The 16th of June is the INTERNATIONAL DAY OF FAMILY REMITTANCES

The first celebration took place in 2015 at the GLOBAL FORUM ON REMITTANCES AND DEVELOPMENT, June 16-19 , 2015 in Milan, Italy as part of the World Expo. The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a specialized agency of the United Nations has developed the IDFR idea as a way for other institutions to work with IFAD in endorsing the values behind the IDFR in order to capitalize on the potential of remittances to further help meet the economic, social and environmental challenges confronting developing countries. If your institution wants to promote or endorse the IDFR it must contact IFAD at idfr@ifad.org.

Proclaiming an International Day of Family Remittances represents an opportunity for institutions to recognize the efforts of migrants globally and strengthen current cross-industry partnerships and create new synergies among sectors to promote the development impact of remittances worldwide and join together to help reach the ultimate goal of making migration for future generations more of a choice than a necessity.

The number of international migrants — persons living in a country other than where they were born — reached 244 million in 2015 for the world as a whole, a 41% increase compared to 2000, including almost 20 million refugees. That is almost 3.5% of the world population (up from 2.8% in 2000) according to the United Nations.

Currently, there are almost 250 million international migrants worldwide living outside the country they call home. Throughout civilization, people have always been on the move, seeking better opportunities for themselves and their families – it is part of the human condition. But the scale of migration from rural to urban areas, and across national borders in the 21st century, is unprecedented. Indeed, it has been accurately characterized as “the human face of globalization”.

For 2016 the World Bank estimates than more than 600 Billion US Dollars will be sent in family remittances to Developing Countries. These are only the recorded flows. The volume could easily surpass one Trillion Dollars if airtime, international bill payments, carry-on transfers, unrecorded flows (informal transfer systems) are counted. The volume doesn’t tell the story. Is the number of the transfers, is the generosity of the senders and their sacrifice, the tenacity of the migrants to seek better opportunities fighting against all odds, against racism and discrimination, against closed borders, walls and border patrols. The IDFR celebrates family..

IMPORTANT: If your institution wants to promote or endorse the IDFR it must contact IFAD at idfr@ifad.org.

June 16, 2017

On 2017 we celebrated the IDFR at IMTC USA 2017 in San Francisco on June 15 and on June 16 at the Global Forum of Remittances Investment and Development (GFRID2017) at the United Nations, in this event organized by IFAD & the World Bank. At the GFRID2017 we hosted RemTECH, the Remittances Innovation Awards.

June 16, 2016

On the occasion of the IDFR 2016, KNOMAD, the WORLD BANK and IMTC invited the general public to a one-hour virtual session entitled Migration and Remittances: Global Trends, Outlook, and State of Play. Speakers were Dilip Ratha, Head, KNOMAD and Lead Economist, Migration and Remittances, World Bank and Hugo Cuevas-Mohr, Director, IMTC Conferences and Mohr World Consulting. Here are the voice recordings and the available transcripts.