Digital technologies are transforming our lives. Forcibly displaced people are using digital technologies in ways that inform and shape their migration and settlement in new places; and there are new opportunities for accessing training and income-generating activities online. At the same time, digital technologies are being used on (or against) forcibly displaced people. Complex predictive modelling, geolocation tracking on mobile phones, biometric data use and dissemination, digital financial systems and the use of artificial intelligence in decision-making are among the digital technologies discussed in this issue. The foreword by Jessica Bither and Jassin Irscheid from the Robert Bosch Stiftung's migration team addresses the decisions made today about digital architecture and their impact on the security, privacy and agency of people on the move. They also raise the question of whether we are meeting this responsibility appropriately.

The conflict in Tigray since November 2020 has resulted in significant loss of life and displacement. Today, Ethiopia hosts 4.38 million IDPs – one of the highest IDP populations in the world. Ongoing issues in the region include human rights violations, food and medicine shortages, sexual violence, and inadequate access to psychosocial support. . The report provides an overview of the key issues facing Ethiopia and the Tigray region and draws specific lessons on systemic shortcomings in the global response to internal displacement. Additionally, it develops recommendations for the United States, the aid community, donors, and development actors, as well as the Ethiopian government and Tigrayan authorities.

Sfax is the second largest city in Tunisia. Located on the Mediterranean coast, the city is an important economic center connecting the north and south of the country. Sfax is home to approximately 615,000 inhabitants, with approximately 950,000 inhabitants living in the wider agglomeration. The city experiences mixed rural-urban, interregional and international migration. The increasingly difficult socio-economic situation, financial constraints, gender dynamics, the absence of a national migration strategy and the politicization of mobility issues between North Africa and Europe have a unique impact on migration dynamics in Sfax. The municipality participates in the international Mediterranean City-to-City Migration network (MC2CM) and aims to address migration issues at the local level. In addition, a wide range of other actors are directly or indirectly involved in migration and displacement. The stakeholder mapping conducted by the Equal Partnership project shows that civil society and international actors have created a referral and coordination system on migration issues. Representatives of national agencies and the municipality sometimes attend these meetings, and the municipality has worked in partnership with migrant associations. However, the local scope for action remains very limited in the absence of local-national dialogues.

With a population of approximately 300,000, the Senegalese city of Saint serves as a point of arrival, transit, residence, destination, and return for a wide range of mobile populations. While Saint Louis' strategic location on the Atlantic coast attracts migrants seeking socio-economic opportunities, climate-related stressors and inadequate access to housing and social services challenge integration and local responses to migration. To gain an overview of activities, partnerships and cooperation gaps, the Equal Partnerships project developed participatory field research with the city of Saint Louis in February and March 2023 and facilitated a local workshop. The stakeholder mapping shows that a wide range of local, national and international actors are addressing migration and displacement in Saint Louis, with cooperation focused mainly on local climate-driven displacement and child protection. Significant gaps in collaboration remain on international migration issues.

Oujda is an intermediary city in the northeast of Morocco. With a population of approximately 500,000 inhabitants, Oujda serves as the administrative center of the Oriental region. Located close to the Algerian border (13 km) and the Mediterranean Sea (60 km), the city is an important hub for rural-urban, interregional and international mixed migration. Both the regional council and the municipality of Oujda have set up administrative migration units and address migration and development in their local and regional development plans. In addition, a wide range of other actors are directly and indirectly involved in mixed migration in the city. In order to gain an overview of activities, partnerships and cooperation gaps, the Equal Partnerships project developed participatory field research and organized a local workshop in cooperation with the Oujda municipality and the NGO Coaching Territorial in September 2022. The stakeholder mapping shows that although public and civil society actors are addressing mixed migration issues and have created various coordination hubs, there is an urgent need to strengthen cooperation between public and civil society actors at the local level, as well as dialogue between local, regional and national governments. Despite the need for improvement, the project identified several good practice examples of multi-stakeholder action, such as the Oujda Migration Network.

The Ghanaian city of Kumasi, with a population of approximately 3.35 million, is the capital of the Ashanti Region and connects the north of Ghana with the south coast. Kumasi is an important destination and transit city for both internal migration and mixed migration from Nigeria to the east and several ECOWAS member countries to the west. Although migration is not a central policy issue in Kumasi, "organic" networks of city authorities, NGOs and community leaders are engaged in many ways on related issues. The Equal Partnerships project's stakeholder mapping shows that while migration is not officially on the local government's policy agenda, many actors deal with migrants in their daily activities beyond official policies, laws and regulations. There is great potential in establishing local-national dialogues to bridge the gap between recently adopted national migration policies and local action on the ground.

Gulu is one of Uganda's fastest growing intermediary cities. With about 150,000 people living in the city and more than 275,000 people living in the wider district, Gulu is the largest urban center in Uganda's northern region. Migration and (internal) displacement related to past civil wars, regional conflicts, economic inequality, climate change and environmental degradation play an important role in shaping the city of Gulu. As a result, various actors are addressing issues of human mobility in the city. To gain an overview of activities, partnerships and gaps in cooperation, the Equal Partnerships project conducted participatory field research and organized a local workshop in July 2022 in cooperation with the City of Gulu. The stakeholder mapping revealed that despite Uganda's internationally lauded "open" refugee policy, the predominant focus on refugee resettlement in rural settlements has rendered self-settled urban refugees highly invisible, limiting the capacity of local government, civil society and international organizations to support refugees in Gulu city.