oa Opening remarks on the Symposium significance, content, expectations and process

Welcome to a historic occasion, a first ever global gathering of experts addressing key issues of our time: migration, family, and human dignity.

Indeed, despite thousands of years of human migration, usually in family groups, this is the first time that migration and family have been looked at together in a truly international forum.

This first event is significant in who is here as well as what is on the agenda. It is safe to say that we are truly eminent gathering of academics and practitioners who know what we are talking about. We represent –necessarily-- a multi-disciplinary, multi-sector and and multiissue approach. A look around this room will confirm that the best expertise from around the world is well represented here. Nearly all of the key UN and international intergovernmental organizations are represented, as are important civil society organizations.