About Us

VENRO connects civil society organizations from Africa and Europe on migration matters

In the new legislative period in Germany, there are opportunities to make national and international migration policy more humane and human rights-based. The coalition agreement of the German government announces a paradigm shift in migration and refugee policy. At the international level, the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) was reviewed for the first time since its development under the leadership of the United Nations General Assembly in 2017. It includes 23 goals to ensure safe and orderly migration and, although not legally binding, it is supported by a large part of the international community – including Germany – to improve the living conditions of migrants. The first International Migration Review Forum in New York was an opportunity for involved actors to set the tone on their approach to migration as well as to share progress and challenges in implementing the GCM. 

Since 2017, VENRO has been accompanying the process surrounding the adoption of the GCM and its implementation in Germany. With the project African-European Civil Society Migration Dialogue, VENRO aims to illustrate the diverse aspects of migration between Africa and Europe and to introduce practical examples into the political discourse. Through the exchange between civil society networks and organizations from both continents organized by VENRO, participating actors are encouraged to contribute with their expertise and to connect intercontinentally. The aim is to jointly develop humane and sustainable proposals for the management of migration between Africa and Europe. These should make a tangible contribution in shaping the AU-EU migration policy at the intercontinental level. 

Besides the organisation of different events formats in Africa and Europe (i.e. round tables, workshops and networking events), the project envisions the production of a small podcast series with portraits of migrants and the development of this collaboration platform. VENRO is involved in the coordination process of this exchange to ensure that topics important to the European-African civil society are included and that a structured dialogue with political decision-makers in migration policy is strengthened.

© Mika Baumeister, Unsplash

Project Team

Anke Kurat

Project Leader

Nadine Mezger

Project Assistant

Silvan Rehfeld

Communications Officer