Programme news, November-December 2012
Advanced training on migration data
Download 415.89 Kb. Pdf ko'rish
|
|
Advanced training on migration data: migration profiles
On 20 and 21 December, the IOM organized advanced training on migration statistics. The IOM had already organized basic training on this topic for various government agencies in March 2011. Representatives and experts from various state agencies that in one way or another collect migration and population statistics were invited, including the National Statistics Committee, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department for External Migration and Department for the Consular Service, the National Bank, the Border Guards and the State Agency for the Registration of Immovable Property (Gosregistr). Participants received in-depth knowledge of migration profiles, how they are drawn up and used in various countries, what their purpose is and how they can be used when developing policy, improving strategy and making decisions. The IOM specially invited an international expert on migration statistics to give the training. Participants praised the course and felt that more such training should be held, although with a greater focus on analysing migration statistics. This suggestion was noted.
A Catalogue of Craftwork has been produced for publication by self-help groups created as part of the Regional Migration Programme. The catalogue was prepared by UN Women’s partner organization, the Community Development Alliance, in collaboration with the Mountain Partnership, the global alliance of mountainous countries. An electronic version has been uploaded to UN Women’s website, http://www.unwomen-eeca.org/ru/resursi/resursi/?p=1040 .
From 30 October until 10 November, practical advice sessions were held on energy-efficient and energy-saving technologies for building and using greenhouses for representatives of self-help groups in three target regions: the village of Svetlaya Polyana in Issyk Kul Province, the village of Dzhal in Chui Province
and the village of Aktash in Osh Province. A demonstration of energy-efficient technology was also provided through a visit to Chui Province to see operating greenhouses and talk to the people who work there.
Material was recorded during this trip for a short educational film. This film includes video footage, presentations by experts and diagrams and graphics to help viewers better understand how to build solar- powered greenhouses, how they work, how to use them for agriculture and how to choose suitable and high- yielding crop varieties. The film includes interviews with experts, greenhouse users and seminar participants. It lasts 30 minutes, and is in Russian with Kyrgyz subtitles.
This work is being carried out by experts engaged from the BIOM Environmental Movement, who will also provide further advice to self-help groups who are constructing greenhouses.
UN Women is currently preparing a booklet on training available in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on energy-saving technologies and alternative sources of energy for industrial and household use.
Women’s self-help groups made up of vulnerable families of migrants in the village of Kulundu in Batken Province that have united to form the Kulundu Village Fund have received co-funding from UN Women to set up a cotton carding station. Work to get the station ready is in full swing. Women’s groups have prepared the premises for the station. Through a tender announced in the village, they have also managed to acquire 2400m
2 for building additional premises. A carding machine has been ordered, due to be delivered to the village by the end of December. The raw material is currently being prepared, and the services of the carding facility (requested by villagers, particularly women) will be available once the equipment arrives. Marking out land for a greenhouse
As Kulundu finishes preparing to install the new machinery, villagers in Ak Suu are now able to use their carding station, which opened on 12 December. Local inhabitants and the head and representatives of the aiyl okmotu (rural executive committee) attended the opening. Villagers expressed their gratitude to members of the Ak Suu Village Fund and its director Matluba Razykova, who initiated the station’s opening.
“The station means that we can make clothing, mattresses and kuraki (patchworks) in the village, and we don’t need to go to the district centre with big bales of cotton for carding. We used to have to carry the cotton by taxi as there is no bus, and we had to spend a great deal on carding cotton and making kuraki, which every family has and needs. We now have a cotton carding station of our own in the village and we can make everything ourselves. We won’t just save money, we’ll save time too,” said one woman.
The Ak Suu Village Fund is already planning to take orders for kuraki as well as providing cotton and wool carding services. Ak Suu has around 3,000 inhabitants (52% of whom are women) who will be able to use the services of the carding station. Orders have also started coming in from neighbouring villages. Despite the poor weather and the cold, the carding station is operating industriously. “We will help our young women both to develop their own businesses,” said one of the oldest women in the village, who came to the opening, “and to pass on their experience to their daughters-in-law, daughters and friends!”
Russian Federation
On 9 November, a 72-hour continuing professional development programme entitled “Social work with families that include foreign nationals” was launched in St Petersburg for staff from state social care facilities. The programme aims to help participants form a holistic view of social work with families that include foreign nationals and to develop practical knowledge and skills necessary to provide effective professional support to help migrants integrate. The training is provided jointly by the Semya (Family) Regional Methodology Centre and Doctors to Children, a St Petersburg NGO. Twenty-eight specialists from district Centres for Social Assistance to Families and Children have enrolled for the course. Lecturers from St Petersburg University and specialists from the St Petersburg Administration’s Education and Healthcare Committees have been invited as trainers. The first stage of the programme, totalling 36 hours of seminars and practical work, will be completed by the end of 2012
Launch of a new Tajik-Russian phrase book on 13 November at the Moscow House of Nationalities In October 2012, IOM Moscow and expert linguists from the Ethnosphere Centre for Inter-nationality Education (an independent non-commercial organization) produced a new Tajik-Russian phrase book with the support of the Central Asia Regional Migration Programme.
