The International Day of Family Remittances (IDFR), celebrated every year on 16 June, is aimed at recognizing the significant financial contribution migrant workers make to the wellbeing of their families back home and to the sustainable development of their countries of origin. It is also aimed at encouraging the public and private sectors, as well as the civil society, to do more together and collaborate to maximize the impact of these funds in the developing world.
The IDFR was unanimously proclaimed by all 176 member states of IFAD’s Governing Council at its 38th session in February 2015, and was noted in the UN General Assembly’s Resolution on International Migration and Development A/RES/71/237.
Proclaiming an International Day of Family Remittances represents an invaluable opportunity not only to recognize the efforts of migrant workers globally, but also to strengthen current partnerships and create new synergies among sectors to promote the development impact of remittances worldwide.
The first IDFR was celebrated on 16 June 2015 by more than 400 policy-makers, private sector representatives and civil society leaders at the opening of the Fifth Global Forum on Remittances and Development in Milan.
In 2016 over eighty money transfer operators endorsed the IDFR and committed to take concrete action to ensure that family remittances count for even more. Read their statements.
In 2017 the Day received an unprecedented support from the private sector, with over 100 Money Transfer Operators (MTOs) through IAMTN, 800 mobile companies through GSMA (including Vodafone), 6,000 savings banks across 80 countries through WSBI, and over 100 emerging payments entities through EPA. The Day was also supported by the 22 UN organizations within the Global Migration Group (GMG), individually by IOM and by several member states.