UNHCR Cyprus - Third Annual Refugee Integration Conference (10 Dec 2021)

Description

On 10 December 2021, the UNHCR Country Office in Cyprus held its Third Annual Integration Conference in Nicosia. This year’s conference once again took place online due to the current health measures. In this year’s Conference, UNHCR Cyprus brought together speakers from local municipalities in Cyprus, academics, colleagues from our partner NGO the Cyprus Refugee Council, UNHCR Europe Bureau and the Council of Europe as well as individuals representing grassroots civil society initiatives, the media and the refugee population. AGENDA Part 1 • Welcome and Opening Remarks - Ms. Katja Saha, Representative, UNHCR Country Office in Cyprus • Address by Mr. Andreas Vyras, Mayor of Larnaca, President of the Union of Cyprus Municipalities • Note on the 2020 conference - Mr. George Ailiotis, Ms. Zenaida Onoufriou, UNHCR Cyprus • 2020-2021 Legal and policy developments in Cyprus - Ms. Olga Komiti, UNHCR Cyprus Part 2 • The National Integration Policy: Next steps: Implementation, Representation and Monitoring - Mr. Michalis Beys, Ministry of Interior. The National Plan will be used as a reference document by the state for the integration policy that it follows and the financing of projects and programs of the new programming period 2021 – 2027. • UNHCR study: “Mapping the needs of asylum-seekers and refugees in Cyprus” - Dr. Stefanos Spaneas, University of Nicosia. First presentation of findings in this study to map the needs and geographic concentration of asylum-seekers, and refugees in Cyprus. • Building structures for intercultural integration in Cyprus - Ms. Irena Guidikova, Head of Division, Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Programmes, Council of Europe. The project will support the Republic of Cyprus in implementing its National Action Plan on the Integration of Third-Country Nationals 2020-2022, by empowering local authorities, NGOs, and migrant organisations to be part of the integration process. • Practitioner’s tool for refugee integration in Europe - Ms Susanne Klink, Livelihood and Economic Inclusion Officer, UNHCR Europe Bureau. The tool aims at providing local authorities, public services, NGOs, RLOs, private sector and other stakeholders engaged in refugee integration with practical checklists, good practices and step-by-step questions that can be used when designing or evaluating new measures, linked to evidence of existing good practices on socio-economic inclusion, effective access to rights and cultural integration. Q & A Break Part 3 • The Employability of Refugees in Cyprus: A skills profiling report - Mr. Manos Mathioudakis and Ms. Annagrace Messa, The Cyprus Refugee Council. The information presented in this report was collected between 2019-2021, through the cooperation of the HelpRefugeesWork.org team, with asylum-seekers and beneficiaries of international protection living in Cyprus. • Local integration: Good practices from Limassol - Ms. Christina Tsiamparta, Limassol Municipality. Presentation about the Limassol Intercultural Council and current and projected integration activities and collaborations in Limassol. • Countering anti-refugee narratives in public discourse - Dr. Nicos Peristianis, Chairman, Universitas Foundation. • Presentation of “Untold Stories: Refugees and Asylum-Seekers in Cyprus” - UNHCR Cyprus’ new photo publication documenting the experiences of refugees in Cyprus - Mr. Sebastian Rich, Photographer and Ms Emilia Strovolidou, UNHCR Cyprus • Community-led initiatives and social inclusion - Group discussion (in Greek) Mr. Etinosa Erevbenagie Johnbull, Founding member of Generation for Change Ms Zahra Mashi, University Student Mr. Loukianos Lyritsas, Journalist, DW Ms Eleana Georgiou, Member of Generation for Change Mr. Costas Englezos, Basketball Coach, Hope Team Q & A End

Metadata

Published to Youtube on: 17/12/2021

Archived on: 08/10/2025

Original URL (may no longer be available): https://youtube.com/watch?v=rIBwp53O_As