By Edu Abade,
The Medgar Evers College (MEC) of the City University of New York in the United States of America (USA) is set to host the 2022 Journalists International Forum For Migration (JIFORM) Intercontinental Migration Summit at its campus in Brooklyn from November 2, 2022 to November 4, 2022.
A statement issued by the President of JIFORM, Dr. Ajibola Abayomi, disclosed that the hybrid event is being planned to hold physically and virtually with the theme: Appraising Human Mobility And Security: Prospects And The New Challenges Of Labour Migration Post-COVID-19 Pandemic Era.
He revealed that invitations had already been extended to President Maada Bio of Sierra Leone, his Malawi counterpart, Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera; former President of Malawi, Joyce Banda and a member of the African Union Labour Migration Advisory Committee, Dr. Kabuki Ocansey from Ghana, while the summit will feature speakers and participants from several continents.
JIFORM said the event is being organised as a medium for capacity building for journalists, academics and other migration stakeholders to contribute to the policy direction on migration and its importance to humanity and the global economy.
Leading the pack of scholars from the School of business is the Dean of MEC, Dr. Jo-Ann Rolle; Byron Price, professor of Public Policy and Administration; Dr. Antionette Coleman (Senior VP and Provost of MEC) and Deputy Executive Director with the NYC Young Men’s Initiative (YMI), Dr. Nathifa Forde.
Other distinguished speakers are former Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Hon. Gerry Weiner; Prof. Patrick Lumumba from Kenya; member African Union Labour Migration Advisory Committee, Dr. Asie Kabuki Ocansey; Minister of Labour and Social Security in Sierra Leone, Dr. Alpha Timbo; Captain Vergil Ratliff, the Texas Comptroller of Accounts, Criminal Investigation Division; Dr. Fadhel Kaboub; Dr. Wale Ajibade, Chief Vera Bumpers, Metro and President, Nigeria Union of Journalists(NIJ), Christopher Isiguzo, who doubles as President of the African Journalists Congress.
Ajibola confirmed that several personalities across the continents had been nominated for awards at the event, adding that participants and other visitors have been advised to contact Raquel Bennett, one of the coordinators of the summit at rbennett@mec.cuny.edu for their tickets to the summit.
Medgar Evers College has the distinction of being the youngest of the four-year senior colleges in the City University of New York. In the early 1960s, the Central Brooklyn community recognised the need and expressed a desire for a local public college.
After many discussions and much involvement by community residents and the Coalition, the Board of Higher Education, on November 17, 1967, “approved the sponsorship of Community College Number VII, with the indication of an intention to admit students in the fall of l969.
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JIFORM, which is reachable on www.jiformalert.org, is a non-profit and Non-Governmental Organisation media foundation comprising over 300 journalists covering migration matters across the continents with headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria. Since its inauguration in 2019, it has become a force on migration matters by organisaing a yearly global migration summit apart from other activities within and outside Africa.
JIFORM attended the International Organisation For Migration (IOM) International’s global training for journalists in 2019 in Tunisia where media practitioners developed a charter for the coverage of migration issues. In Africa, the body has held several workshops and training programmes for journalists and other stakeholders and engagements with the IOM Nigeria, The Gambia and Ghana.
Between February 25, 2021 and February 26, 2021, it organised the maiden African Migration Summit (AMS) in Accra, Ghana in partnership with the Nekotech Centre for Labour Diplomacy and pioneered the West African Media Migration Summit in Togo between June 22, 2021 and June23, 2021.
To date, no fewer than 3000 journalists besides other stakeholders from Africa and other continents have benefited from several workshops it organised to promote advocacy on safe, orderly and regular migration over the years.
In 2021, JOFORM published a book on migration terminologies and concepts titled: Guide To Migration Reportage also subtitled in French as part of its contributions to increasing knowledge on migration matters.
The third Global migration summit of the JIFORM held in Canada ended on October 15, 2022, while a special award session was postponed till a later date in Toronto. The body has training partnerships for journalists with the Medgar Evers College, City University of New York, USA and the ESCAE University, Porto Novo, Benin Republic, and other institutions in Nigeria.
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