Prof G. ‘Hari’ Harindranath spent a fantastic week at the ITCILO‘s (the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization) beautiful campus in Turin, Italy during June 2026 where he led sessions on ‘Digital Transformation for Inclusive Labour Migration Governance’, as part of the ITCILO’s Digital Governance Initiative. His sessions covered the following key themes in the digitalisation of labour migration:
- Responsible digitalisation of labour migration processes
- Policy coherence and the whole-of-government approach to labour migration digitalisation
- Digital maturity and capability assessment frameworks for labour migration digitalisation
- Data as an asset in the digitalisation of labour migration, building capacity for data management, data integration and interoperability, and stakeholder engagement
- Responsible data practices including data ethics and data justice
The week brought together representatives from the entire spectrum of stakeholders in labour migration including government, public employment services, private recruitment, social protection, migrant support services, research and international development.
Labour migration management is increasingly digital but digitalisation is not inherently transformative. Without appropriate governance and institutional frameworks, multi-stakeholder engagement and a steadfast focus on accountability and inclusion, digitalisation is likely to leave the most vulnerable (migrant workers) behind.
Thank you to the amazing team at ITCILO especially Michela Albertazzi Elton Di Tommazi Maciel, Marion Christophe and Sebastián Bermúdez Meza as well as Charles Crevier and Mauricio Escribens. I wish the Digital Governance Initiative at the ITCILO every success.
Written by Prof. G. “Hari” Harindranath
ICT4D Collective 