Why we renamed the Nepal-Qatar Corridor team, ‘Mosaic’:
To better address the broader needs of our migrant worker community beyond Nepal and Qatar, our team renamed our program ‘Mosaic’.
The name ‘Mosaic’ was selected by our steering group to symbolize the interconnectedness of our community members. Like a mosaic, made up of unique pieces that come together to create a beautiful whole, our participatory grantmaking reflects the unique contributions of each member of our community, who plays an essential role in shaping our collective work.
Participatory Grantmaking Model – Key Principles and Evolution:
Mosaic is a participatory process that marks a significant milestone in Humanity United’s (HU) evolving approach to strategy and grantmaking. Historically, strategy design and grantmaking decisions were led exclusively by HU staff. This approach gradually reinforced a structure in which power remained concentrated within the foundation and placed HU at the center of systems-level change.
In moving toward a more equitable approach to grantmaking and strategy development, HU launched the Mosaic participatory process as a meaningful step in placing those with lived experience—including migrant workers and survivor leaders—at the heart of its work. The participatory process seeks to create conditions that enable safer labor migration for workers through a range of efforts.
Migrant Worker Challenges- An Overview of Labor Migration Issues:
Worldwide, labor migrants face challenges in low-wage employment settings. A lack of labor and social protections, inadequate legal frameworks, exploitative recruitment practices, and restricted mobility continue to contribute to worsening working conditions in high-risk sectors.
Mosaic prioritizes working on initiatives focused on anti-forced labor and human trafficking. Centered on the experiences of migrant workers and survivors, the Mosaic team identified five strategic pathways to improve their lives. These include:
- Worker organizing
- Representation
- Policy Influence
- Accountability
- Narrative Change
Migration Corridors – Our focus on Africa, Asia, and the Gulf:
Many of our migrant worker community members migrated from their countries of origin across Africa and Asia to seek better economic opportunities in the Gulf region.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates – stand as pivotal hubs for global labor migration. Migrant workers, constituting a substantial portion of the workforce, form the backbone of sectors such as construction, hospitality, and domestic work, driving the Gulf region’s economic engine.
Click here to learn more about Mosaic’s strategy and insights from piloting a participatory grantmaking model.