At the launch, the authors of the phrase book (Tatyana Shorina and Tatyana Feoktistova) gave an in-depth account of how the phrase book was written, describing the issues that came up and how these were resolved. Zarifa Igamberdieva, a consultant from the IOM’s Information Resource Centre, talked about the preliminary testing of both the Russian and Tajik sections of the book by focus groups.
The phrase book aims to help Tajik citizens better adapt to their new cultural environment and make it easier for them to communicate while living and working in Russia. Language knowledge forms the basis of effective communication. Migrants need to be able to express themselves in the foreign language so that they do not become disorientated in the foreign linguistic environment and to enable them to obtain essential information, complete paperwork and have their questions answered.
The phrase book has been specially compiled to help Tajik nationals communicate while they are in Russia. It contains words and expressions that are needed in a wide variety of situations: in shops, cafes, banks and hospitals, on public transport and when out and about around town, completing various forms or looking for a job. The phrase book contains several thematic sections: “Getting acquainted and socializing”, “Finding a job and working in Russia”, “Shops and services”, “Accommodation, education and leisure” and so on. Material is divided into two columns: words and phrases in Tajik are shown on the left with their translation into Russian on the right. In difficult cases, Russian words and phrases are followed by a transcription of their sounds into Tajik script.
The launch was attended by A Cheremisov, an expert from the Federal Migration Service’s Directorate for Integration, Asror Odinaev, the Director of the Representation of the Tajikistan Migration Service in the Russian Federation, representatives of civil society and international organizations working in the fields of migrant education, adaptation and integration, and journalists.
The poetry of eastern poets such as Omar Khayyam and Rumi, read aloud by colleagues from civil society and international organizations, was a beautiful addition to the event. At the end of the launch, the musicians Nadzhot Asoev and Eradzh Sultanov, members of the Tajik Cultural Centre, performed a traditional falak piece to the enchanting accompaniment of the dutar.
The phrase book’s authors sincerely hope that it will be useful and help Tajik citizens to feel more confident in a Russian-speaking environment when they are looking for work and in numerous social situations.
Free photography workshops for migrant students in November A free photography course was run for students from Central Asia on the initiative of the Embassy of the Kyrgyz Republic in the Russian Federation with the input of IOM Moscow and the Foundation for Support to Documentary Photography in the Former USSR.
The workshops were led by the documentary photographer and chairman of the Liberty.su Foundation for Support to Documentary Photography in the Former USSR, Oleg Klimov, who gave the migrant students a whistle-stop introduction to the theory and practice of photography. Over 30 students from various Moscow institutes of higher education took part, including the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, the State University of Management, the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, the Sholokhov University and the Ministry of Defence Military University.
The workshops principally aimed to encourage young foreign students to engage in artistic endeavours, to add photography to their vocational skills, and to foster tolerance through depictions of the urban landscape and the city’s inhabitants.
The course consisted of three lessons in theory and several practical sessions. The workshops took place in a friendly atmosphere. The participants all got to know each other and shared their passions. They took part in lively discussions and asked questions on the areas that interested them. The participants did homework before each session – taking photographs on the previously set theme of “A Big City for All”. The best final works selected by the workshop facilitator were published in several print and electronic publications. Information on the event has been uploaded to the site http://education.liberty.su/event/students
Workshop facilitator Oleg Klimov comments: “Only one task was set at our very short seminar: participants had to take photographs of what most moved or surprised them as a newcomer to a big city. This was not just in order to see the world through the eyes of migrant students, but also because it is always easier to use photographs to convey the most moving, personal experiences and observations rather than, for example, to discuss events or phenomena dictated by a picture editor or workshop facilitator. I had already come to the conclusion outside the seminar that I just needed to go out onto the street with a few students, to talk to them while they were taking photos, to talk to the subjects of their pictures, and to draw their attention to details, visual techniques and ‘means of self-expression’ through photography: the art of conveying your message to the viewer. I think this was the right decision as their work improved dramatically. No less importantly, most of the migrant students developed a rather different view of photography itself. The students themselves changed: they began to look around more closely and to analyse the visual images that surround them on a daily basis. In other words, they began not only to see but to notice and capture the details that make up our lives.”
Open day at Construction College No. 26 and round table on “Training and adaptation for migrants: cooperation between organizations”
Construction College No. 26 held an open day on 14 November for potential foreign students. College staff held workshops on “Making Stained Glass” and “Modern Decorative Finishing Techniques” as well as presentations on the college’s intramural and extramural departments.
