The 15th Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) held between 2 and 4 September 2025 brought together in Riohacha, Colombia, more than 800 delegates representing governments, city mayors, businesses, civil society, youth and academia to exchange ideas on some of the most pressing challenges in global mobility.
The Colombia Chairship deserves huge recognition for putting together an ambitious and thoughtful programme shaping dialogue around six thematic pillars spanning mobility and women, children and young people on the move, media and culture for changing narratives, the promise and perils of new technologies, climate mobility, and the critical importance of regional cooperation and partnerships between origin and destination countries.
Prof. G Hari Harindranath comments that “it was a privilege to contribute remarks on behalf of academia at the session on the Future of the Summit on the final day and to speak in Round Table 6 on the digitalisation of migration management alongside colleagues from the governments of Ecuador and Georgia, the Institute of Employers, and technology and immigration services organisations”.
In the digital space, the opportunities are clear: technology can contribute to making migration safer and more efficient. But without safeguards, it can deepen inequalities. Many labour migrants already face precarious conditions, and now digital insecurity adds another layer of vulnerability, particularly so as they often lack the capacity to use digital tech safely, wisely and securely.
If we design digital systems with simplicity, accessibility, transparency, accountability and proportionality at the centre, we can then bring the benefits of digitalisation to those who are most likely to be disempowered by it. Getting it right for the most vulnerable means getting it right for everyone.
Thank you to the GFMD and for creating space for academic voices throughout this process, from the preparatory roundtables through to the summit. Evidence-based perspectives are essential in a field that is increasingly politicised and polarised, and GFMD’s unique framework is one of the few places where all stakeholders can meet together as equals.
Prof G. ‘Hari’ Harindranath
10 September 2025
ICT4D Collective 