Since the end of 2020, ADEPT has been working in partnership with GIZ to implement the MODAL project, which stands for “Mobilisation of Diaspora Organisations and Local Associations for Development”.
This project is part of the South-South Cooperation Action on Migration (SSCAM), implemented in the framework of the RECOSA project. Co-financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the European Union (EU) through the Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (ETF), the SSCA promotes the exchange of experiences between Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Senegal in the field of migration. Implemented jointly by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and Expertise France, it mobilises national and international expertise in each of the four countries in order to strengthen dialogue and cooperation between stakeholders and promote joint activities in the following areas :
– Migration and development (in particular strategies and approaches to mobilise diasporas) ;
– Protection of migrants’ rights (including through economic and social integration actions) ;
– South-South mobility (in particular through pilot actions promoting regular mobility of young professionals, students and trainees between the four countries).
Indeed, the strengthening of links between countries and their respective diasporas is one of the pillars of South-South cooperation. Innovative and/or pilot experiences of partnership and solidarity between diaspora organisations and local associations in home countries, in connection with the relevant ministries, communities and local authorities, can thus be put in place, contributing to the realisation and success of bilateral projects in the fields of social economy and local development.
The MODAL programme, implemented by ADEPT in these four countries (Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Morocco and Senegal), is based on three pillars:
– The identification of organisations in the four countries and in the diaspora, that are actors for the local development ;
– Capacity building activities through training ;
– Support for local development initiatives through a pilot funding mechanism.
At the same time, it aims at facilitating the emergence of spaces for dialogue and new partnerships between the different actors.
Its main objective is to strengthen the capacities of diaspora organisations and local associations in Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Morocco and Senegal working on migration and development issues, in order to increase the impact of their initiatives. To do so, ADEPT has been partnering with civil society organisations in Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Senegal to implement the various activities planned.
After the launch of a restricted call for projects in the 4 countries in the spring of 2021, a series of three training sessions in a mixed format (on site and online) were organised during the month of August in Thiès, Senegal (from 2nd to 6th August), Bamako, Mali (from 9th to 13th August) and Bassam, Côte d’Ivoire (from 23rd to 27th August), in partnership with the organisations Diaspora Développement Education Migration (DIADEM), Fédération des Collectifs d’ONG du Mali (FECONG) and Programme d’Appui à l’Insertion Professionnelle et Sociale (PAIPS) respectively.
In total, about 45 participants on site, representatives of civil society organisations in the three countries, and about 30 online participants, some of whom were representatives of diaspora organisations, attended modules on the management of local development projects, associative governance and the migration-development nexus. These sessions were sanctioned by the official certificates of participation to the various attendees. In addition to training, this activity resulted in unexpected outcomes by facilitating the networking of actors active in local development and migration issues : spaces for dialogues, whatsapp groups and even the establishment of an association in Côte d’Ivoire to promote the work with the diaspora.
The MODAL project will end in its first phase with the implementation of local development projects selected by the funding mechanism and final dialogues and networking activity.