A round table on “Migrant education and adaptation: cooperation between organizations” was held on the same day. Papers were presented by representatives of the IOM, Opora-Druzhba (Support-Friendship, an NGO), the Migration and Law Integration Centre (a regional NGO), the Focus organization, the International Migration Centre, administrative staff responsible for organizing teaching, placements and guidance at Construction College No. 26, and other organizations. The discussions aimed to resolve the issues surrounding the education and employment of foreign students and to achieve close collaboration between the organizations.
Mr Konstantin Afonin, Director of Construction College No. 26, opened the meeting. “Construction College No. 26 is one of Moscow’s leading educational platforms and colleges. We understand that employers are faced with foreign nationals on building sites who have not been trained in the professions required, while our students don’t really understand how to relate to migrants. I therefore think it is worth getting involved in this process before it becomes obligatory for migrants to be trained and tested in Moscow colleges for all secondary-level vocational subjects.
Galina Subbotina, an employee at Construction College No. 26, gave a presentation so that everyone understood exactly what the college was. She talked about the opportunities offered by the college in terms of continuing and extramural education. Ms Subbotina spoke about the importance of arranging a cultural and employment adaptation programme before directing migrants towards educational courses. “Cultural adaptation” covered areas such as Russian language courses, basic etiquette and guidelines for communicating with law enforcement agencies. Participants were so interested in the college’s work that Ms Subbotina’s presentation was followed by question after question.
Dmitriy Valentey, IOM Project Development Coordinator, and Zarifa Igamberdieva, a consultant from IOM’s Information Resource Centre, spoke about the IOM’s work and its principal aims. In his succinct contributions, Sulaymon Shokhzoda, Deputy Director of Opora-Druzhba’s Labour Exchange Centre, tried to answer the question of why migrants needed to have their knowledge accredited.
Solizhon Yusupov, Director for General Affairs of the International Union of Civil Society Organizations, talked about protecting the rights of foreign nationals and problems faced by migrants to Russia. He said that migrants widely faced the issues of unpaid wages, lack of knowledge of Russian and ignorance of their rights. In order to resolve these educational, cultural, employment-related and legal problems, round table participants agreed to cooperate and to produce a programme for the education and adaptation of foreign nationals.
Migrants Day, 18 December 2012, at the Central House of Journalists by the Migration Research Center, the Russian Union of Journalists, IOM Moscow, the UNHCR, the Ethnology Project and the Moscow Museum of Migration Project. Round table participants discussed the following questions:
migration processes;
Opportunities to change public perceptions of migrants through portrayal in various types of art;
Forms of outreach work;
Continuing professional education for specialists working with various groups of migrants;
Dissemination of academic research (the past, present and future through the prism of migration);
The first steps of setting up a web site for the Moscow Museum of Migration and organizing a series of art exhibitions on migration and migrants.
The meeting was opened by Dmitriy Poletaev, Director of the Migration Research Center, Lidiya Grafova, Chair of the Executive Committee of the Forum of Migration Organizations, Dmitriy Valentey, IOM Project Development Coordinator, and Gesche Karrenbrock, UNHCR Chief of Mission in Russia.
Dmitriy Poletaev spoke first about the project to establish a Moscow museum of migration. He focused on the future museum’s aims (attracting attention to migration through various forms of conceptualization, outreach to as wide a public as possible, including young people and professionals, and a multifaceted understanding of migration and its role in Russian history), the position of the museum in Moscow, Russia and internationally and its proposed structure (its displays, including a virtual museum on the web and links to social networks; its educational, research and artistic divisions; a resource centre; an ethnic cafe; and a souvenir shop). Mr Poletaev also spoke about the group that had formed around the Project and the Project’s development and promotion through a website and a series of art exhibitions in Moscow on migration.
The next contribution, on the artistic conceptualization of migration in Russia and abroad, was given by Khaim Sokol, an independent artist. Mr Sokol talked about modern artistic depictions of migration at the crossroads of aesthetics, sociology, social work and education, among other disciplines. Works could be divided into the critical, the activist and the utopian, as illustrated by artists such as Santiago Sierra, Taisiya Krugovykh and Olga Zhitlina. In his opinion, the most interesting portrayals of migration among modern artists were based on a combination of three elements: solidarity, integrationism and equality.
In her contribution, Gesche Karrenbrock, UNHCR, emphasized that one of the most vulnerable groups of migrants should not be forgotten – refugees. She also gave examples of art competitions run by UNHCR.
Yuliana Pavlovskaya, Director of the IOM Information Resource Centre and Olga Rybakova, a consultant at the Centre, presented a paper entitled “Examples from international experience of setting up migration museums. Use of art in work with migrants”, in which they used materials from migration museums in Australia, the UK, Germany, Denmark, Israel, Spain, Canada, Sweden and France to demonstrate the difficulties involved in establishing such museums, possible types of services and exhibitions, and how art can be used in work with migrants.
