In mid-2010, when the FIIAPP Migration and Development team had two years of experience under its belt coordinating the project that accompanies the Euro-African Process on Migration and Development, the “Rabat Process”, we received the proposal from four African countries to work together in translating the political commitments into concrete actions.

Receiving this proposal was very stimulating, and represented an exercise in reality and, above all, a challenge that the entire M&D (Migration and Development) team wanted to be part of. That’s how the MeDAO project was born.

Political debate processes are essential, as demonstrated by the relevance the Rabat Process has taken on as a platform for harmonising policies, commitments and co-responsibility in the management of migratory flows. Once there is interest and commitment, it is time to move to action; that was the aim of the MeDAO project.

The cornerstone of the project was promoting governance over migration: institutional strengthening, the definition of policies/actions, and international-intraregional cooperation. Specifically, four work plans were developed in the areas of financial education in Morocco, promotion of social protection and support networks in Senegal and strengthening links between expatriate communities (diaspora) and their countries of origin in Cape Verde and Ivory Coast.

To be sure, over the course of the 36 months of MeDAO project, we generated spaces for debate; designed tools for communication, information exchange and learning; and we also lived through some “surprises”due to the complexity of the logistics. With great effort, we always worked with the conviction that we were contributing something new to the migratory debate.

To give an example, we jointly assumed the challenge of implementing a financial education model for Moroccan migrants and their families. The MeDAO project created a training manual, assessment indicators and a student workbook on managing savings with a focus on investment. Morocco showed its commitment to this issue by including it as a key element in the EU-Morocco Mobility Partnership. Indeed, while today we cannot categorically state that financial education is one of the priorities of the Ministry of Moroccans Residing Abroad because of the MeDAO project, we can affirm that we contributed to this goal.

Without a doubt, the project team led by Marzia Cardinali, with the support of Ignacio Suárez, Sandra Bonacasa, and Fatoumata Niox, achieved the project objectives, responding in a relevant and rigorous manner to the interests of the four countries. The external assessment currently underway will provide more information about the achievements and impact of the project.

FIIAPP Migration and Development Team

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