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The Inclusive Cities forum: For an inclusive, supportive and sustainable Panama City, took place on 23 September 2022. The event was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Panama, in the Ricardo J. Alfaro auditorium. The opening remarks were given by Ana Castro, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Panama; Juana Lopez, Deputy Minister of Government of Panama; Isabela Matusz, ambassador of the European Union to Panama; Philippa Candler from UNHCR; Santiago Paz from IOM and Roi Chiti from UN-Habitat.
The agenda began with the presentation of the Inclusive Cities project by Roi Chiti, whom shared the generalities of the program. Subsequently, the panel entitled Panama: A look from the integration of people in situations of human mobility was held, in which Judy Meana, deputy mayor of Panama City, stressed that the pandemic taught us that extreme conditions are experienced by all of us equally and that way the mayor’s office provided humanitarian assistance, emphasizing that we should all see aspects of our daily work in the same way.
Various panels were held in which interesting perspectives and topics were discussed. Maria Isabel Savaria, Deputy Director of the National Directorate of Migration of Panama, stated that when a migrant worker knows his/her rights, tasks and access to justice, he/she becomes empowered, and that the Panamanian constitution says that we are all equal before the law. Also, Alida Spadafora, researcher from CIDES, highlighted that Panama is a small isthmus that has always been a biological transition corridor and humans are just another species that is trying to survive. Finally, Tomas Paredes from Fundacion Techo, shared about the importance of citizen participation in this type of events, since it is crucial to understand the real problems from those who face them.
