MARRI Regional Centre in partnership with the Central European Initiative (CEI) and the Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe (NALAS) organized regional conference in the framework of MIGRALONA project. The conference took place on 14 – 15 March 2018 in Skopje and summarized the work done during six national workshops held in each MARRI Participant in the period December – March 2018 with the participation of over 170 government officials and elected local authority representatives. Both, the national workshops and the regional conference were aimed at strengthening the long-term migration management processes as well as enhancing the collaboration between central and local governments on this issue.
The event was opened by CEI Focal Point Migrations/CEI Project Manager Ugo Poli and moderated by MARRI RC Director Tamara Mugosa. During the morning session, the Italian case of the spread-out reception (SPRAR) system in Friuli Venezia Giulia was presented by the Director of Italian Consortium for Solidarity Gianfranco Schiavone. The Government Commissioner for FVG Region and Prefect of Trieste Annapaola Porzio shared experiences from the SPRAR evolution through the enhanced capacities of the territorial communities for smooth implementation of the spread-out reception and integration practices. Finally, the Mayor of Aiello del Friuli Andrea Bellavite presented the practical experiences of the activation of the SPRAR project in his small community of 2,200 inhabitants in the heart of the Friuli.
Following the presentations of the Italian experts, the work during the 6 national workshops was presented and summarized by the NALAS Project Manager Aleksandra Simoska and MARRI RC Project Manager Biljana Kocareva.
The afternoon session and the second working day were moderated by NALAS Executive Director Kelmend Zajazi. During these sessions, the participants worked in three groups on finalizing the records and Conclusions of the MIGRALONA project.
Representatives of the Ministries of Interior, municipal authorities and Associations of Municipalities from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo* and Serbia as well as representatives of international partners IOM, GIZ and ICMPD actively participated and contributed to successful completion of the project activities.
The news about event were published on various Italian websites:
https://www.agenparl.eu/progetto-migralona-evento-finale-a-skopje/
* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSC 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.