Cairo, 17 August 2017 - On occasion of the International Youth Day 2017, the UN Migration Agency (IOM) in cooperation with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) organized a 3-day workshop on community cohesion between migrants and the Egyptian communities hosting them.  Bringing together 37 Egyptian and migrant youth, mainly from the Syrian, Sudanese, South Sudanese, Somali, and Sierra Leonese communities, the workshop was held within the framework of the UN joint camp organised in Alexandria. The camp took place on 13 - 16 August under the auspices of the Ministry of Youth and Sports and with “Youth Building Peace” as main theme to mark the International Youth Day.

The workshop provided youth with a platform to exchange information on community cohesion and the major challenges faced by host communities and migrants.  Participants shared their insights and recommendations, as well as proposed initiatives for future community cohesion and resilience interventions. The suggestions include enhancing cultural exchanges, raising awareness on the importance of migration and positive contributions of migrants, the importance of improved access to basic services and psychosocial support. The Egyptian and migrant participants worked together and proposed five different social initiatives that address the main challenges of migrants with regards to access to the basic services (education and livelihood), and fostering social cohesion with the Egyptian hosting communities.

The IOM-UNHCR community cohesion workshop was one of seven sessions organized in parallel by UN Women, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNESCO, ILO, UNDP and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

Within the framework of the EU-Funded Regional Development and Protection Programme (RDPP), IOM Egypt aims to build the resilience and capacity of host communities to better absorb and support migrants in Egypt while ensuring community cohesion, addressing socio-economic concerns and improving access to basic services for migrants and the communities hosting them.  

The initiative supports the achievement of UN Sustainable Goals 10 Reduced Inequalities and 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities, as well as the realization of Egypt’s Sustainable Development Strategy: Vision 2030, particularly with regards to “creating a fair, integrated society that is characterized by equality in rights and economic, social and political opportunities.”