In his closing presentation “New principles and standards for ethnological museums”, Ivan Grinko, senior research associate at the Russian Institute for Cultural Studies and senior expert on the Ethnology Project, talked about the dawn over the last two decades of a new type of ethnological museum that made wide use of multimedia and interactive exhibits. Their social orientation and transformation into spaces for intercultural dialogue had, in his opinion, led to a growth of interest in modern ethnological museums. This overview of new trends was very useful for the ensuing discussion and an important consideration for the new museum.
The general discussion started with a contribution by the senior specialist from the Russian Institute for Cultural Research’s Laboratory of Museum Design and Planning, Dr Vladimir Dukelskiy, who highlighted the importance of asking why such a museum was being created during the idea’s implementation and development, and of basing work on the answer to that question. Yuriy Derbenev-Tyumenskiy, the Director of the Museum of Friendship among Nations, shared his experience of setting up a museum. Yulduz Ataniyazova, chair of Assistance, Cooperation and Creation, a regional NGO, expressed the hope that the museum would be able to integrate the cultures of the various peoples living in Russia and strengthen neighbourly feeling.
Overall, many contributions were made. Some were highly emotive, causing a rather heated discussion. Around 40 people attended, of whom about a quarter were journalists (RIA-Novosti, Bolshoi Gorod, Vesti Trudovoy Migratsii, Argumenty i Fakty, Radio Russia, the journals Migratsiya 21 Vek, Persona and Etnomir, the inter-state TV channel Mir and others). Independent artists, art critics and documentary makers also attended, which was important for the discussion and viewed as highly beneficial for the museum’s development.
At the end of the contributions, the Secretary of the Russian Union of Journalists, Larisa Shamikova, editor- in-chief of Persona magazine, noted the museum’s importance for Moscow and suggested that its supporters cooperate with the new association of ethnological journalists.
Concluding the round table discussion, Lidiya Grafova, Chair of the Executive Committee of the Forum of Migration Organizations, philosophically summed up the discussion by acknowledging that Moscow needed a migration museum. She expressed the hope that such initiatives would help to defuse xenophobia and migrantophobia in Moscow and Russia as a whole. The last contribution came from Mr I Akhmedov, the press secretary of the Migration Service of the Republic of Tajikistan, who also welcomed the idea of a museum and called for joint efforts in initiatives supporting the integration of Russian society and migrants.
On 20 November, the St Petersburg Committee for Law, Order and Security held a meeting on coordinating the efforts of NGOs and the city’s executive to ensure that foreign workers and members of their families have access to high-quality information and advice. The meeting was attended by a representative of the St Petersburg and Leningrad Province Directorate of the Federal Migration Service, the Enlightenment Centre for International and Information Exchanges on Human Rights (St Petersburg) and the Executive Director and Project Coordinator of the organization Doctors to Children.
Two fundamental questions were discussed: preparing new information booklets and setting up an information and advice point for migrant workers. Amendments to legislation in the area of migration policy and new regulations mean that booklets need to be written covering every legal issue, first and foremost residence by migrants and work permits, to take into account recent changes. Information also needed to be provided on free legal advice centres, local offices of the state migration service, Russian language learning centres and children’s medical centres. In the view of the Committee and the Directorate of the Federal Migration Service, these booklets along with information on how to prevent “socially significant diseases” should in the first instance be provided to workers who are living with their families in special residences and apartments.
Participants at the meeting also underlined the importance of setting up an electronic information point at the airport for foreign nationals who arrive looking for work.
Meeting of the Federal Migration Service’s Civic Council (based on information provided by the Voronezh Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry) A series of events took place in Voronezh on 27 and 28 November focusing on cooperation between state, private and non-commercial organizations in the development of infrastructure for labour migration, as one of the strands of the “Concept Paper on RF State Migration Policy”.
The Committee for Labour Market Analysis, Migration and Demographic Policy of the Voronezh Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry numbered among the organizers.
Meeting of the Federal Migration Service’s Civic Council, the Public Consultation Council of the Voronezh Province Directorate of the Federal Migration Service, and the Voronezh Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Committee for Labour Market Analysis, Migration and Demographic Policy held in the conference hall of the Centre for Human Rights on 27 November The meeting was attended by members of the Civic Council of the Federal Migration Service (FMS), representatives of the RF Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Labour Migration International Alliance (Moscow), IOM Moscow, the Voronezh Province Human Rights Ombudsman, the Public Consultation Council of the Voronezh Province Directorate of the FMS, the Voronezh Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Committee for Labour Market Analysis, Migration and Demographic Policy, government representatives, NGO directors, experts from Voronezh and other cities on labour and migration legislation, and employers. On the agenda was the issue of exploiting the capacity of civil society institutions to implement the “Concept Paper on RF State Migration Policy for the period up until 2025”.
