During the first part of the meeting, Agita Misāne, an adviser of the Society “Shelter “Safe House””, shared the information she obtained at the 3rd European Migration Forum, which was held on 2–3 March in Brussels. Anita Zorgenfreija, a Senior Referent of the Social Integration and Civil Society Development Division of the Social Integration Department of the Ministry of Culture, who also participated in the work of this forum, made some additions to her speech.
Ilze Meilande and Irina Vasiljeva from the Projects and Social Integration Division of the Department of Education, Culture and Sport of Riga City Council informed attendees about the latest news of the Riga City integration programme, in particular the latest projects of the Riga City Council – “Welcoming Cities” and “AMITIE CODE”, as well as about tenders for social integration projects for non-governmental organisations.
Svetlana Djačkova, a representative of the Latvian Centre for Human Rights, and Inese Šūpule, a researcher of the Baltic Institute of Social Sciences, told about the studies, which are currently implemented in the organisations they represent.
Anita Īvāne from the society “Latvian Civic Alliance” informed about the tender of projects “For Growth and Development of NGOs of the Riga Region”, which plans to grant funding for projects to promote an intercultural dialogue and the development of civil society, the work of NGOs of national minorities in the Riga Planning Region and to improve integration of the Roma in the society. More about the tender: http://nvo.lv/lv/news/publication/izsludinats-projektu-konkurss-rigas-regiona-nvo-iz-8164/.
The second part of the NGO Dialogue Platform meeting was held in the premises of the society “Cultural and Education Centre “Miras””, where there is also a Muslim prayer hall. Imam Muhammad Giga and other representatives of the society shared their experiences and contemplations about integration problems of newcomers arriving from Muslim countries. The “Cultural and Education Centre “Miras”” is an active participant of the NGO Dialogue Platform.
Last year, two NGO Dialogue Platform meetings were held within the scope of the project “Information Centre for Immigrants” – on 9 September 2016 in Riga and on 24 November in Cesis. The purpose of such meetings was to strengthen civil society and to create a favourable and open environment for societies and foundations for work with immigrants.
Already since 18 May 2016, a sustainable coordination system for supporting of immigrants at the national level is developed by the Society “Shelter “Safe House”” in the framework of the project “Information Centre for Immigrants”. ICI operates as a one-stop agency, providing the information and support to the third-country citizens, giving professional support to service providers in all the local governments of Latvia, co-ordinates the research and availability of the services for various groups of immigrants. The project “Information Centre for Immigrants” co-financed by the European Union within the framework of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund.Grant Agreement No.PMIF/12/2016/1/1.
Information was prepared by: Rasa Salina (Rasa Saliņa), Communications and Social Media Expert, e-mail: rasa.salina@gmail.com
