Vienna – The evolving migration dynamics in Western Balkans, the need for stronger and coordinated response to the migration in the region as well as the future joint activities, were some of the topics of IOM-MARRI Regional Strategic Exchange for Western Balkans, held on 15 October 2018 in Vienna, Austria. Organized by IOM Regional Office in Vienna, the meeting was attended by MARRI Regional Centre Director Sashko Kocev on behalf of MARRI and IOM delegation led by IOM Regional Director

Tirana – MARRI Regional Centre joined the initiative “Run for Refugees” in the 2018 Tirana’s Half Marathon and 10K, launched by UNHCR in Albania to support refugees by raising awareness on their situation. The RC Director Sashko Kocev joined the team of over 150 people, among which some refugees and asylum seekers residing in Albania, to participate in the event aimed to show that people who are in danger, even though distant and unfamiliar, deserve to be treated with dignity

Tirana – On 5 October 2018, MARRI RC Director Sashko Kocev attended the second part of EU-Western Balkans Ministerial Forum, dedicated on home affairs. The annual forum that was organized by Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, in cooperation with European Commission and the support of Albania, is part of the strategy supporting the Western Balkans on their path towards the EU. In a course of two working sessions, the Ministers of Interior of EU member states and

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

Sarajevo – MARRI RC Director Sasko Kocev attended the regional event “Municipal response to migration movements and emergency situations”, organized by German International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe (NALAS) in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The objective of the event was to bring together lessons learnt in municipalities from Serbia and Macedonia and transferring these experiences and practices to a wider regional context, in order to support the preparation and management of possible future

Vienna – MARRI Regional Centre Director Sashko Kocev and the Representative of Kosovo* to MARRI RC, Mr. Bilall Bilalli attended the Conference “Security and Migration – Promoting Partnership and Resilience”, organized under the auspices of Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2018.  The conference was dedicated to promote cooperation between EU and third countries, where participants had in‑depth discussions on police cooperation, asylum, migration, border management, extremism and terrorism. Aside from Ministers of Interior of EU Member

Building on the long-standing cooperation between the two organizations, MARRI Regional Centre and International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) Office in Skopje, organized an informative meeting where MARRI RC team had an opportunity to learn about the latest developments within ICMPD on organizational and operational level, about their upcoming events and to discuss the possible areas of joint activities. The ICMPD National Representative of Macedonia and Senior Project Manager, Ms. Melita Gruevska Graham in a comprehensive and holistic way,

Skopje – As part of the preparation process of the new joint programme “Strengthening regional dialogue, coordination and cooperation on migration in the Western Balkans”, financed by Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, MARRI Regional Centre with the support of GIZ Office in Skopje, organized a one-day workshop dedicated to mapping of all relevant actors and stakeholders in MARRI Participants that are involved in the migration management. The event took place at the

Skopje – MARRI RC Director, Mr. Sashko Kocev, met with the Ambassador of Switzerland, Ms. Sybille Suter Tejada and the Deputy Head of Mission, Mr. Stephane Tomagian. Kocev used the visit to thank for the continuous support that the Swiss Government is giving to MARRI throughout the years and expressed readiness for future endeavors with aim to strengthen the regional cooperation. The interlocutors discussed on the current project funded by Swiss Government, BORDAIRPOL II and future steps to be taken

Skopje – MARRI RC held an Information and Discussion working meeting with the aim to provide an overview of the regional interventions where MARRI participates as a partner of the IPA II project ‘Regional Support to Protection-Sensitive Migration Management in the Western Balkans’. The meeting was organized and led by the two experts seconded by IOM to MARRI RC through the project. Under the auspices of the aforementioned EU project, IOM is supporting MARRI in establishing a regionally compatible mechanism