Vienna Migration Conference 2021

How can we deliver better migration outcomes along the routes to Europe – now and after the pandemic? This year’s Vienna Migration Conference (VMC) focused on challenges, opportunities and strategies to spur stronger cooperation in key areas in Europe’s immediate neighbourhood and the wider world. The crisis in Afghanistan and the ongoing challenges due to COVID-19, including the pre-existing trends the pandemic has accelerated, make constructive dialogue and collective action more pressing than ever. International partnerships are a conditio sine qua non to address current and anticipated migration challenges effectively. Given the pressure to find common ground, this year’s VMC put the spotlight firmly on assessing the current state of play in migration diplomacy and investigates where real progress between key partners can be made.

Opening sessions focused on current priorities, such as addressing displacement from Afghanistan and the need to create functioning, sustainable African-European migration partnerships. The subsequent panel discussions explored the realities along the key routes to Europe; crisis management at the external border; the future of the European Union amidst a turbulent geopolitical scene; and final reflections on the road ahead in this highly sensitive area of international relations.

This year’s VMC took on a hybrid format. We convened around 150 key stakeholders in the migration world at Palais Niederösterreich, with online streaming to secure broad outreach and participation despite COVID-19 related travel restrictions.

The VMC2021’s conference report is now available here. We invite you to discover impressions, and key insights and reflections of the conference and on the future of migration partnerships that emerged during two days of lively debates on how to deliver better migration outcomes in a changing world.

For more information on the Vienna Migration Conference please visit us at: https://vienna-migration-conference.org/