‘They think mobility doesn’t make good citizens!’

23 people from the Horn of Africa and UK gathered recently in northern Kenya to discuss life on the move as part of a consultation for the Bellagio Initiative dialogue on philanthropy and development. Each of the 23 live life on the move, some driven by war and violence, others choosing economic migration, yet others are born into a mobile life. Their movement encompasses Somalia, Kenya, Sudan and Ethiopia, the UK and beyond. This group asked what might create the sustained political will that would legitimise mobile citizenship. They proposed developing partnerships and strategies with diasporas and leveraging the unique capabilities of deep-rooted community institutions in Africa. The Bellagio Initiative is a series of global consultations to produce a new framework for philanthropic and international development collaboration in pursuit of human wellbeing in the 21st century. The project is led by the Institute of Development Studies, the Resource Alliance and the Rockefeller Foundation. Download the report from the consultation on 'Living on the Move' here (573Kb). (October 2011)