“Migration Network in Europe and Turkey” was supported under the Civil Society Dialogue Programme. The Programme aims to bring together civil society organizations from Turkey and the EU around common topics, to exchange knowledge and experience, and to build a sustained conversation between them. The Ministry for European Union Affairs is the responsible institution for the technical implementation of the programme, while the Central Finance and Contracts Unit is the Contracting Authority of the Programme.
The overall objective of the 14-month project “Migration Network in Europe and Turkey” which was implemented by the Greek NGO Athens Network of Collaborating Experts, the Global Political Trends Center of Istanbul Kültür University, and the Turkish NGOS Human Resource Development Foundation and Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Migrants, was to facilitate the EU-Turkey civil society cooperation on the ground of development of migration/asylum policies in Turkey in accordance with EU standards and of a common approach to migration management between EU & Turkey.
More specifically the action aims at:
- a) Enhancing the capacity of Turkish CSOs to contribute to the development and implementation of reforms in the field of human rights and migration management,
- b) Strengthening Turkish-Greek civil society cooperation and information exchange on migration and refugee management systems, and c) Enhancing awareness of Greek and Turkish society on migrants and refugees rights.
The above were achieved through the implementation of the following activities:
- A) Capacity building activities targeting key issues concerning irregular migrants and refugees
- Training for public officials (police officers, staff of detention centres, border and coast guard) at the Greek-Turkish borders (Edirne) on issues of irregular immigrants and asylum seekers
- Orientation seminars for refugees at the Syrian-Turkish borders (Gaziantep), especially women and youngsters
- Training for staff in removal centres (Sanliurfa) on the asylum procedure according to EU policies and the application of the Law on Foreigners, with the participation of Bar Associations focusing on refugee law
- B) Networking between civil society actors on migration practices in Turkey, Greece and the EU and research
- Networking workshop in Athens between Greek and Turkish CSOs to generate mutual knowledge and understanding and draft recommendations on a model of Greece (EU) and Turkey coordination
- Study on developing a common system for collection and analysis of and public access to reliable disaggregated data regarding migration and migrants, including irregular migrants, as a foundation for rights-based policymaking on migration in EU and Turkey.
- C) Awareness raising activities for the local communities-entry points of irregular migration in the Greek-Turkish and the Syrian-Turkish borders, and also for CSOs, academics, experts, media and the wider public at local and national levels
- Awareness raising thematic workshops in Istanbul with academic community, policy makers and the media
- Awareness raising and information activities for the local communities-entry points at the Greek-Turkish & the Syrian-Turkish borders (Evros, Lesvos, Sanliurfa, Gaziantep), on the rights of irregular migrants/asylum seekers and migration related issues.
