The 2023 edition of the Journalists International Forum For Migration (JIFORM) annual international migration summit will be held between November 27-30, in Toronto, Canada having been rescheduled from October.
The hybrid event to accommodate both virtual and physical participation is the fourth in its series is being hosted by the Abedorc Productions Inc at Etobicoke, Toronto with a theme: Climate Change, Human Mobility and Sustainable Investments.
A statement issued by the President of the JIFORM, Dr Ajibola Abayomi said the periodic summit with the opening session slated for November 28 would live up to its billing by providing capacity building opportunities for journalists, migrants workers, business owners, judiciary workers and other professionals in the areas of migration and economic matters like the previous ones.
He added that the summit would also attempt a review of the migration components supporting safe, orderly and regular migration to the benefits of humanity.
Some of the notable speakers billed to attend the summit are Honourable Gerry Weiner, the former Secretary of State and Minister of Immigration and Citizenship in Canada, now the Executive Director, Global Relations, Partnerships, and Customer Satisfaction, APS Global Partners Incorporated, Toronto and Kelly Tallon Franklin, a Canadian, a top human trafficking survivor activist.
Kelly, is a United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Delegate and Panel expert at the UN Women’s summits and the founder of a Survivor lead Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) and her team created the first culturally sensitive, language inclusive safety campaign in Canada during the pandemic (#ProjectInterclusion).
Also, on the list of speakers is Nermin. K Ahmad, a US based Harvard scholar and the Treasurer of the Executive Committee on Migration representing Civil Society at the United Nations who also Chairs the Program Committee at the Harvard Club of NY. She also occupies the seat of the UN representative designated by Business and Professional Women (BPW) International present in 112 countries, including Nigeria.
Another prominent guest speaker is Philomena Gnanapragasam, the Director Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD), Malaysia.
She holds a double degree in Psychology and Political Science from the UK and Malaysia respectively. To date, she has 15 international awards for radio and television. Prior to joining AIBD Philomena was Station Manager of Malaysia’s Pioneer English Radio Station, Traxxfm, RTM. She has significant experience in both radio and television programming.
The JIFORM, registered in 2019, is a non-profit body comprising over 300 journalists and other volunteers across the continents covering migration matters with headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria.
The body has facilitated among other things the maiden African Migration Summit in partnership with the Nekotech Center of Excellence in Accra, Ghana in 2021, the West African Media Migration Summit in Togo in 2021, and an Intercontinental Migration Summit in partnership with the Medgar Evers College, City University, Brooklyn, in New York between November 2- 4, 2022.