The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia held a conference today on innovative approaches to diaspora engagement and use of remittances for child well-being in Armenia.

The conference was organized within the framework of the “Social Response to Labour Migration in Armenia” project, funded by the European Union and implemented by UNICEF in Armenia. The objective of the conference was to familiarize a wide range of stakeholders with innovative ways of diaspora engagement worldwide in various spheres of the country’s development, present the recently developed research on international experience and practices of the use of diaspora and migrants’ support for child-focused reforms and discuss their potential application in Armenia.

Diaspora and migrants’ support, complementary to official development strategies, policies and practice, has a great potential in contributing to local and social sector development and furtherance of new and alternative child-related reforms, including alleviating child poverty and benefitting the most vulnerable families and children.

Addressing the event, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Ashot Hovakimyan said the relations with the Diaspora are of great importance for Armenia.

“The conference is a good opportunity to discuss the innovative approaches towards Armenia-Diaspora cooperation strategy, and creation of a cooperation network for involving the Diaspora in the development of the Homeland,” he said.