Managing Migration at the Local Level Event Held

The United Nations defines a refugee as "a person who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, has left their country and is unable or, owing to such fear, unwilling to return." According to UNHCR data, there were approximately 26.3 million refugees worldwide as of 2020.[1]These figures once again highlight the importance of considering the management of migration at the international, national and local levels. In addition, World Refugee Day has been observed on 20 June since 2001 to raise public awareness of the problems refugees have to struggle with. The observance of World Refugee Day also makes it possible to evaluate migration management policies and practices and creates an opportunity to present proposals for improvement.

Türkiye, which has hosted the largest number of refugees in the world since 2015, still ranks first in this respect according to the latest data.[2]Managing migration flows soundly, ensuring integration and preventing rights violations are of great importance for Türkiye and its region. In this context, it is essential to focus not only on the implementation of national migration policies but also on the active role in migration management of local governments and civil society organizations, which have strong access to the field. Local governments and civil society, which both fill the gaps left by integration policies and mediate their implementation, and identify needs and design new projects, are the main actors of migration management. In this context, theManaging Migration at the Local Levelevent, which aimed to enable an assessment of the current situation while also developing recommendations for the future, was coordinated on Sunday, 20 June, as part of World Refugee Day 2021, in cooperation with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Bahçeşehir University Center for Migration and Urban Studies (BAUMUS) and CIFAL Istanbul, the International Training Center for Authorities and Leaders affiliated with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). Bringing together figures active in local governments and civil society organizations, the event aimed to analyze migration management by drawing on the guests' field experience. The event was held with the participation of Bahçeşehir University Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences Dean Prof. Dr. Yavuz Günalay, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Migration Policies Coordinator Simten Birsöz İnanç, UNFPA Türkiye Program and Partnerships Officer Nazife Ece Karaduman, and Bahçeşehir University BAUMUS Director Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ulaş Sunata.