The deputy director of the Voronezh Province Directorate of the FMS, Andrei Lushpaev, greeted attendees. Vladimir Volokh, chair of the FMS Civic Council, noted that the “Concept Paper on RF State Migration Policy for the period until 2025”, approved by the President on 13 June 2012, includes the development of social partnership and civil society institutions as one of its principles. The Concept Paper envisages that state authorities, civil society institutions and businesses will work together to develop infrastructure for labour migration. According to Mr Volokh, the Concept Paper “transforms migration from a problem into a real resource for the development of the Russian Federation”.
Vladimir Muzhenskiy, member of the FMS Civic Council, chair of the Public Consultation Council of the Voronezh Province Directorate of the FMS, and chair of the Voronezh Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Committee for Labour Market Analysis, Migration and Demographic Policy spoke of cooperation by the Public Consultation Council and the Labour Market Analysis Committee with state bodies, businesses and NGOs.
Human rights organizations play a particularly important role in monitoring migration. Activists from Voronezh and Moscow had come to the meeting: the editor-in-chief of the independent journal Migratsiya XXI Vek (Migration 21 st Century), member of the Government Migration Policy Commission and member of the FMS Civic Council Lidiya Grafovna and members of the Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights Vladimir Shaposhnikov and Aleksandr Brod.
Aleksandr Brod used his speech to analyse the role of human rights organizations in the implementation of the “RF Concept Paper on State Migration Policy”. He talked about ever-more frequent incidents of violence towards migrant workers and the steady growth of intolerance towards incomers among the local population. In his view, migration was connected both to social problems, such as corruption, and individual prejudice, as displayed by a host of media and politicians. In order to increase the transparency of migration processes, it was essential firstly to work with social activists, experts and the media and to organize thematic seminars for them. Secondly, migrants needed to be helped to adapt and adaptation centres should be set up. Moreover, Mr Brod underlined the importance of public monitoring of the implementation of the Concept Paper at regional level.
Nikolay Kurdyumov, deputy chair of the FMS Civic Council and president of the Labour Migration International Alliance, also gave a speech. In his view, the Russian economy could not survive without labour migrants. However, migration regulation needed to be amended: it should have the employer as its focus, and not the migrant worker.
Mr Kurdyumov identified three participants in the process: operators (including shadow operators), employers and migrants. The situation could only be resolved by acting on all of these participants at the same time. As far as operators were concerned, it was essential to legalize services for migrants. Employers needed help to find out about labour legislation, to identify organizations that recruit migrants, and to regularize the employment of migrants. The Concept Paper provided a form in which this could be achieved: migrant adaptation centres. Mr Kurdyumov reported that the first such centre had already been set up in Moscow. It would provide both free and paid services on a wide range of issues. The migrant hotline was an important component of the support provided. He remarked that adaptation centres should recruit students and retired FMS employees who possess adequate knowledge as advisors. This would solve one of the main problems facing organizations deciding to offer advice services to migrants: lack of professional staff.
At the same time, Russian society had an institution with experience of working with the business community and the authorities of migrants’ countries of origin both in the CIS and further abroad: chambers of commerce and industry. Sergei Boldyrev (Candidate of Political Sciences, Chair of the Migration Subcommittee of the RF Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Committee for the Economic Integration of SCO and CIS Countries, and Programme Director of Labour Migration International Alliance) spoke about the possibility of using chambers of commerce and industry to resolve the problem of labour shortages. He said that the chamber network could take on the role of “organizing and coordinating migration flows, as well as acting as a centre supervising private organizations that operate according to established rules.” Mr Boldyrev stated that many local chambers already had experience of operating on the labour market: during the recent crisis, they had successfully helped citizens to find employment.
Experts on labour and migration from other cities also took part in the meeting, namely representatives of the Tambov Province Directorate of the FMS and its Public Consultation Council, the Public Consultation council of the Belgorod Province Directorate of the FMS, and the Lipetsk regional division of Young Guard of United Russia.
The Managing Director of the Migration Law Centre (Chita), Nelli Leonova, noted in her speech that migration management should be a bilateral process: although employers need to be highly transparent, migrants should also be expected to make some effort. Ms Leonova felt that migrants needed to pay for the right to work in another country and earn a higher wage than they would at home. They also needed to spend time learning the language to a basic standard, undergoing checks and completing paperwork.
The guests visited the State and Municipal Services Multifunctional Centre, where they met the Director, Aleksander Shiryaev, and the Deputy Director, Tatyana Shnayder. They also saw Inna Kutsova, assistant to the Voronezh Province Human Rights Ombudsman, and the office of Migrant Partner, an organization providing advice services to migrants.
Evgeniy Volodin, member of the Labour Migration International Alliance’s expert advisory panel, conducts training on 28 November for employers using foreign labour on “Migration law and best practice in the legal recruitment of foreign staff in Russia” based on material produced by the IOM (Moscow Office) and the Labour Migration International Alliance The training allowed lawyers and HR officers from Voronezh companies such as Robin Sdobin and Voronezh-Dom to learn about taking on foreign workers and how to assess and minimize the risks associated with employing foreign nationals.
