El Salvador

More than 110 government institutions, civil society organizations and community leaders in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) presented their Communication for Development campaigns in August and September 2021. These initiatives were developed through evidence-based and participatory strategies that included more than 2,000 people from all communities involved for baselines, creations, and validations. 

Guatemala held a virtual meeting with public officials and specialists in the field from Mexico and El Salvador. Participants had the opportunity to discuss best practices and analyze areas for improvement in their data record-keeping. Among the speakers were representatives from the Colegio de la Frontera Norte (COLEF), the Migration Policy, Registration and Identity Unit of the Mexican Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security of El Salvador.

This specialized assistance strengthened the competencies and managerial capacities of diaspora organizations as social enterprises, in order to achieve the sustainability of their processes and the social impact of their actions. The first class includes 51 people from 14 countries.

More than 50 journalists and media professionals from 6 countries participated in the first edition of the Specialized Course on Communication and Migration provided by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The course promotes an ethical and responsible production of migration-related information and the comprehensive approach to this phenomenon in informative content.

The Training Program on Migration Policy and Governance with a Focus on Local and Municipal Levels consisted of the virtual module Migration Trends in Latin America and three synchronous sessions. Participants enjoyed a panel with representatives of the local governments of Costa Rica and El Salvador, and the Federation of Local Governments of Latin America (FLACMA), who addressed the main needs and priorities identified for local migration governance. Subsequently, a space for group work made it possible to collectively build some recommendations from the perspectives of communities of destination, origin, return and transit.

This input strengthens migration governance, in the sense of developing standardized inter-agency operating procedures that allow more effective and efficient border management in situations of mixed migratory flows, ensuring identification, care and assistance for vulnerable migrant populations.

Officials from institutions and organizations that make up the cross-border roundtables and local networks on migration in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras participated in a series of trainings on Border Management and Health. The topics addressed included the identification and protection of vulnerable migrants in transit and the impact of the pandemic on the mental health and psychosocial well-being of migrant populations.

More than 100 people from 24 countries met on August 4 in the "Seminar on International Migration and Local Development: Challenges and Benefits of Good Migration Governance at the Local Level". The activity presented the methodology and experiences around the Migration Governance Indicators (MGI), a comprehensive IOM tool that was created to support countries in the implementation of target 10.7 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The Specialized Diploma for the Governance of Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration for Municipalities began in El Salvador. A joint effort with the Salvadoran Institute of Municipal Development (ISDEM), it seeks to strengthen the capacities of municipal authorities and public employees to support the construction of public policies, programs or local initiatives that link migration and local development.