Monday, December 11 2017 16:23

ArmInfo.The Aurora Dialogues, "Millions on the Move:  Need for Development and  Integration," was held this week on December 4th and 5th in Berlin 

A key focus of the conference was global migration and the vast scale  of the issue. There are 65 million people who have fled their home  countries, and another 700 million people worldwide who would  consider migrating if they had the chance. These numbers don't  include the populations typically excluded from the public debate on  migration, such as internally displaced people (IDPs) or the more  than 200 million people living with the threat of displacement due to  climate change and its effects by 2050.  "We have to overcome the gap  between perceived emotions and real facts," said Rita Sussmuth,  former president of the German Bundestag. Dr. Ingrid Hamm, founder of  the Global Perspectives Initiative also commented, "We need to adjust  our way of thinking to be far more global. When it comes to topics of  migration and reasons for flight, there remains a huge lack of  information, as well as an increasing need for a stronger dialogue  between Africa and Europe."

Speakers also criticized the EU for the lack of cooperation on the  regional level in tackling the refugee crisis and insufficient action  to establish coordinated processes for handling the issue, arguing  that several key European states are not recognizing the reality and  scale of the situation. 

Dialogues participants agreed that clear governance is a basic  prerequisite for success in migration and integration. Rita Sussmuth  noted, "Clearer governance regarding migration is the key to fighting  xenophobia. Germany is missing an official immigration law - this  would increase clarity, ensuring an easier, more coordinated  process."

Experts highlighted the need for improved coordination between public  and private initiatives, with the private sector working as an  accelerator and catalyst for growth, and the public sector overseeing  projects on a larger scale.  

Dialogues participants concluded the conversations noting that  immediate action and additional conversations are of the utmost  importance in addressing the longstanding migration crisis. 

In accordance with the spirit of the Aurora Prize for Awakening  Humanity, the Aurora Dialogues offer a platform to experts and  engaged personalities striving to find solutions to the most pressing  global challenges. Now in its third year, the Dialogues foster an  intellectual and interdisciplinary exchange to encourage learning  from the past to better inform the decisions of the present, thereby  giving way to a better future. 

The Aurora Dialogues Berlin welcomed key figures such as the former  Chair of the Council of the German Protestant Church, Prof. Dr.  Wolfgang Huber; former president of Ireland and UN High Commissioner  for Human Rights, Mary Robinson; UNICEF's regional director for  Middle East and North Africa, Geert Cappelaere; the German  Chancellor's Personal Representative for Africa, Gunter Nooke; the  Head of the Robert Bosch Stiftung, Christof Bosch; and Nobel Prize  laureate Leymah Gbowee, among several others.

The conference, held in the Robert Bosch Stiftung Auditorium in  Berlin, and was organized in partnership by the Aurora Humanitarian  Initiative, Global Perspectives Initiative and Robert Bosch Stiftung,  with the help of Stiftung Mercator. 

Founded on behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in  gratitude to their saviors, the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative seeks  to empower modern-day saviors to offer life and hope to those in  urgent need of basic humanitarian aid and thus continue the cycle of  giving internationally. The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative is  Gratitude in Action. It is an eight-year commitment (2015 to 2023, in  remembrance of the eight years of the Armenian Genocide 1915-1923) to  support people and promote projects that tackle the needs of the most  helpless and destitute, and do so at great risk. This is achieved  through the Initiative's various programs: The Aurora Prize for  Awakening Humanity, the Aurora Dialogues, the Aurora Humanitarian  Index, the Gratitude Projects and the 100 LIVES Initiative. The  Aurora Humanitarian Initiative is the vision of philanthropists  Vartan Gregorian, Noubar Afeyan and Ruben Vardanyan who have, already  in the second year, been joined by several dozen new donors and  partners. The Initiative welcomes all who embrace a commitment to our  shared humanity.

The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative is represented by three  organizations - Aurora Humanitarian Initiative Foundation, Inc. (New  York, USA), the 100 Lives Foundation (Geneva, Switzerland) and the  IDeA Foundation (Yerevan, Armenia).