On the same day, the senior management of Labour Migration (Chair Nikolai Kurdyumov, Programme Director Sergei Boldyrev and board member Nikolai Dzengan) met the Executive Director of Opora (the Voronezh Regional Union of Entrepreneurs) Sergei Bespyatov and the President of the Voronezh Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Yuriy Goncharov. Mr Goncharov spoke about the Chamber’s work to monitor the labour market. It had set up a Committee for Labour Market Analysis, Migration and Demographic Policy, which was currently working on a plan to set up a labour market analysis centre in the region.
As Sergei Boldyrev (Programme Director of Labour Migration and Chair of the Migration Subcommittee of the RF Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Committee for the Economic Integration of SCO and CIS Countries) noted, this is a timely project. A precedent must be established by a local chamber, which would act as an example for the others.
On 29 November, the administration of the town of Volkhov (Leningrad Province) held a meeting on migration legislation. The meeting was attended by: the Head of Volkhov Administration, the Head of the Town Migration Service, representatives of the Prosecution Service and the police, leaders of the Uzbek, Azerbaijani and Armenian communities, specialists from the organization Doctors to Children and employees of the St Petersburg and Leningrad Province Directorate of the Federal Migration Service. Participants at the working meeting highlighted the need to carry out a legal information campaign among migrants and to institute measures to help foreign workers integrate into the cultural environment of the host country. It was proposed that information on the culture and traditions of the peoples of Russia should be distributed among migrants. Community leaders taking part in the meeting were provided with 500 copies of booklets and leaflets in Russian and their national languages.
On 30 November, the St Petersburg Social Policy Committee held a round table on social, medical and legal aid to migrants from Central Asia. A total of 32 specialists took part in the round table and received literature on supporting the families of foreign nationals. Talks were given by:
Nila Yanushkevich, St Petersburg and Leningrad Province Directorate of the Federal Migration Service, Head of Department;
St Petersburg Division of the Russian Pension Fund;
Svetlana Ponomareva, senior expert from the Polyclinic Section of the Healthcare Committee;
Irina Maksimova, senior expert from the Social Policy Committee;
Yelena Anisimova, senior expert from the Education Committee’s Educational Institution Section;
Natalya Zaybert, Director of the Russian Red Cross’s St Petersburg advice centre;
Konstantin Zakharov, coordinator of the organization Doctors to Children;
Yuliya Ivashkina, Director of the St Petersburg section of the Semya (Family) Regional Centre, a state institution.
On 5 November, the St Petersburg Social Policy Committee held the concluding session of the working party at which the “Framework for the Social Integration of Family Members of Foreign Workers for 2013-2015” were approved.
Roman Iorik, chair of the St Petersburg division of the NGO Doctors to Children, talked about the preparation of this document. Participants noted that the basic idea behind the document was to provide support to migrants and members of their families who are legally resident in St Petersburg and to include them in all areas of the city’s life and activity. The implementation of the document’s provisions would only be possible on this condition as illegal status rules out any notion of full integration.
Leonid Aminov, senior expert of the Labour and Employment Committee’s Labour Migration Section, described the practical steps needed in St Petersburg to enable foreign workers and members of their family to adapt and subsequently integrate into society and the main strands of the Migration Programme developed on the instructions of the governor of St Petersburg. The Migration Programme, approved in August 2012, covered all the areas of activity needed to integrate migrants and their families into society. It should be noted that the programme included provisions from the Policy Guidelines. As state funding has been allocated to implement the Migration Programme, it was decided on the proposal of the chair of the working group to approve the “Policy Guidelines for the Social Integration of Family Members of Foreign Workers for 2013- 2015” as the final document. It was recommended that the provisions drafted be inserted into the Migration Programme 2013-2015.
On 12 and 13 December, the Fifth International Theoretical and Practical Conference on “The Family, Child and Society: Challenges and Solutions” was organized in St Petersburg by the organization Doctors to Children, with the support of the St Petersburg Government. The conference agenda included the social integration of migrants’ families and children in St Petersburg as separate items. Particular attention was paid to the integration of the families of foreign workers from Central Asia – a region from which more than 56% of St Petersburg’s migrants come looking for work
every year, according to Rosstat. IOM Coordinator, Pawel Szalus, gave a paper on this topical issue during the plenary session. It should be mentioned that the St Petersburg Social Policy Committee worked for two years to produce “Policy Guidelines for the Social Integration of Families of Foreign Workers for 2013-2015” with the support of UN Women. The working party to analyse the current situation and produce this document was set up on the orders of the Chair of the Social Policy Committee, Aleksandr Rzhanenkov, and included leading experts from the Labour and Employment, Social Policy, Education and Healthcare Committees as well as specialists from the St Petersburg and Leningrad Province Directorate of the Federal Migration Service, and representatives of ethnic communities and non-commercial organizations. The document was approved on 5 December 2012.
