Civil Society

Through its bridge-building character, this platform aims at improving and enhancing the capacity and impact of African diaspora organisations involved in development activities in Africa, and connecting the e-Diaspora organizations in Europe. Effective network dynamics and activities are best managed on a permanent platform, setting structured grounds for a competent delivery of relevant and appropriate context specific services to diaspora organizations, countries of destination and countries of origin.

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation supported the creation of a platform for the Bosnian and Herzegovinian Diaspora in Switzerland, which connects the Diaspora in Switzerland with the purpose of joining forces to support the development of the country of origin beyond the many existing individual contributions at family or community level.

The association ‘Migration and Development’ is a civil society organization which has been engaged in integrated and participative development with migrants in southern Morocco for many years. Its engagement is anchored in the intention of enhancing the synergies between migrants and their territories in their community of origin. As such, the communities of origin are strongly involved in defining their needs and ensuring that migrants’ contributions are factored in when seeking to contribute to the development of communities of origin.

The CTRS project is an initiative of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in Tunisia. The project interventions focus on cooperation with the Tunisian Government in line with its efforts in strengthening Tunisia’s links with its diaspora and to promoting the diaspora’s engagement in Tunisia’s national and local development.

The project aims at acknowledging the competences and skills of Tunisians living in Switzerland with view to strengthening their contribution to the socio-economic development of Tunisia in four areas:

The mission of the interactive media platform albinfo.ch is twofold:

a) Active Citizenship and harmonious integration of people and ethnic Albanian populations in Switzerland

The purpose of albinfo.ch is to be used as a communication tool through free and convenient access to quality non-partisan information and services.

The Mediterranean City-to-City Migration Project (MC2CM) implemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) in partnership with United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) and UN Habitat, as well as UNHCR as an associate partner, aims to create a network of 10 European and Southern Mediterranean cities in order to facilitate exchange of experience among and to contribute to improved migration planning and governance in these cities.

Initiated in June 2014, the project "Innovative Diaspora of the Republic of Moldova" (INDP) is a flagship initiative coordinated by the Moldovan Technology Transfer Network (MTTN) in cooperation with Entranse Moldova. INDP Initiative aims to assist  residents of the  Soroca Business Incubator (IAS) to improve the services and products provided by them by creating and supporting sustainable partnerships between residents IAS and highly skilled diaspora of Moldova (successful entrepreneurs).

The Diaspora Congress is a platform held every two years in order to strengthen communication between the government and the diaspora. The Congress focuses on multilateral discussions between government officials and representatives of the diaspora regarding the diaspora's policies and the impact of migration on the economic, social, academic and political situation in the country.

Developed by the Bureau for Relations with the Diasporas, the Diaspora Days are aimed at promoting tourism, cultural and economic dialogue, mobilizing diaspora associations and civil society for joint actions to contribute to sustainable development and promoting Moldova internationally.

The organization of events dedicated to Diaspora Days is a perfect occasion to attract migrants and to get them interested in developing local infrastructure, creating services for children and the elderly, launching businesses.

The Journalists’ Union of Macedonia and Thrace Daily Newspapers in Greece has drafted a proposal for the adoption of the Anti-racism Ethics Code of the Greek journalists called The Charter of Idomeni, in the name of the border control village which thousands of refugees pass through to reach Northern European countries.