SKOPJE, Macedonia – The final meeting of the DCIM (The Data Collection and Information Management) programme took place in Skopje on 14-15 April 2008. DCIM Project was funded by the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.  Partners in this project were:  ICMPD, MARRI, Anti-Corruption and Anti-Trafficking Network (ACTA) and EUROPOL. The objectives of the above-mentioned meeting were: – Presentation/discussion about preliminary results of the assessment of the DCIM start-up phase; – Identification

ZAGREB, Croatia – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Croatia, in co-operation with the Croatian Government’s Office for Human Rights—within the framework of Croatia’s one-year presidency of MARRI – organised a Round Table on “Suppression of Trafficking in Persons – Repatriation and Reintegration of Victims” which was held in Zagreb on 9 April 2008. This Round Table accorded particular attention to repatriation and reintegration of victims in their countries of origin, aimed at detecting

SKOPJE, Macedonia – The Concluding Regional Meeting of the Project “Document Security in the Western Balkan Region,” as funded by the United Kingdom and organised by MARRI, took place in Skopje on 20 March 2008.  The meeting gathered ministers, high level state officials and experts from MARRI Member States, as well as representatives from international organisations. The objective of the Concluding Regional Meeting was to present the results of the fifteen-month MARRI Project “Document Security in the Western Balkan Region” and

ZAGREB, Croatia – The Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration and the Ministry of Interior, within its capacity of MARRI Presidency-in-Office, organised the Round Table “Strengthening of Cross-Border Police Cooperation among the Countries in the Region,“  held in Zagreb on 14 March 2008. There is an ongoing process of transformation and increasing of administrative capabilities of police services in South-East European countries, which also include the countries of the MARRI initiative, as well as of adoption of the

SKOPJE, Macedonia – The Director of the MARRI Regional Centre, Dr. Trpe Stojanovski, held a briefing for members of Macedonian diplomatic core, relevant international organisations and representatives of foreign donours from EU countries.  The meeting was held in the Government building in Skopje on 10 March 2008, whereas the opening speech was delivered by the Macedonian Minister of Interior, Ms. Gordana Jankuloska, M.A. An overview of MARRI Regional Centre’s present and future activities was presented. More specifically, three proposed project

ZAGREB, Croatia – The first Regional Forum under the Croatian MARRI Presidency was held in Zagreb on 10 December 2007. The Forum provided an opportunity for MARRI Member States to discuss current/future activities of MARRI in the framework of regional ownership and cooperation. The main issues of the Initiative and the MARRI Regional Centre were discussed and adopted during the Forum. Namely, MARRI RC Budget for 2008 and annual contributions of the MARRI Member States to the running costs as

SKOPJE, Macedonia – The MARRI RC organised the Fourth Meeting of the Regional Working Group on Document Security and Establishment of Identity titled “Mechanisms of Regular Regional Information Exchange and Models of Early Warning Systems in the Field of Document Security”, held in Skopje on 29–30 November 2007. The Project on Document Security in the MARRI Region is funded by UK Government and its duration is from January to December 2007. The Project is in line with the MARRI Strategy

RAKITJE, Croatia – Meeting of the Friends of MARRI, organized by the Croatian Presidency and the MARRI Regional Centre, was held at RACVIAC Centre in Rakitje, Croatia on 6 November 2007.  The meeting provided an opportunity for MARRI RC to present its activities in the framework of regional ownership to the donor community. The participants included state representatives from EU Member States (Austria, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, UK), European Commission and international organisations such as IOM, UNHCR, OSCE and the

SKOPJE, Macedonia – The Director of the MARRI Regional Centre, Dr. Trpe Stojanovski, held a briefing for members of Macedonian diplomatic core  in the Government building on 25 October 2007. The priorities from the MARRI Strategy and Programme of Action in the field of migration, with an overview of MARRI Regional Centre’s present and future activities were presented. More specifically, three proposed project proposals from the MARRI initiative (i.e. interactive migration map, readmission agreements in the region and assessment of

SKOPJE, Macedonia – The MARRI Regional Centre, under the Croatian MARRI Presidency-in-Office, organised the Extraordinary Meeting of MARRI Regional Forum, in Skopje on 1 October 2007. This meeting provided an opportunity for a presentation of ongoing and planned MARRI activities for the remainder of 2007 as well as the issue of the future funding of the MARRI process.