Specialists from the Law, Order and Security Committee, the Labour and Employment Committee, the St Petersburg and Leningrad Province Directorate of the FMS and the Uzbek Ethnic Autonomous Association informed conference participants about actions taken in St Petersburg to integrate the family members of migrants. The Coordinator of the NGO Doctors to Children, Konstantin Zakharov, gave a paper on cooperation between NGOs and government bodies, practical measures and potential areas of work.
The Head of the St Petersburg division of the Semya (Family) Regional Centre (a state institution), Yuliya Ivashkina, presented a programme that is currently being implemented to help social work professionals to support families that include foreign nationals. The programme was drawn up jointly with the organization Doctors to Children and is the first and only such training programme for professionals in this area. Participants in the 72-hour programme will receive a state certificate of continuing professional education.
Conference participants listened attentively to the papers given by Galina Kalinaeva on the work of UN Women and Yuliya Florinskaya, Deputy Director of the Migration Research Center, on drawing up an integration strategy and the difficulties faced by migrants in Moscow in integrating. Over 40 people attended the session: representatives of the St Petersburg Government, the Federal Migration Service, department heads and experts from social and health care facilities, members of ethnic communities and staff from non- governmental organizations, including experts from other regions of Russia and foreign guests.
In December, the Partnership of Faculties of Journalism (a non-profit partnership) together with the Faculty of Journalism of Lomonosov Moscow State University and the Russian Union of Journalists arranged the final lectures in the specialist course in “Media and Migration”, part of the programme “Support to Young Journalists in the Formation of a Social Network to Promote Tolerance in Society”
The following speakers were invited to talk to postgraduate students in November and December: - Dmitriy Poletaev, Candidate of Economic Sciences, director of the Migration Research Center, leading research associate of the Laboratory for Migration Analysis and Forecasting, Institute of National Economic Forecasting, Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow, Russia).
Committee of the Support to Migrants and their Associations International Social Movement, editor-in-chief of the independent journal Migratsiya – XXI Vek (Migration 21
Migration Policy Committee and member of the Federal Migration Service Civic Council.
A discussion was held on the site www.togetherlive.ru of materials uploaded.
“What do I think about migrants?” – eight responses “Being a migrant” – seven responses “Migration means...” – three responses The discussion touched on labour migrants’ own assessment of levels of discrimination.
The site received 25 comments. Lidiya Grafova’s article “Slavery in a grocery shop?” provoked the most discussion.
Number of publications on the site: 93 Visitor statistics: Maximum number of visits per day: 118 Total number of visitors: 905 since the hit counter was installed
New publication: Issues in voluntary health insurance for citizens of CIS states. International experience and Russian legislation. Prospects for the Russian health insurance market
In December, the IOM Moscow Office and the Representative Office of the Aga Khan Foundation (Switzerland) brought out a publication following a round table on “Issues in Voluntary health insurance for citizens of CIS states. International experience and Russian legislation. Prospects for the Russian health insurance market”, which took place on 22 August 2012 in the building of the RF Civic Chamber.
The compendium contains papers from the round table which are of interest to migration and healthcare experts and cover topical issues such as:
foreign nationals;
possible models for provision of health insurance to different categories of foreign nationals – migrant workers in the first instance but also other groups of migrants (such as women and minors);
priority target groups of migrants for voluntary insurance and possible variations of insurance products that would be most popular among foreign nationals;
practical and legal recommendations to achieve a qualitative change in the unfortunate situation that currently exists in the provision of medical and other types of voluntary insurance to migrants from states which have mutual visa-free arrangements with the Russian Federation.
fully in the interests of the Russian Federation to institute a health insurance system for foreign nationals and, moreover, health insurance is a key focus of the “Concept Paper on State Migration Policy of the Russian Federation for the period until 2025”, which was approved on 13 June 2012.
The electronic version of the publication is available on the IOM website in the “Publications” section – http://moscow.iom.int/russian/publications/MedInsuranceCIS.pdf
Public hearing on the draft Labour Migration Law attended by representatives of NGOs, state bodies and international organizations and members of the working party
On 1 November, a public hearing was held at the initiative of the working party drafting the Labour Migration Law and of the Government Migration Service. Representatives of government ministries and agencies and a number of civil society and international organizations took part in the event, as well as members of the working party.
Participants put forward a series of suggestions on several articles of the draft Law. In particular, the Director of Prospect+, an NGO, suggested additions to two articles concerning the creation of a social fund for support to labour migrants and compensation of health damage. After detailed discussion, the proposals were re- drafted and accepted by the working party. Other recommendations were also made, some of which were taken on board by the working party. As work on a draft law on private employment agencies is also under way and the text has already been initially agreed by government ministries and agencies, it was decided (also on the initiative of the working party) to hold a public hearing on this draft law as well.
