Internationally recognized specialists in large electronic
information systems on international migration and Mexican experts
are gathering today in Mexico City to share their experience and to
discuss a proposal to establish an information system containing
data related to migration and development.

IOM is working with the International Migration and Development
Network in planning the Information System on Migration and
Development (SIMDE by its Spanish acronym), a world-class
electronic information and documentation system on international
migration and development scheduled to be operational in the first
half of 2007.  The information system will begin working,
thanks to a grant by the BBVA Bancomer Foundation, which is
interested in becoming an active partner in analyzing the impact of
migration in development.

The goal is to build and maintain an interactive, bilingual
(Spanish-English) information system that will be able to document
the most important north-bound migration flows from the global
south.  SIMDE will provide up-to-date and interactive
quantitative and qualitative information and specialized analysis
on events, processes, and trends related to the relationship
between migration and development.  The information will be
accessible to scholars, policy makers, migrant organizations, and
the general public. Therefore, the workshop’s main goal is
for the participants to learn about similar information systems
established in other parts of the world, and to elicit critical
feedback and recommendations from the experts on the proposed SIMDE
initiative.

Therefore, the workshop’s main goal is for the
participants to learn about similar information systems established
in other parts of the world, and to elicit critical feedback and
recommendations from the experts on the proposed SIMDE
initiative.

Discussions will centre on setting up such a large information
system, which implies multiple decisions such as defining the
objectives, organizing a team and securing the funding amongst
others.  The experts will discuss how they faced these
challenges, the main objectives of their information systems and
the strategies used.

Technical dimensions to be discussed include: selecting the
appropriate databases and technology, the criteria used to define
and identify the type, source, and parameters of the data being
used, equipment and software and choosing the physical facilities
needed for such a large system.

The means for disseminating the information obtained –
electronic, printed, broadcast bulletins, and/or periodicals
– are also on the agenda.

Once up and running, SIMDE will follow a multi-stage process
during an estimated period of ten years.  In its first stage,
SIMDE will focus on processes related to Mexican migration bound
for the United States.  The system will eventually include
data and documentation on Mexican migration to Canada.

The second stage will centre on constructing a data and
documentation bank on select Latin American migration flows to the
US, Canada, the European Union, and within Latin America.  In
the final stage, SIMDE will expand its data bank to other regions,
starting with the world’s largest migration movements from
and to other continents, starting with India, China, the
Philippines, Turkey, and Morocco.

The workshop is organized by IOM, the International Migration
and Development Network, the Autonomous University of Zacatecas,
the Autonomous National University of Mexico, and BBVA Bancomer
Foundation.

Today’s event is a key element of the preliminary work
need to launch SIMDE and is held on the eve of an international
conference Migration and Development: A Comprehensive Perspective
from the South, hosted by IOM and  several academic 
institutions also taking place this week in Mexico City.

For more information contact:

Juan Artola

IOM Mexico

E-mail: "mailto:jartola@iom.int" target="_blank" title=
"">jartola@iom.int