The Philippine Migrants Rights Watch would like to extend its heartfelt gratitude to the many individuals and institutions who contributed to the realization of the World Conference of OFWs 2004: Shaping the Future of Filipino Labor Migration.

The support of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), Dr. Heinz Bongartz and his staff in all the stages of the initiative is very much appreciated. PMRW also extends special thanks to the Bank of the Philippine Islands Foundation, Western Union, Philippine Airlines and Globe Telecom for their valuable contributions.

Prior to the conference, PMRW conducted a series of roundtable discussions with representatives of foreign missions whose countries host many Filipinos to discuss migration-related concerns. The participation of the following missions is much appreciated: Embassy of the Republic of Italy, Royal Norwegian Embassy, Embassy of the Swiss Confederation, Embassy of Australia, Canadian Embassy, Embassy of the United States of America, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Consulate General of Lebanon, and the Embassy of the State of Qatar. We would also like to thank the Embassy of Austria, the Embassy of Greece, the Consulate of Ireland, the Embassy of Sweden, and the Embassy of Japan for supporting our initiatives.

Many thanks to the resource persons from the government, academe, church, NGOs and migrants' associations who shared insights, data and perspectives during the plenary sessions, or served as facilitators in the workshop discussions.

Finally, PMRW is grateful to all the participants, who came from various parts of the world and the country, to envision the future of Filipino labor migration. December 16-18, 2004 was a moment of solidarity and PMRW looks forward to similar endeavors in the years to come.