The Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), together with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung’s Office for Regional Cooperation in Asia (FES), organised an expert workshop on “The Impact of Labour Migration Policies on Migrants’ Socio-Economic Welfare: Improving Practice in Asia and Europe” from 8-9 November 2013, in Geneva, Switzerland.
The two-day workshop was led by Mr. Manolo Abella, Senior Research Associate, Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS) of the University of Oxford and former Director of the International Migration Programme of the International Labour Organisation and Mr. August Gächter, Project Manager, Centre for Social Innovation. They were the two main researchers for the project.
Over 15 labour migration experts participated in the workshop, comparing best practices and experiences across countries sending and receiving migrants to develop policy recommendations for protecting migrants’ welfare. Discussions were focused on essential policies in support of fair and equitable migration systems, reducing migration risks and providing migrants access to protection, and the integration of migrants in sending and receiving countries.
This workshop is part of the two-year ‘Asia-Europe Migration Project’ which is a joint-collaboration between ASEF and FES on labour migration issues. The workshop report is currently under preparation. The final report and policy brief will be published in 2014 and will be sent to relevant policy makers and institutions.