When supporting migrants, many organizations focus on short-term needs of beneficiaries and forget about their long-term dreams. The Global Diversity Foundation aims to move beyond aid. We help migrants pursue their life ambitions and contribute to the nations they join. We need diversity to solve global challenges such as climate change and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Providing broad access to opportunity empowers all people to strengthen their communities.
Media attention focuses on the perils of migratory routes. But after migrants settle, their plight continues. In addition to being in a foreign society, they face multiple layers of prejudice. Opportunities open to ordinary citizens are closed to them. Support for migrants focuses on their urgent needs but not on social barriers to their long-term aspirations. As a result, many live in precarity, depend on aid and cannot control their fate. Neither migrants nor society benefit from this reality.
We adopt a holistic approach to migration. Our goals are improving access to basic necessities and diminishing social barriers to long-term success. Working with photographers and artists, we develop innovative and social media friendly ways for migrants to explain their realities and dispel negative stereotypes. We also create spaces that connect them to the local community and open networking opportunities. Our approach alleviates suffering and helps migrants take control of their fates.
We promote a more realistic image of migrants that acknowledges their vulnerability, but also highlights their strengths and potential to benefit host societies. Currently based in Marrakech, we plan to expand our efforts to other regions of Morocco. Drawing on GDF's experience in working with local organizations, we will develop partnerships that bring our approach to West and Central Africa and Western Europe. Our goal is to open cultural and social opportunities for migrants on a global scale
