On 12 and 13 November 2024, the Congress of the Council of Europe organised a two-day training workshop in Chisinau to help local authorities enhance their competencies for better preparedness, response and recovery from migration-related challenges.

The event gathered more than 30 representatives of Moldovan and Romanian local authorities as well as of the Congress of Local Authorities from the Republic of Moldova (CALM) and the Association of Communes of Romania (ACoR). The participants were presented with Council of Europe approaches to protecting the rights of migrants and refugees, and with a Congress toolkit for migration management, including emergency migration management. The workshop provided an opportunity to develop tailored proposals, strategies and communication plans for mitigating migration risks, based on local realities.

“It was a useful workshop, presenting effective practices on migration risks, especially at local level. This will help representatives of local authorities to develop necessary strategies and regulations, in order to reduce potential risks occurring in such crises, which become more and more present in the world. We had a beneficial exchange of best practices aimed at facilitating the work of local authorities, with important guidelines received from international experts,” stressed one of the participants, Mayor of Edineț (Republic of Moldova) Constantin Cojocari.

The event was organised as part of Congress co-operation projects “Reinforcing the culture of dialogue and ethical open local governance in the Republic of Moldova” and “Strengthening resilience in local and regional authorities facing migration challenges”. It was held in partnership with CALM within the framework of the quadripartite Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Congress and the national associations of local authorities from  Poland, the Republic of Moldova and Romania.