On Friday 26 June at 10.00 am the Department of Population and Immigration Archives / Ministry of Interior as the National Contact Point of Cyprus of the European Immigration Network ( ) organized the annual National Conference for 2020 on “The role of local government in the social integration of migrants and asylum seekers” . The conference took place in the form of an online discussion/webinar.

This year’s conference topics were related to the integration of immigrants and more specifically the role of local government in the social integration of migrants and refugees. This is a very “hot” issue in Cyprus, as the first draft of the National Action Plan for Inclusion 2020-2022 will be ready and in consultation at the end of June, which is expected to have local government and the actions that can be implemented by local authorities as its main pillar. In addition, the reform of local government is underway and therefore a more general discussion of the role of local authorities in society. In addition, the conference will contribute at European level to the existing debate on the integration of immigrants, which is being held for the ongoing Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion of the European Commission.

The discussion included:

• The Mayor of Nicosia, Mr. Konstantinos Giorkatzis
• The Mayor of Limassol, Mr. Nikos Nikolaidis
• The Mayor of Larnaca and President of the Union of Municipalities, Mr. Andreas Vyras
• The authorized municipal councilor for Support and Social Integration of Immigrants and Refugees of the Municipality of Athens, Mrs. Melina Daskalaki
• The Lecturer of the University of Nicosia, Mrs. Despina Kochliou.

The conference was organized by Mr. Michael Beys, mbeys@papd.mof.gov.cy