On 8-9 November IOM Georgia held a regional conference on the role of local government in mainstreaming migration in local development. The conference was organized under IOM’s project “Enhancing Migrants’ Rights and Good Governance in Armenia and Georgia (EMERGE)” in partnership with State Commission on Migration Issues of Georgia and with the financial support of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway. The event brought together government officials of central and local levels, representatives of international organizations and academia from Georgia, Armenia, Moldova, Bulgaria and Ireland.

Participants were welcomed by IOM Georgia Chief of Mission – Sanja Celebic Lukovac, UN Resident Coordinator in Georgia – Sabine Machl, Ambassador of Kingdom of Norway to Georgia – Helene Sand Andresen and Head of Department for Development of Local Self-Government and Policy at the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure – Nikoloz Rosebashvili. Opening session was chaired by Sanja Celebic Lukovac and it focused on the unique role that local-level governance authorities can play in fostering better migration and development outcomes.

The conference participants received comprehensive information on successful models of engagement of local authorities in migration governance, including through supporting data needs in development of migration-related programmes and policies on the local level; models of coordination and cooperation between local authorities and national authorities; role of local governments in mobilizing diaspora support for local development; and using the networks of Migration Resource Centres for coordinated migrant service delivery at the local level.

The conference was held at Radisson Republic Event Hall in Tbilisi and was also broadcast online for a number of speakers and participants to attend. The conference was the third and final regional event organized within the framework of the project “Enhancing Migrants’ Rights and Good Governance in Armenia and Georgia (EMERGE)”.