The SIC was part of the first meeting of the “Working Group on Social Inclusion and Migration”, on 12 and 13 September in Mavrovo, North Macedonia, within the framework of the project “Regional Cooperation for Better Social Inclusion at Local Level” supported by NALAS (Network of the National Association of Municipalities of Albania) and GIZ/ORF (Open Regional Funds for South East Europe).

This project aims to support local governments and local government associations in Albania, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Kosovo in strengthening capacities for the development and implementation of social and economic inclusion of vulnerable groups, policies and practices in implementation of the 2030 Agenda in line with the principle of “Leave no one behind”.

One of the main objectives of the Working Group is to develop a roadmap and recommendations for strengthening advocacy capacities in addressing social inclusion issues at the local level.

The working group included representatives of local government associations involved in the project, coordinators, NALAS representatives as well as international GIZ experts.

The Working Group, through questionnaires, aims to collect and process data on the current situation of social inclusion and migration, the legal framework of each country, to prepare a roadmap with recommendations for assessing the priorities, needs and capacities of the Associations and for addressing social inclusion and migration issues.

This activity will be followed by other meetings which will focus on turning the roadmaps and recommendations into comprehensive and implementable strategies.