The International Center for Human Development (ICHD), in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and with financial support of the EU, continues the implementation of the "Strengthening Evidence-Based Management of Labor Migration in Armenia" project (www.ulisses.am).

In order to facilitate the discussion on the challenges and opportunities for the development of effective and reliable mechanisms for supporting the migrants and their families on their social, legal and awareness issues, strengthening the link with their home country; as well as the issues related to engaging civil society institutions in practical cooperation for assistance to migrants on the agenda of intercommunity cooperation (case of cooperation with Community of Nardo, Italy), three-day trip from 16-19 November, 2013 to Nardo, Italy was organized in the scopes of the project. Deputy mayors of Ashtarak and Gyumri, Head of the Department of Territorial Administration and Development, RA MTA, President of the "Armavir Development Center" NGO and the executive director of ICHD were part of the Delegation.

The Delegation participated in a number of meetings with representatives of state institutions, civil society of Puglia on Armenia-Italy circular migration, as well as issues, that migrants might face and possible assistance they might need. During the meetings it was agreed to upgrade the cooperation processes between Nardo and Gyumri started in 2009, with the special focus on the support to the migrants, their social rights, improvement of information exchange on the opportunities of repatriation, guarantee the communication in cases of emergency with the community directly, as well as possibility of direct engagement of the civil society and international stakeholders into the processes. 

In order to accomplish the achieved arrangements the reciprocal visit of the Delegation from Nardo to Armenia from 10-11 December, 2013 is organized. In the scopes of the visit the roundtable discussion "Support to the migrants and their families on the agenda of the community to community cooperation" was organised on the 10th of December, 2013. Migration situation and its trends  in Armenia, the specifics of the migration policy being implemented by the State, reintegration support mechanisms, the projects being implemented by the Ministry of Diaspora and the possibilities of intercommunity cooperation development in the frames of those projects were presented and discussed during the roundtable discussion.

In December 11, the mayors of Gyumri and Nardo signed a new Memorandum of Cooperation in Gyumri, and on DEcember 10,  a meeting was held with the mayor of Ashtarak in order to facilitate the discussion on future cooperation between Nardo and Ashtarak.

Other links:

http://www.asparez.am/news-hy/handipum-italiayi-patvirakutyan_het-hy/
http://www.aravot.am/2013/12/11/413991/
http://ashtarak.am/Pages/Home/newsdetails.aspx?nID=505#.UqxL6tIW2AV