Skopje – Representatives of MARRI Regional Centre took part in the Prague Process Migration Observatory “Workshop on Gathering, Analysis and Sharing of Migration Data”. The event gathered approximately 50 expert-level attendees from the Prague Process participants, with most of them coming from the post-Soviet region and the Western Balkans. Several EU Member States also attended, along with representatives of relevant international stakeholders. The geographic focus of the workshop was on the WB region and its migration data management in the context of the substantial mixed migration flows received in the recent past.
During the workshop, IOM Migration and Asylum Data Expert seconded to MARRI, Mr. Ivan Kochovski presented the “Regional Platform for the Exchange of Migration Data in the Western Balkans”. This platform is planned to be operational in 2019 and will allow MARRI Participants to exchange comprehensive and comparable non-personal migration data in line with EU standards and methodologies. Currently, the platform is being developed by IOM under the IPA II Regional Project “Regional Support to Protection Sensitive Migration Management in the Western Balkans and Turkey” to be hosted and administered by MARRI RC. The presentation was met with positive comments and encouragement by the workshop participants, highlighting the need and timeliness of establishing a regional mechanism on migration data.