The School of the Migrant Bird has come to an end, with the 84 participants making up of government representatives and civil society organizations of migrant workers learning of their rights and obligations under the social protection system in Colombia. The initiative is a part of the #RightsalsoMigrate Campaign carried out by the SP&PFM country project, in collaboration with the World Food Programme, the Delegation of the European Union and the Colombian Ministry of Labour.
Mr. Pablo Casalí, Social Protection Expert
The campaign aims to encourage migrant workers to improve their access to their social protection rights. According to Pablo Casalí, a specialist in social protection with the International Labour Organization for Andean countries, “Our goal was to empower migrant workers to access their rights to social protection within the country.”
The SP&PFM country project in Colombia found gaps between the percentage of migrants with access to decent work and social protection in the country, in comparison with the host community. The campaign has effectively reached its targeted audience of migrants through workshops, migrant radio interviews, loudspeaker walking tours and digital channels. In total, the campaign has achieved 2,044,037 impressions thus far through the social networks (through their own and through allies), the radio publicity and billboards and the School of the Migrant Bird, which involved 42,000 migrants.
The Colombian Office of Migration reports that as of October 2022, there were 183,379 migrants in Valle del Cauca, many of whom were seeking permanent work opportunities. Despite many of these people being in transit, many of them had begun working either informally or formally within the territory.
Along with the School of the Migrant Bird, the campaign made an impact by being present in three bus stations within proximity of migrant communities and through radio jingles on one of Cali’s most popular radio stations.
Watch the video to hear more of the initiative and the community’s perspective here.
Read more about SP&PFM in Colombia here.