Manila, 12 May 2008 – The International Advisory Committee for the GFMD Civil Society Days has been organized. It held its first meeting via conference call last 8 May to discuss the selection process of civil society delegates and other preparatory matters for the GFMD Civil Society Days. The 13 committee members are located in 12 different countries which will be providing advise to the Ayala Foundation in its preparations for Civil Society Days in 27-28 October in Manila.

The International Advisory Committee (IAC) is a panel of specialists representing various geographical regions and stakeholders in migration and development. Its three essential roles and responsibilities are to provide advice in shaping the agenda of Civil Society Days, identify main speakers for the forum, and develop the selection criteria for international participants. The IAC’s role is similar to the role played by the Steering Group in the Brussels GFMD Civil society Day held in July 2007.

Presently, the IAC is finalizing the selection process as well as the application form for the GFMD Civil Society Days. These will be released and uploaded to this website by the 3rd week of May.

For further updates on the IAC please regularly check the GFMD CS Days Website or email the GFMD Civil Society Days Secretariat at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Manila, 15 April 2008 - The Department of Foreign Affairs together with the Ayala Foundation, Inc. are pleased to announce the launching of the official websites for the 2nd Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) Government Meeting and Civil Society Days. Both websites for the GFMD 2008 Philippines as well as the GFMD 2007 Belgium website can be accessed through http://gfmd2008.org. Keying in http://government.gfmd2008.org will directly lead readers to the Government Meeting site.

The sites present information on the preparation of the Philippines for the 2nd GFMD to be held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) from October 27 to 30, 2008. Each site includes Pre-conference Schedules, Delegation Information, Roundtable Themes, Downloadable Documents and other pertinent information on the GFMD.

For information on the website and on GFMD 2008, contact information of the Philippine GFMD Task Force and the GFMD Civil Society Days Secretariat are indicated in their corresponding websites.

MANILA. 14 January 2008 - The second Global Forum on Migration and Development will be held in Manila this October 2008. In a ceremony marking the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement on the international forum, the Department of Foreign Affairs designated Ayala Foundation as the convenor for the Civil Society Days of the GFMD. The Department of Foreign Affairs will serve as the convenor for the Governmment Meeting of GFMD. The 2nd Global Forum on Migration and Development is scheduled for October 27-30 in Manila with international civil society representatives meeting on October 27-28 and government representatives meeting on October 29-30. An informal joint session is scheduled on October 28. Over 170 countries are expected to be represented at the Forum.

Manila. January 14, 2008 - The Department of foreign Affairs (DFA) has designated the Ayala Foundation, Inc. (AFI) as the convenor of the Civil Society Meeting for the the second Global Forum on Migration and Development that will be held in Manila this October 2008.