On March 3rd, Relocate hosted a premier soft-launch at The Hague. It was meant to be a symbolic destination, paying tribute to international institutions founded upon pillars of peace and justice.

We were fortunate to simply be there, in-person, freely hosting a discussion related to pressing topics revolving around global migration.

Several months ago, when we started planning the agenda for this roundtable event, global affairs looked very different. Kyiv was still a destination. We had relationships with practitioners, and were cultivating inroads with Ukraine, inspired by the nascent tech-scene and dense, weathered Eastern European culture.

On March 2nd, the day before our event, I stood in front of a formidable red-brick building and stared across the green manicured grass at the Peace Palace – home to the International Court of Justice. I read the inscriptions nearby – Peace leads to Justice. Justice leads to Peace. Near the entrance stood a small tree, holding thin-strips of white notes on bare branches – The Peace Tree – inspired by Yoko Ono’s “Imagine Peace Wish Tree” project. Literally, wishes for peace, written before the onslaught of current events and clinging on through the seasons.

The inscription nearby read: “Over the years, the Peace Palace has become a worldwide and universal symbol of peace through justice. While armed violence is still a daily reality in many parts of the world, conflicts are also solved peacefully at the Peace Palace. A historical site with a future.”

"A historical site with a future." It was all very moving, and still is.

Imagine Peace Wish Tree in Den Haag

CULTIVATING A COMMUNITY

When we began engineering Relocate.World in late-2020, we maintained a simple vision – to ease the burdens of migration. We focused on various pain-points in the process of migration and gained support from leading migration practitioners and stakeholders worldwide to pioneer this ecosystem. And for anyone who has ever launched a start-up, you know the mix of emotions involved – the palpable feelings swaying between firm belief to delicate survival. You learn that while you must do whatever it takes to forge your mission ahead, profound reflection is also one necessary way to accomplish this.

Well, this is no doubt one of them. And one that I wished to personally share with our community. A community composed of such diversity already – with a genetic makeup that can be compared only to the Global Citizen. And these are not just words. Dig-deeper into the original stories and news being entrusted and shared, reflecting both global migration trends and the human narrative. Browse the profiles of a dense and experienced member base, a mix of migration practitioners and storytellers who maintain a vested interest in migration affairs both within and outside their own borders. There are meaningful, layered conversations happening throughout Relocate.World community spaces every single-day.

In fact, since our launch in November 2021 – we’ve had contributors, visitors, and members on Relocate from 185 countries – this is 95% of the world. Sure, maybe just one from Western Sahara and 20 other countries, but still, one is all it takes to plant a seed.

The Relocate Series Live @ The Hague on March 3, 2022

Join the Conversation: Get Started. Get Going. #TranscendBorders

On behalf of our team at Relocate, I wish to thank everyone who has been part of this journey. We are in a very particular time for global migration and live in a world that is constantly moving towards the unprecedented. And if I am to hang my wish on the tree, may we find it in our hearts to strive for peace and through empathy remember this:

“If I am forced to choose between my country or the world, I choose the world. For borders are nothing more than fixations of man, and man is but a creation of this world.”