Seeking to capitalise and consolidate on previous achievements, MIEUX+ officially launched on April 24, 2020, for an initial three-year period. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has put a temporary limitation on travel possibilities, the MIEUX team, based in Brussels, has been busy with preparations for the new phase. Alfred Woeger, Senior Project Manager, MIEUX+, gives a few clues about what to expect for this new chapter and concrete next steps for the remainder of 2020.
Why MIEUX+? Is this just a new phase or can partners expect novelties in the format of the programme?
In launching MIEUX+, we wanted to emphasise the current strengths of the facility, namely, our ability to support peer-to-peer learning, set up new networks and form lasting partnerships in Africa, Asia, the EU neighbourhood and Latin America. Our “five-c approach” summarises our intentions.
Concretely, during this new phase, we aim at strengthening the regional exchange of practices through targeted events and Actions and at addressing capacity building in more holistic manner. We will focus on increasing our ability to analyse and forecast certain migration trends at regional and sub-regional levels. These new efforts will complement our usual offer of capacity building activities and fast deployment of experts from the European Union and beyond.
Ideally, our portfolio of Actions during this phase would be geographically balanced across all regions where we operate, but we are also ready to complement the interventions of other EU programmes such as the EU Global Diaspora Facility and support the needs of partner countries identified under the Migration Partnership Facility.
What are the implications of COVID-19 for capacity building activities?
The COVID-19 pandemic caught most of us off guard. We approached and discussed the emerging capacity building needs of former partners around the world especially in the area of crisis preparedness, emergency response and post-crisis action. Currently, MIEUX stands ready to respond to any new training needs as a result of the pandemic: our versatility is a key factor that enables us to tailor our activities to the present context. In every crisis, there is an opportunity, and for MIEUX this will mean we will adapt selected practices to facilitate the exchange of knowledge among peers and practitioners by creating more online spaces for collaboration.
What is on the horizon for the second half of 2020 for MIEUX?
Together with our partners, we will use the summer period to plan the activities for the new set of Actions that will launch as of September 2020. As well, we intend to use the remaining months of 2020 to publish more knowledge products so that we continue to build up our resources section. It is our intention to convene partners, experts and our wider networks to an event about capacity building in the latter part of the year so it is best to stay updated via our newsletter and website for new developments. Until we are able to meet in person, on behalf of the entire team, I hope that all of our readers are safe and well in their respective countries.