The "Fortress to Foresight: Global Symposium on Anticipatory Migration Governance" was successfully organized on April 6, 2023, as part of the UN Joint Project "Evidence-based Migration Policy Planning and Discourse in North Macedonia." The project is implemented by IOM as the lead agency, in collaboration with UNHCR and UNFPA, under the overall coordination of the UN Resident Coordinator's Office.

The event that was attended by 93 participants from various governmental institutions, civil society organizations, international organizations, the private sector, academia and others, presented new approaches to migration management, explored pathways for institutionalization, and provided insights into anticipatory policymaking developed in North Macedonia by offering alternative futures and fresh perspectives for migration.

The Global Symposium was opened by the Deputy Prime Minister in Charge of Economic Affairs, Fatmir Bytyqi and included interventions by the UN Resident Coordinator, UNHCR and UNFPA officials, the IOM Head of Office, and international experts in the fields of migration, demographic resilience, climate displacement, and foresight.

The symposium marked the culmination of two years of work on Anticipatory Migration Governance by UN Agencies, think-tank Demos Helsinki, and the Government of North Macedonia, coordinated by the United Nations Resident Coordinator's Office.

You can download the publication "From Fortress to Foresight" to discover more about what migration policymaking could look like with a long-term and proactive approach.