Austria – IOM Director General William Lacy Swing will take part in the 5th Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations (AoC) in Vienna tomorrow (27/2/13).

The Forum, which will run through Wednesday 27th and Thursday 28th February and will be attended by dignitaries including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Presidents and Prime Ministers of over 35 nations, will address the theme: “Promoting Responsible Leadership in Diversity and Dialogue”.

Director General Swing will attend the Wednesday plenary session and take part in a panel entitled: “Communicating better by drawing on the evidence about migration – contributing to a new narrative for migration.”

Panellists will discuss the need to promote better understanding and a data-driven dialogue on the economic, social and cultural impact of migration to address widespread public concerns about immigration.

In addition to focusing on improved information, the panel will look at the role of policy and civil society in focusing attention on best practices in managing migrant integration for the benefit of migrants and host communities, rather than politicizing the issue.  

The session will also focus on the central role of media in shaping the migration debate and the need to educate and engage journalists in covering one of the most emotive and complex 21st century mega-trends.         
 
The Director General is expected to single out for praise CNN’s Freedom Project and MTV’s Exit initiative, which have brought objective reportage of the horrors of human trafficking to millions of TV viewers worldwide. IOM provided technical support for both programmes.

He will also recognize the contribution of SBS’ remarkable reality show “Go Back to Where You Came From,” which has allowed Australian TV viewers to vividly retrace the steps of migrants fleeing desperate situations in their home countries to reach Australia in dangerous small boats.     

On Wednesday evening he will also open the Austrian Plural+ Youth Video Awards Ceremony. The competition, which is jointly sponsored by IOM and the UNAoC, was launched globally in 2009 and allows young video makers from around the world to submit short films addressing social issues including migration and diversity.

For more information on the 5th Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations please go to: http://www.vienna5unaoc.org/

For more information, please contact

Katerina Kratzmann
IOM Vienna
Tel. +43.1.585.3322
Email: kkratzmann@iom.int