The Global Commission on International Migration (GCIM) will hold a ‘Regional Hearing for Asia and the Pacific’ in Manila on 17 and 18 May 2004, followed by a ‘Commission-only’ meeting on 19 May. The hearing will involve some 20 selected governments from Asia and the Pacific, a number of non-governmental bodies, global and regional organisations, migration experts, private sector representatives, trade unions and the media. The next regional Commission hearing will be organised in the Mediterranean region, in Rabat, Morocco, in September 2004. Meanwhile, the GCIM invites contributions to a new series of research papers titled ‘Global Migration Perspectives’, edited by Dr Jeff Crisp and Dr Colleen Thouez. The purpose of the series is to contribute to the current discourse on global migration issues, and to assist the Commission in formulating policy options and proposals for its final report, which will be submitted to the UN Secretary-General in mid-2005. Preference will be given to papers that provide new, creative and policy-relevant perspectives on global migration issues (see http://www.gcim.org/ir_gmp.htm).