The dissemination event in Niamey took place on the 18th September at LASDEL, a Nigerien research institute working social dynamics and local development.
The event was attended by a range of stakeholders, including civil society organizations, representatives of European governments, development agencies, researches and representatives from Nigerien state institutions.
Following the presentation of the WAMIG research by Leonie Jegen, the findings were discussed by Barbara Jettinger, an anthropologist and GIZ representative who works on the Migration Policy Advice project that finances the formulation of the Nigerien migration policy. A second presentation by Nigerien migration researcher, Prof Mounkaila, was followed by an open discussion of participants. Here, important points were raised regarding both research projects which will feed into the final version of the report.
The scope of the project, which not only focuses on the governance of irregular migration, was welcomed. Reflections included how to take account of security interests embedded in migration policy projects and the role of regional and local policies in the formulation of migration policies. While the former points to the sensitive nature of research into migration policy in a political context such as Niger, where a range of actors have their own geopolitical interests, the latter deserves closer research and will partially be addressed in the WAMIG closure workshop at the Centre of Migration Studies at the University of Ghana in the end of this year.
The event is part of WAMIG, a West African migration management project, with further case studies in Gambia, Nigeria and Senegal. The project is funded by the Mercator Foundation through (MEDAM), a three-year research and consultation project that identifies and closes gaps in existing research and develops specific recommendations for policy makers.