Migration as a key ingredient for more diverse, equitable and inclusive societies

Migration has existed since the world began. Currently, it is estimated that there are more than 280 million international migrants, equivalent to about 3.5% of the world's population. Moving is an intrinsically human phenomenon that has existed throughout history. People have left their countries of origin in search of better opportunities, security, freedom, and a more prosperous life.  

The importance of migration processes in the current context is unquestionable. Migration brings with it a variety of experiences, cultures, perspectives, and talents that enrich and strengthen both the person migrating and the communities that receive them. However, along the multifold advantages, there are also challenges, and those related to diversity, equity and inclusion are among the most prominent. I would like to reflect on the bond between these two areas and the vision that we are developing in Hello World in the following paragraphs.  

Let's start with some hard facts: migration is a powerful driver of cultural diversity. When people move to new places, they bring their traditions, languages, customs, and ways of thinking. This diversity enriches the host society by fostering tolerance, cultural exchange, and mutual learning. The presence of diverse cultures also contributes to the creation of a more plural society, where differences are valued, and respect for individual and collective identities is promoted. Indeed, one of the key data points expressed in IOMs recent report on global migrations is the immense sociocultural contributions people on the move contribute in practically every context.1 

In addition to cultural diversity, migration also promotes ethnic and racial diversity. Indeed, people on the move come from a diversity of ethnic and racial backgrounds, challenging pre-existing notions of homogeneity and promoting greater representation of minority groups. This multifaceted diversity helps break down barriers, can reduce discrimination, and enables the construction of more inclusive and equitable societies.  

Of course, when we address inclusion, we must acknowledge that for all this diversity to really contribute, we must create an environment in which migrants feel valued, respected, and accepted. In this sense, fostering a culture of openness and mutual respect is vital, where differences are celebrated instead of being a reason for discrimination or exclusion. If this happens, the inclusion of migrants directly contributes to more cohesive and democratic societies where all voices are heard and have the opportunity to participate in decision-making.  

Heading towards a world, or at least local contexts where this occurs, unfortunately, it is still a pending matter.  

One step towards this involves what we are doing now: acknowledging and emphasizing the diversity that is already there. For example, when we look around and observe people in our day-to-day context, we observe an infinite diversity; however, whenever the word “migrant” appears, the first image that most likely comes to mind is a “young, mixed-race, heterosexual man.” Thus, we must break with another recurring idea, and that is that migrant groups are made up of only one type of people, like homogeneous blocks, without taking into account that the same diversity of individuals that surround us also shapes migration.  

It is helpful to use different lenses to see the diversity in migration, as the International Organization for Migration2 invites us to do: understanding migratory flows as dynamic, changing, and diverse in their composition. This enables us to better comprehend that the needs of each of these flows, and the individuals immersed in them are likely different.  

There is still a long way to go for the multiple contributions of migrant and refugee communities to be recognized and made visible (and more so if we add intersections such as diversity, ethnicity, disability, etc.). However, it is always useful to highlight powerful cases of social innovators who are making the value of diversity visible, recognizing the contributions that migrants generate to their host communities, and using diversity itself as a prominent factor to generate positive contributions.  

Here are some outstanding cases of work in migratory experience intersecting with areas such as disability, sexual and ethnic-racial diversity:  

Fundación Interpreta (and the Barometer of Xenophobia), one of the organizations that represent and accompanies Haitian migrant communities in Chile, contributing to guide them and give clear information to migrants who are native speakers of languages other than Spanish, and emphasizes the need to give them a support network to achieve this goal. (Its founder, Tomás Lawrence, was selected Ashoka Fellow this year!). 

Diverse Migration, or the Mocha Celis Civil Association, which helps migrants with diverse gender identities and sexuality to grow and define their own future by providing training opportunities that empower them.  

Or Incluyeme, an employment portal that supports labor inclusion, promoting hiring of people with disabilities, focused on training, seeking to promote the inclusion of migrant workers with disabilities from an intersectoral perspective.  

In an increasingly interconnected world, it is essential to recognize and value the positive role of migration in building more diverse, equitable, and inclusive societies.  

We need a world where all migrants and refugees are seen as changemakers, where the knowledge and ideas created by migrants are widely valued and used, where the movement is seen as part of life, and where migrant communities and the diaspora are activated as changemaking hubs.  

This requires new, innovative, and systemic responses, shared and scalable to different geographies.  

The key for this to happen and for us to use these new lenses to look at and celebrate diversity and migration. In other words, to generate true systemic change it is essential to place migrants and their value at the center. It requires building, connecting, and generating the necessary platforms to give them a voice. And that is what we try to promote from the Hello World movement. (See our latest publication, People on the Move, for more on our framework change perspective.) 

A movement that seeks to transform collective narratives by providing a platform for immigrants and reinforcing their ability to tell their own life stories and highlight their own contributions. The platform Changemakers for Migration or our microdocumentary “Changing the Narrative” are examples of how we’ve given visibility to their voices.   

By multiplying migrants’ opportunities for visibility, voice, and influence, we seek to place their own narratives and perspectives at the heart of the transformation of immigration systems. Ultimately, the amplification of these new narratives contributes to the creation of systems that are more humane and inclusive – systems that value the capacities and contributions of people on the move and are truly adapted to their needs.  

Finally, to give that human, close, and diverse entity that migratory movements bring with them, I always insist (and it is one of our mantras in Hello World) that we are all migrants and we are all changemakers for positive transformation, for our host communities, as well as for those who saw us leave and trust that, one day, we will return.