01/09/2017 Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is organising a conference to launch the Parliamentary network on diaspora policies on 7 and 8 September 2017 in Lisbon, at the invitation of the Portuguese Parliament.
The parliamentary network is being set up in order to promote political and legislative reforms regarding the role of diasporas in countries of origin and host societies.
This new network will operate as a platform bringing together parliamentarians from countries of origin and host countries and diaspora associations, fostering information exchanges on good practices, promoting the role of these associations in the integration of migrants in host societies and, finally, developing political cooperation between countries of origin and host countries.
The conference, to be opened by Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues, Speaker of the Portuguese Parliament, René Rouquet, Vice-President of the PACE, and Tomáš Boček, Special Representative of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe on Migration and Refugees, will cover several themes, including the contribution of diasporas to European societies, their democratic participation, their role in building cohesive societies and their impact on the development of countries of origin.
Parliamentarians from the Council of Europe's member States will participate in the debates alongside parliamentarians from non-European countries of the Southern Mediterranean and the Middle East as well as leaders of diaspora associations.
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The conference, which is open to the press, will take place on Thursday 7 September, from 11 am to 1 pm and from 3 to 6.15 pm, and on Friday 8 September, from 9 am to1 pm, at the Assembly of the Republic (Palácio de S. Bento, Lisbon).