to create avenues for education, vocational training, and entrepreneurship, ensuring the youth could thrive in an ever-evolving global landscape.
The Day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2000 to recognise the important contribution of migrants while highlighting the challenges they face.
It aims to celebrate migrants, to advocate for their rights, and to encourage the international community to work together to harness the power of migration.
The Head of Delegation of the European Union to Ghana, Anna Lixi, said both migration and sports had the inherent ability to transcend borders, fostering connections, unity, and understanding among individuals and communities, contributing to a more interconnected and globalized world.
He said there was the need to acknowledge the positive impact migrants had on both countries of origin and their adopted homes.
“Migrants bring diversity, enriching the cultural tapestry of societies, and contributing significantly to the social and economic development of nations,” he added.
“Migration has contributed to shape the European Union as we know it today. It is a defining part of the European identity, where different cultures, languages and talents meet. Migration and mobility spread knowledge, contribute to growth, innovation and social dynamism,” she said
She said the objective of the celebration was to portray migration as an integral part of the solution to global challenges, to highlight the transformative potential of migration and migrants for societies.
According to her it also illustrated the power of “acting today for a better tomorrow” and to empower the youth to know their role in the migration discourse.
Chief of Mission IOM Ghana, Ms Fatoud Diallo Ndiaye, said migration in Ghana had been considered a livelihood coping mechanism, underscoring the complex nature of migration as a social phenomenon that needs to be managed for sustainable development.
She commended the government for the bold steps taken to manage migration through the implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM).
The Mayor of Accra, Mrs Elizabeth Sackey, said there was the need to engage the youth in the migration discourse, adding that ” it is our collective responsibility to empower them.”
“We acknowledge them as torchbearers of change because they are our greatest asset. And by investing in their skills, we empower them to shape the future of our city, our country, Ghana and, indeed, the world,” she said.
Ms Sackey said avenues for education, vocational training, and entrepreneurship, ensuring the youth, including our dynamic migrants, could thrive in an ever-evolving global landscape.
Migrants, particularly the youth, she said brougt a fresh perspective, innovative ideas, and a determination to succeed against all odds, “They are not just recipients of our hospitality but active contributors to our economic, social, and cultural development”.
She called on the public to embrace diversity, recognising that would build sustainable, dynamic, and harmonious societies by collaborating with people from different backgrounds.
BY AGNES OPOKU-SARPONG