As a result, a public hearing to discuss the draft law was held in Dushanbe on 27 November. Participants put forward a series of suggestions relating to several articles of the draft law. The draft Labour Migration Law has now been passed to the President’s Executive Office for final feedback by key ministries and agencies before it is submitted to the Government for approval. The translation of the draft Private Employment Agencies Law is currently undergoing revision and is being prepared for submission to ministries and agencies for a second round of feedback.
Exchange visits strengthen cooperation between self-help groups At the end of November and beginning of December, the association Women and Society organized three exchange visits between self-help groups in target districts. This was part of the “Social mobilization of family members of migrant workers” project and aimed to facilitate an exchange of experience and strengthen the partnership between them.
On 30 November participants visited the Guncha milk processing cooperative in Ghonchi District, a project to build a shop to sell dairy products (implemented as a joint economic initiative), greenhouses constructed as part of a UNDP/GIZ project, and groups that make curtains.
On 4 December, participants visited the agricultural cooperatives Khodzhai Alo (Chorku Jamoat) and Khodzhai Masrab (Kulkent Jamoat) in Isfara District, which had acquired an MT380 tractor and a bone crushing line with private support from AKTED. Isfara District self-help groups also told their guests about the process of implementing joint economic initiatives involving the purchase of a plough and trailer in Chorku Jamoat and construction of a greenhouse for growing organic vegetables in Kulkent Jamoat. Self-help groups engaged in crushing bones and handicrafts in Navgilem Jamoat presented their wares to visit participants.
On 11 December a visit was organized to Ghafurov District. Participants found out about the work of groups who grow herbs and engage in handicrafts and embroidery. Projects implemented as joint economic initiatives were also presented to participants. In Undzhi Jamoat, this took the form of processing rabbit skins and manufacturing fur products. It is worth mentioning that in Ovchi-Kalacha Jamoat, groups have constructed a greenhouse that is 53 metres long and 10 metres wide.
Groups in every target jamoat and district put on exhibitions of their wares and talked about their work, difficulties faced and steps taken to resolve problems. The exchange visits fostered stronger cooperation between the groups and an exchange of experience, knowledge and skills. The exchange visits also showed that groups’ capacity to present their activities, run projects as joint economic initiatives and actively engage in discussions and dialogue has greatly improved since the beginning of the project. This demonstrates that the project has clearly had a positive impact on the families of labour migrants.
Conference on “Social mobilization: a means to improve the prosperity of families of labour migrants” A conference on the theme of “Social mobilization: a means to improve the prosperity of families of labour migrants” was held on 15 December in the Sadbarg complex in Khujand. It was organized by the association Woman and Society, an executive partner in the Regional Migration Programme.
Representatives of Sughd Province and Ghafurov, Isfara and Ghonchi District executive authorities, representatives of UN Women and international and civil society organizations, and coordinators and mobilizers from self-help groups in target districts took part. The conference aimed to review the results of the “Social mobilization of family members of migrant workers” project implemented by the association Woman and Society from October 2010 to 2012. The event was timed to coincide with International Migrants Day.
Rano Babadzhanova, chair of the Sughd Province Committee for Women and Family Affairs also took part. In her paper, she commented on the project’s noteworthy contribution to improving standards of living among women who belong to the families of labour migrants. The head of Sughd Province Migration Service, Zaynura Sharipova, described the project as important and timely. During discussions, other participants also remarked on the positive experience and good results achieved by the project.
Viloyat Mirzoeva, UN Women Project Coordinator in Tajikistan, observed that the project could not have been so successful without the support of the local authorities and the active participation of women. She noted how important their involvement had been, and expressed her gratitude to the beneficiaries, project partners and local authority representatives.
Conference participants had the opportunity to hear again about the experience gained through the project and its achievements. They felt that it would be relevant, important and timely to continue the project, which had helped the families of labour migrants to develop their skills and improve their standard of living. Participants were also introduced to the international development agenda post 2015. They actively participated in a discussion on the millennium development goals and made suggestions on how the international development agenda could be extended.
Self-help groups held an exhibition of their produce and wares before the conference. They displayed dairy and agricultural produce, handicrafts and gold embroidered items produced by group members.
Training for gender groups On 8 and 23 November, training was held in Dushanbe for the gender groups of the Government Migration Service and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection. The training focused on gender mainstreaming into migration policy and fundamental approaches and tools for integrating the gender factor into the monitoring and evaluation of labour migration. It aimed to build the skills and expertise of members of the gender groups.
Training for gender groups will be continued in 2013 on specific topics selected based on an assessment of the groups’ capacity, needs and priorities.
IOM Tajikistan Migrant Support Centre legal advisers take Download 415.89 Kb. Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: 
|