IOM Slovenia concluded the series of national dialogues with a dialogue on integration practices and social cohesion, organized in collaboration with the Government Office for Support and Integration of Migrants on 17 May 2023 in Ljubljana.

To support the Government efforts in development of new national strategies on migration management and migrant inclusion, the third national dialogue addressed strengthening social cohesion to support migrant inclusion. The introductory presentation on Migrant Integration and Social Cohesion was done by Ace Dela Cruz, Global Programme Coordinator on Migrant Integration and Social Cohesion at the Migrant Training and Integration Unit at IOM Headquarters in Geneva. He outlined global trends and perspectives on migrant integration, global and institutional policy frameworks, IOM continuum approach to integration, relevant integration programming and resources, including Pre- and Post-Arrival Orientation, and Migrant Information Centers.

The discussion among the participants focused on modalities of implementation of pre-arrival support (not solely for resettled refugees but also for other categories of migrants), as the Government of Slovenia is preliminary considering the feasibility of establishing such practices, and experiences and lessons learned from establishing Migrant Information Centers in the region, including the one-stop-shop piloted in Cluj-Napoca in the framework of Includ-EU project. The participants emphasized the added value of learning from experiences from other countries, but also basing new initiatives on good practices developed in the region.

The national dialogue was organized in the framework of the Includ-EU project, implemented by IOM and funded by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund of the European Union (DG HOME).