2020 has been an extraordinary year for us all. Since the start of the pandemic, migrants have been among the most vulnerable, but at the same time they have also been amidst the most resilient.
This year, we have seen migrants in frontline jobs, as health and care workers and as workers guaranteeing continuity in the production and delivery of food and goods and other essential services. The perception of migrants changed for many Europeans. It is important that this perception, based on facts how migrants contribute to our societies, continues as migrants will also have a vital role to Europe’s post-COVID-19 economic recovery.
We want to provide the facts, which include that well-managed migration can be good for both migrants and the communities that welcome them. But we also know that facts alone are not enough to change perceptions. Only contact with different groups of people will result in more positive attitudes and greater social cohesion.
Therefore, IOM together with GFMD (Global Forum on Migration &Development) is launching an IOM-led, global awareness-raising campaign, It Takes A Community.
It Takes A Community is about celebrating how all people, regardless of where they are born, contribute to making our communities feel like home, especially in light of COVID-19. By highlighting how migrants and their fellow community members are working together to make the places where they live and work more productive, innovative, caring, safe and welcoming, we can challenge misinformation about migration and build more inclusive communities.